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Yes- that is what I am going to do and I will send it to her attorney on Monday. Our lease is not numbered and we signed the last page. The pages aren't even numbered and we didn't initial any page. That is why I was nervous if she could just produce a page and say it was part of the lease, but thought it would be doubtful. The page we signed just has our signatures and nothing else. Strange now that I have reviewed it. Thanks everyone for the advice. One last question- should I just leave utilities in her name until I hear back from her attorney???
We called utility company and changed utilities into our name w no problem. We then get a letter from her attorney stating that we are "not given permission" to change utilities and that they are being changed back into landlord's name- ONLY the utility company mailed the bill directly to our home and it was addressed to her deceased father!!!! I did some research and he died several years ago! What is she doing? We are having an attorney speak w her attorney on Monday, but this is crazy! Is she doing something sketchy? How could utilities be in a deceased person's name and it was important enough for her to keep it that way that she wanted our lease terminated!
There is much more going on here than you will find out. I have all kinds of scenerios in my head now.
Does she even own the property? Is the property in an estate and having family fights over who owns it? Is she renting it herself and family members think she is there, and she sublet it to you? Let the attorney fight it out. also the attorney can find out who really owns the house. I don;t mean to put all kinds of strange things in your head, but this whole thing has gotten more and more strange.
I would just keep paying the rent, not pay utilities without a bill, and do what the attorney says to do.
It sounds like your already looking to move and make your life with your family focused on the family.
Keep us posted on the outcome. I'm really curious how this one turns out.
I believe your tenacity has revealed that something is afoot!
Perhaps, as in Texas, the property taxes for elderly longterm home owners are extremely lower than the regular rate, and they are cheating on their property taxes by not properly reporting the death and transferring ownership.
Hang in there. It is completely reasonable to want utilities in your own name. Document EVERYTHING that happens. Interesting turn of events, but sorry, as a landlord, that a crappy landlord is dragging you through their personal issues.
If the utilities are in the tenants name, there is no way the LL can be held responsible for the debt. I had a tenant skip and leave the state. I saw it coming so I contacted the utilities and they told me not to worry, they would follow the guy anywhere to get their money, and it was definately not the owners responsibility. They have their ways to get a deadbeat.
Donn, here in Indiana where I live the owner has to pay the utility bills if the renter fails to do so. When I bought my house the water co. tried to stick me for a 600.00 bill from a previous owner that was dead. I had to get an an attorney to straighten it out. By the way the guy they said had this huge bill was dead the date they gave for all this water usage. Then they tried to say there must of been a water leak. But the water I found out was turned off at that time.
I wonder if that is the reason the original posters LL is keeping it in her name and collecting the money. If I rented out my house I might consider doing it that way myself. The utilities can get pretty high here and one or two months of non payment can push it up to eight or nine hundred dollars, at least.
In Texas, the renter pays the utilities. If they skip, the utilities are still charged to them. the landlord does not have to pay. I can see keeping them in your name if the LL has to pay, but I do not think this is the case. I do not know what state tea39 lives in, but there is more going on than just the LL being afraid of getting stuck with a huge bill.
I have a landlord that is asking for the utilities to be put in her name. The reason: so she can prove to the bank that she is "living" in the home to get a lower interest rate on her loan....
I have a landlord that is asking for the utilities to be put in her name. The reason: so she can prove to the bank that she is "living" in the home to get a lower interest rate on her loan....
Tell her no and tell her to stop telling lies to the loan company and breaking the law.
busta
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