All Forum Posts by: Justin Mayne

@Evan Polaski Update: The tenant has decided to move out! Now I will be able to get a new tenant who will hopefully not be as difficult. Thank you all for giving me advice. I greatly appreciate it

@Brian Van Pelt I don’t pay for an attorney. I’m active duty military and get that service for free. I’m looking advise from experienced landlords who might have had similar situations.

@Karen F. There is 18 months left on the current lease. The lease is for both units, however, she signed an agreement with the previous owner that relinquished her access to the main house. Being that she doesn’t have access to the main house anymore, should she sign a new lease with specifics for just the apartment?

@Evan Polaski She is a decent tenant based on what the previous owner has told me. Seems like she typically pays rent on time. However the previous owner let her make whatever changes to the units that wanted (Paint, installing sinks, landscaping). It feels like she still has the same attitude that she can do what she wants with the unit. This is the reason her current lease is so long (18 months left). She wants to make her money back from “improvements” she had done for her AirBnB business.

@Dylan B. The market value of apartments with the same square footage and quality in the area are $600-$700 a month. I would like to set the price at $550. Seems like a reasonable amount considering the comparisons. The current lease has 18 months left on it which really puts me in a bind.

@Pat L. She agrees that the tenant should pay $1400 as the lease states since a lower amount is not in any for of documentation. I’m just doubting that the tenant will pay this amount come the 1st of the month even though she has been notified many times of the current lease rate.

Hello Everyone! This is going to be a long post because I want to give all the details. I appreciate any advice you are able to give.

I bought a three unit property in Oklahoma City and inherited a difficult tenant. The tenant rented out the main house and the above garage apartment. When I bought the property with a VA loan, the tenant had to move out of the main house sii OK I could live there. The previous owner gave her $5000 to break the lease so she would move out of the main house. In the same agreement, he also assured her that her lease of the above garage apartment would remain "unaffected." In the state of Oklahoma, the lease transfers over to the new owner.

The tenant previously only rented out the main house at a rate of $975 a month with a separate lease that was superseded by by the current lease. Later the apartment was added to create the current lease. The current Lease has a rental rate of $1400 per month which includes both units. 

Now that I have ownership of the property and she has moved out of the main house, she believes that her rent is $425 a month and that she is not required to sign a new lease. Her reasoning is that the house by itself was $975 in the first lease. By subtracting the $975 from the current price of $1400, you are left with $425.

While that reasoning makes sense, the rate of $425 is not in any written document the previous owner held with her.

I have tried to offer her a new lease with the terms she wants and she refuses to sign based on her attorneys advice.

I have been emailing her attorney and her last response was 12 days ago. The last email from her said that she understands that the price on the lease is $1400 and the lowered price is not in any written document. I tried to call her attorney to speak about the matter and she is impossible to reach.

I understand that the lease legally transfers over and she technically isn’t required to sign a new one. However, she’s wanting to pay a price that is not agreed upon in any written document.

Does the 1st lease she had actually hold any significance in this situation?

Should she be required to pay the $1400,as the lease states, if she is unwilling to sign a new lease with a price specific to the apartment only?

Am I wrong to think a new lease should be signed due to the current lease not being specific to the apartment only?

Thank you for reading and thank you for any advice or suggestions you can provide!

@Nathan Gesner Thank you so much! I will use that document for future deals. 

@Alyssa Dyer The lease term was from December of 2019 to December of 2021. 2 years is a long lease but the tenant was a family friend of the seller. It does have both the main house and the apartment. However, it only has 1 rate of $1400 a month. The seller never disclosed that they had such an agreement when I first looked at the property or before we went under contract. 

@Nathan Gesner I did not know about the agreement they previously had until after we were under contract. It would also be hard to honor the lease when it included both units at a rate of $1400 per month. The seller also gave the tenant $5000 to break her existing lease. Once she was bought out of the lease, shouldn't she have to sign a new lease if she wants to stay?