In your situation I’d probably be empathetic and say I’m sorry that this occurred, then explain to them there is nothing wrong with the electrical system in the house but rather it was the transformer which belongs to the electric utility that malfunctioned, then offer to give them the contact info for the utility in case they want to call them and ask for a new TV from them (good luck with that).

@David Shiling I was empathetic with 1st tenant...hospital, car broke down, I made a payment plan which she defaulted on, eventually evicted her, but lost $3kSimilarly with tenant on other side of duplex: death in the family, times are hard...paid rent every other month.

I am an empathetic person, and I rent to anyone, including people who have spent time in prison, or have had problems in the past.

@Tom KaserThis might sound harsh, and I am empathetic to your tenant's situation, but...it is your tenants situation.

It's fine to be empathetic in certain situations, but a "few months" could easily be forever.

Loan Officer is fortunately responsive (initial person I got in touch with to start the process), Loan Processor although empathetic, is almost unreachable.