Potential tenant problem (lease, renter, credit, legal advice)

[MsFancyPants]

I own a small condo that I rent out. I ran a Craigslist ad. Long story short, a woman wanted it. I emailed her an app and a lease and had her fill out everything at once b/c she was going on vacation. We emailed back and forth. She had bad credit. I agreed I wouldn't disqualify her just on that. Things happen. I asked for references. Neither called me back. I asked for previous landlords. Two of the three she said she had problems with. I still said I'd give her a fair shot at the condo. The one she did have a number for didn't know the property address or the amount of rent. Sounded like a friend posing as a previous landlord. I asked her for rental receipts. She said she faxed them but I never got them. I finally decided to select another tenant. I felt bad b/c this lady was trying to get out of an abusive relationship but not one single thing checked out. So I told her I had to select another tenant. Now she's threatening to sue because she said I "offered" her a lease. She only filled it out. I never signed it. No money changed hands. I never told her she had the condo. I only said I'd get back to her after I checked everything out. Am I legally bound to rent to her now? This is crazy? I know not to take legal advice from the internet but wondered if anyone had had this happen to them? Thanks. I told her to give her atty my phone number and I'd talk to him. He hasn't called yet.

[mcorrales]

You have no agreement in writing, this lady is desperate, probably not even in an abusive relationship, just telling you as icing on the cake. If she has no real rental history, bad credit, etc. she was hoping that she could finangle things around you. There was never an "agreement" to rent her the condo, just the agreement to give her a fair chance. No contract, no agreement, no basis for legal action.

[sav858]

The lady sounds like a pathological liar and somewhat crazy, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I don't think there is anything legally she can do.

[MsFancyPants]

Thanks. I didn't think so either, but I was so caught off guard. I've been googling and trying to get where she thought she had any damages. She said based on the fact that I sent her a lease to fill out that she gave notice to her current landlord and now she doesn't have a place to live at the end of the month. I NEVER ever told her to give notice or that the condo was hers. I just told her that I'd love to help her out of a bad situation and that I'd work with her as much as I could. My last tenant was a single mom with three kids whose husband was in prison and she was on welfare, but she was a good person and I gave her a chance and she was a great tenant. I really wanted to help this lady and now I think I might've screwed up! Thanks so much for your help.

[sav858]

You sound like a pretty nice and understanding person who likes to help people out who are in bad situations but you gotta be careful b/c some will try to take advantage of that. You didn't screw up; the lady had no references, sounded like she provided a fake landlord, and all the other landlords described her as problematic on top of having bad credit. You have more than enough reason to deny her, so I wouldn't feel too bad about it.

[MsFancyPants]

LOL! I'm a sucker for a sad story, that's for sure! I do feel like she's the type that tries to screw people over. She was so nice and grateful and then all of a sudden she was a baracuda with a vengeance! I'm sure it's very difficult for her to find a place to rent with all these problems and she probably figured that she had gotten over that hurdle with me and was just mad that it didn't work out. She probably doesn't really have an attorney. People love to throw that "I'll talk to my attorney" thing out there to scare you. It worked this time!! LOL! No, I'm sure I'll be okay. If I hear from her attorney, I'll come back and let you all know!! Thanks so much for your help. I think I knew the answer, just needed validation and to vent!!!

[Bella52]

I wouldn't worry about it. You did nothing illegal and no law suit can be brought against you. Sounds like she's just trying to scare you.

[Ultrarunner]

Count your blessings

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Do a search for scam renter here on the board. There are some stories that will make your hair stand up. These people are scammers who have it down to a science basically moving from rental to rental living half a year for free and then trashing the place.

[MsFancyPants]

I don't doubt it. That just makes me so angry!!! I will do the search. I can only imagine! Thanks for the responses, everyone!