Skip to content
×
Try PRO Free Today!
BiggerPockets Pro offers you a comprehensive suite of tools and resources
Market and Deal Finder Tools
Deal Analysis Calculators
Property Management Software
Exclusive discounts to Home Depot, RentRedi, and more
$0
7 days free
$828/yr or $69/mo when billed monthly.
$390/yr or $32.5/mo when billed annually.
7 days free. Cancel anytime.
Already a Pro Member? Sign in here

Join Over 3 Million Real Estate Investors

Create a free BiggerPockets account to comment, participate, and connect with over 3 million real estate investors.
Use your real name
By signing up, you indicate that you agree to the BiggerPockets Terms & Conditions.
The community here is like my own little personal real estate army that I can depend upon to help me through ANY problems I come across.
Tax, SDIRAs & Cost Segregation
All Forum Categories
Followed Discussions
Followed Categories
Followed People
Followed Locations
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback

Updated over 3 years ago on . Most recent reply

User Stats

1
Posts
0
Votes

Breaking Verbal Rental Agreement

Anthony Knippers
Posted

Hi there

My wife and I are both new to renting properties and have an issue. We advertised our property and had plenty of people want to rent it but it went nowhere. We had an individual come look at the property and they wanted to sign a rental agreement on site. We we’re reluctant because we hadn’t verified income yet. We told them we’d be in touch. My wife exchanged text messages with them and told them we’d like to rent to them but needed to verify income. We had other people interested in the property, and we had an individual come look at it a day or two later with all their ducks in a row. They had proof of income on site and we’re ready to move forward. We physically signed an actual rental agreement with them and notified the other person immediately after. 
This individual is now threatening to sue us for violation of contract. We never collected deposits and she hadn’t sent verification of income until after we told her we rented to somebody else. We had plans to meet the following day and go over everything, but we jumped because this other individual was ready to go and had everything in order. 
My question is; Are our text messages considered a contract even though it never outlined when rents were due or any other variables, other than when she could potentially move in and what the security deposits would be? We never collected any money from them. Are there any grounds (in Oregon) for them to actually sue us?

Loading replies...