Security Deposit Issue for Terminated Tenant (for sale, rental, credit score)

[denise37]

Sorry this is so long, but its an odd situation ...We have a home that's been for sale for about a year off & on. We have had several tenants in the home during that period. It's in a safe neighborhood & there's always been a realtor lockbox. We've never had any problems. We offer to reduce the rent $400 a month in exchange for the inconvenience of showing, etc. We try to provide 24 hr. notice, but let tenants know that sometimes people need / want to see the home with less than 24-hrs notice. We typically get 1-2 showings a week, but sometimes more. Currently, its a month-to-month tenancy.

Our latest tenant seemed nice, had great credit scores, & rental / employment checked out with no problems. She understood the home was for sale, the lockbox, etc. But, when she faxed back the Rental Agreement she wrote in changes without telling us. This was the first problem. She was also worried about security & wanted keyless locks among other things like tenant responsibility. We special-ordered the locks & put some regular slide-bolts on in the meanwhile (the home already has dead bolts). When the locks came in, it 'wasn't a good time' for us to install them & she told us she'd call us later - but she never did.

Things grew worse from here. She was going to pay her security deposit of $2,000 over 3 months, but only paid the first 1/3 at move-in. She insisted we remove the lockbox, tho' it had been there all along. We refused. She got rid of her answering machine, disabled the messaging system on her cell phone, & told the realtor she didn't want to be bothered at work, effectively keeping us from giving her 24 hr notice for a showing, so we started posting on the door.

She called us & said someone had entered the home without her permission but didn't tell us she wouldn't return our realtors' calls. When we reminded her the rent was reduced in exchange for her cooperation she got better & called our realtor every other day or so to see if there'd be showings - I think she might have let the realtor call her at work.

Then she said someone had been repeatedly entered her home while she was at work & suspected it was a realtor. A glass of wine was missing & some ice cubes & the tv was turned on to a station she didn't use. Problem is, she waited 8 days to tell us, & had our realtor check for unauthorized activity on those days, & there had been none. She said things had been taken, small things, but wouldn't say what. She filed a police report. We had to argue with her to let us change the locks immediately- she wanted to change them herself & not give us - the OWNERS - keys or allow us to show it any more.

When changing her locks she said she'd heard noises in the attic & footsteps on the roof - not rodents, but humans. She did tell us she'd had a break-in in a previous state & her daughter'd had a stalker. But that person couldn't have followed them out of state. She wouldn't tell us why. She refused to pay any more of her security deposit due to her 'lack of safety' & insecurity at the home. She said she wasn't sure she wanted to stay there because she was afraid (then why argue about changing the locks & wait 8 days to tell us about this?)

The police report was inconclusive - they never found anyone & there was no forced entry & nothing proven to be stolen.

We decided it wasn't working & gave her a 40-day notice, but told her she could leave early if she let us know. She left after 10 days, for a total rental period of 2 months with us. She left the home clean, but went nuts when we told her she'd need to clean the carpets (she has a cat) & threatened to take us to court. There was the usual ranting & raving of how horrible we are (which we'd been hearing most of her tenancy) as well. She never put the trash in her name, but said she did, & there were other discrepancies as well.

My question is - should we charge her to clean the carpets or just cut our losses & consider ourselves lucky we didn't have to evict her? If she does pursue this in court, Judges tend to rule against landlords, & in this situation, especially with someone whose story changes, & regarding this 'break-in' & a single-woman's safety. I'd be interested in getting some others' opinions - thanks for your input in advance!

[Ultrarunner]

Count yourself lucky and return her deposit... you don't need more aggravation at this time...

NEVER let anyone move in without paying the full move-in amount... ever! Don't ask me how I know... and that family seemed so nice, their check bounced, they had my house and I never received 1 penny in rent or deposit was left with the legal expense of an eviction... My only excuse was I was young and took everyone at their word....

[DMenscha]

Give her the money and the name of a good shrink (or even a bad one).

Seriously though, Is the home still showable? I would think you would have to have the carpets cleaned after a 2 month tenancy with cats. A decent vacuuming ought to do it.

You could offer her half and tell her that YOU won't take her to court and see what happens. Good luck in any event

[OutOfSoCal]

change the lock and be thankful she didn't cause you to lose a sale.

[denise37]

I'm new to this & am not sure how to reply to specific entries, but all of you have been very helpful:

#1 Responder: Point well taken. I am going to follow your advice & count my loss as lucky. I've been in this business 20 years & do give people leeway from time to time thinking its better to trust when you have good information, but.... this is a great lesson that in spite of how great someone checks out, there's still a flake quotient that can't be quantified or qualified.

#2 Responder: I wish I had your guts - I'd sure like to go to the mat on this one, but am too wary. Thanks for providing a realtor's response.

#3 Responder: Great advice - we've done that right away - thanks!

[denise37]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Count yourself lucky and return her deposit... you don't need more aggravation at this time...

NEVER let anyone move in without paying the full move-in amount... ever! Don't ask me how I know... and that family seemed so nice, their check bounced, they had my house and I never received 1 penny in rent or deposit was left with the legal expense of an eviction... My only excuse was I was young and took everyone at their word....

Point well taken. I am going to follow your advice & count my loss as lucky. I've been in this business 20 years & do give people leeway from time to time thinking its better to trust when you have good information, but.... this is a great lesson that in spite of how great someone checks out, there's still a flake quotient that can't be quantified or qualified.

[denise37]

Originally Posted by DMenscha

Give her the money and the name of a good shrink (or even a bad one).

Seriously though, Is the home still showable? I would think you would have to have the carpets cleaned after a 2 month tenancy with cats. A decent vacuuming ought to do it.

You could offer her half and tell her that YOU won't take her to court and see what happens. Good luck in any event

I wish I had your guts! I'd sure like to go to the mat on this one, but am too wary. I'm going to let it go & be lucky she's out, tho' we may still end up in court. Thanks for providing a realtor's response - I think she gave realtors a really bum rapp. What realtor would want to enter a single house repeatedly, not take anything, & jeopardize a career?

[denise37]

Originally Posted by OutOfSoCal

change the lock and be thankful she didn't cause you to lose a sale.

Thanks for the good advice - we did change the locks again right away, & you're right - she didn't have the chance (that I know of) to ruin a potential sale. These are too hard to come by in California right now anyway!