Complaint Review: Sabrina Lusson

First Bill & Sandy I NEVER lied to you. If YOUR realtor did you should take that up with her. You were aware of my circumstances and choose to lease the house to me. There was very little if any rent loss from me moving early. You probably leased it for more $$ because it looked so much better and was much cleaner. I paid 1mth rent as a deposit,and 1 full mth at move in, the second mth was prorated and I paid the the 3rd mth in full. Thats almost 4 full mths rent and moved out after 2 1/2 months.

Im sure you didnt have any cleaning expenses since I spent a week cleaning just the tile in the den. Your dogs had soiled the carpet and tile everwhere, the house was horrid when I moved in, your cleanig lady didnt even want the job of bleaching the soiled floor grout. I had the carpets cleaned twice, I sanded and painted all the baseboards your dogs chewed and fixed the poor paint job in the master. I painted 1 wall black in the study and updated the 1990s wallpaper border.

A 1/2 gallon of kilz($15) would have covered it but I doubt you did since it looked much nicer. I work in Interior design remember? I also have a Texas R.E license. The foyer was olive green(not 2 weird!)And the second bedrm was painted a light nuetral gray for my son and to kill the smell from the dogs(thats where you kept them). As far as loss rent the house was occupied again within 5 weeks, maybe thats why you never sent me ANYTHING, much less a bill, it is against the law in the state of Texas to collect double rent.I left the house in better condition than you did. Maybe thats why you didnt complain about the formal dining rm, or me cleaning all the mildew off the siding or all the flower beds being weeded or cleaning all the windows and removing all the trash you left behind. You are welcome!

Hello--



I think you have two problems here, one the tenant and one the real estate company.



If you hired (commission or flat fee) that realty company to find you a suitable tenant, it seems that they did not do their job at screening that applicant. It seems you would have a "breach of contract" case against them.



While technically you are entitled to the full term of the lease agreement (9 more months of rent), it is unlikely a court would simply award you that. There is a concept in tenant/landlord law called "mitigating damages". It means that when a tenant breaks a lease, you as the landlord are responsible for "due diligence' in finding a replacement tenant. Once that replacement is found, you can collect reasonable damages against the first tenant, such as the rent lost between the last time the tenant was current on rent, and when the new tenant started paying, and any necessary turnover expenses to get that new tenant such as painting, carpet cleaning, classified advertising, etc.



This is again where you have a case against the realtor you essentially hired as your property management firm. Did they serve the necessary paperwork to the tenant on your behalf (Notice to Pay or Quit, etc). There is a formality to evictions and paper trails required in tenant matters. In some states the landlord is required to store the belongings of a tenant, even if they abandoned the premises. It can get complicated, and if you were paying someone to manage that for you, you have a case against them more than the faulty tenant since they did not live up to their fiduciary duty to protect your interests.



Want some landlord opinions? Check out www.mrlandlord.com Maybe some more experienced landlords can give you some advice specific to your state and circumstance.



Good luck!