As you all know, we've been having a time of it with our former tenants (the old bat, her son, and the daughter in law). I've not written anything lately because we've been going back and forth with them (via our lawyer) about this situation. Our lawyer sent them a letter towards the end of March demanding payment and threatening litigation if they did not pay up. The dumb-ass daughter in law (in my opinion, she's the one behind the whole fiasco) wrote back (in the guise of being the old bat) throwing up all these excuses, complaints, denials, etc. It was pretty laughable, actually, especially as, at the end of the letter, she asked for a copy of the lease because she'd "misplaced" hers. So, she was making all of these assertions and she didn't even have this legal document in front of her.The lawyer sent another letter basically telling them none of "her" points were valid, she still owed the money, and that she had one last chance to pay it or she would be sued. And, oh, by the way; the price tag will continue to rise due to legal fees, court costs, etc.
Well, this morning the lawyer phoned Mr. B to say the old bat HERSELF called him. She said there was no way she could afford to pay us the lump sum amount because she was on a fixed income. But, she said she would be able to pay us $X amount per month until it was paid off.
The best part was she admitted she had done something wrong.
So, we've agreed to this and of course she'll be charged interest and any further legal fees required in order to draw up a legal and binding document requiring her to pay us $X per month.
I think this is a victory; we can't be sure until we actually start receiving consistent monthly payments, but, even if she signs this and doesn't pay, we've got an admission of wrong-doing which would only help us if we eventually did end up having to sue the pants off the old bat.
But, I will put on my optimist's cap today and be thankful. And, also, be glad that both Mr. B and I have the kahonies to stand up for what is right (we've got our parents to thank for instilling that in us!)
Mrs. B
4 comments:
A step in the right direction, but as you said, I'd breathe easier when the last payment was made. My gut is that they will honor it for a few months, then slide back into obscurity.
Sadly, experiences like this make me never want to be a landlord.
Yeah, I just posted a long comment to your comment, Doc, but then when I hit post it sent me to some other website.
Bottom line, I never wanted to be a landlord!
It's been such a hassle and continues to be so.
As long as she makes one payment on the promissory note that's all I care. The payment would validate the debt owed to us and make it all that much easier to prevail in court, if that's what it came to.
i have a feeling she was in the "dark" for most of this... maybe now that the OLD LADY is aware, she'll make it right!
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