All Forum Posts by: Adam Perez

So an update, I wrote a demand letter to both the Brokerage and the prospective tenants. 

I received an email back from their agent, stating a few reasons why they don’t think I’m owed the deposit, for one they claim the escrow agent wasn’t named on the contract but then proceeded to go on in the email with the contact info for the escrow company who is holding the deposit. 

I emailed the title/escrow company directly and told them I expect them to fulfill their duties and abide by the contract which states clearly that funds should be sent to the landlord if the any of the clauses are broken, the biggest one being that they refused to sign a lease. 

 States it will be held in escrow with their brokerage. Deadline was May 26th, it was not met. Consequences state it goes to landlord, plus possible damages, etc. 

I agree, dodged a bullet. But I’m trying to see if it’s worth it to send the demand letter.  

I have a rental listing agreement with my agent. I have a contract to lease that states it’s going to escrow. It’s customary in my area to use this when agents are involved. There was a deadline for them to finalize the lease. Us pushing them to sign to move to the next offer is what apparently got them to back out.  

I wanted to share my recent rental experience and seek some advice on how to handle the situation. Normally, I handle the leasing of my properties myself, but this time, as I am in the process of buying a new home and renting out my current primary residence, my long-time agent kindly offered to handle the leasing of my current property free of charge, as it was a contingency for closing on my new home.

On the first day of listing, we received a lot of interest and received two offers. After reviewing them carefully, I decided to go with an offer from a highly qualified tenant. Typically, I request tenants to make the deposit directly to me, but in this case, they sent it to their agent's escrow or potentially the brokerage. I had proof of the wire transfer amounting to $5,300, but we did not receive an escrow letter. I informed the other offer, which was for the full price, that we had accepted another offer but they could remain as a backup.

As the final day to sign the lease approached on May 26th, we reached out to the tenant and their agent at 10 PM, inquiring about the delay in signing a simple lease document via DocuSign. The agent responded in an aggressive manner, stating that their client would sign when they were ready. We emphasized the approaching deadline, but they insisted that their client would not be pressured and decided to back out of the deal. Unfortunately, the other offer had already found another house and was no longer available.

I initially believed that the escrow company would send us the funds for the deposit and the broken contract. However, when my agent contacted the other agent, she responded dismissively, insulting my agent, and instructing us not to communicate directly with her but instead to take the matter up with her brokerage's legal team. I have now realized two important lessons: never accept a deposit that isn't directly deposited into your bank account when holding a property, and never cease showing a property until the lease is signed and the funds are secured.

Although I still have some time before closing on my new home, the setback has cost us both time and momentum. Moreover, I find it difficult to tolerate individuals who lack integrity and sign contracts without recognizing any accountability. I understand that many will advise me to move on from this situation; however, I am contemplating sending a demand letter directly to the prospective tenants (as I have their emails and address from the application). This action seems relatively low effort and low risk, with potential upside. They could simply ignore the letter and discard it, ending the matter there, or they may become concerned and attempt to negotiate with us. The terms of the contract are simple, binding, and clear-cut, falling well within the small claims court limit.

I would appreciate any insights, suggestions, or similar experiences from the community. Thank you for your time and support.

 Thanks, that answers my question.

 It was left very clean when they moved in. The question is am I responsible for cleaning after a contractor is done working. The contractor sweeps and possibly vacuums but it’s possible there’s dust front installing the windows or shoe marks from the workers 

 Thanks for responding.

I think its more so the mess rather than them actually bothering them to install the widows. The contractors will sweep up any debris but isn't going to mop or start vacuuming the floors. Would I then be responsible for cleaning if they leave some dust and foot marks?

So I turned my first home recently into a rental property as I just moved in to a larger home. I got it rented and they just moved in last week.

Before I moved out, I purchased impact windows for this hurricane season. This was done back in February, before I even knew I wasn’t moving out. They got installed a month or 2 later but they messed up 2 of the windows and to re order them. They were completed and of course has to begin work 2 days after my tenant moves in.

As you can imagine this causes a bit of a mess and headache. How should I handle it? Give a credit? Offer to send a cleaning service? Wait for them to ask for it? I did start the contract on 5/31 and did not prorate that extra day which I know many landlords have done to me. If the topic was brought up would I refer to that? Keep in mind these are college students and I don’t see them renewing as it’s their final year. 

A brief background, I purchased my first townhome a little over a year ago. Fast forward to today, we are expecting our first baby and found a great opportunity to purchase a cheap fixer up in a great neighborhood. We decided to list our current place for rent as we realized we could some nice ROI and the appreciation in the area was on the upswing.

12 days after listing and multiple 7-8 showings, we got our first bite. A couple, medical students on their final year. At first I was having everyone who reached out to me come to a showing and after the first 2 or so, I got smarter and started screening. I sent her my list of questions and even sent a video, once they answered everything and watched the video, I had them come by for a tour later that same day.

As we brought the tour to an end, they mentioned to me that they loved it and asked what the next step was. I promptly handed them the lease, application, and a deposit form to hold the place until they officially signed the lease. I told them I had some very interested that was coming early the next morning so they filled out everything and brought me a check for the deposit later that day.

My question is, did I take the right steps in terms of paper work? 

To go over it, I first handed them all the paperwork, they signed the application and deposit with the check. 2 days later they handed me the signed lease and I took the property off the market.

We have an HOA so they are in the process of approving them and should have an answer for me tomorrow. Should the application been approved before I took the deposit? I did my due diligence in terms of reaching out to their references and such and if everything they told me is true, there should be no reason they won't be accepted.

Should I have waited until they were approved to take it off the market? Was it right to take a deposit before they were approved by the association? 

 First 2 I didn't but I have been on all of the others. I agree, this property was not designed to be a rental but since we had it, we didn't want to get rid of it.