I was helping my sister rent out her home in Georgia, I traveled over 300 miles to show the house to a prospective lessee and prior to showing, the ad that was listed on CL clearly stated what the terms were to move into the house 1 months security and last and first rent, as well as stating that we would consider negotiating with a qualified applicant the rental fees. My sister, my mother and I drove to Georgia and met this person along with other applicants. This person saw the house and the conditions of the home in broad daylight and loved it! She even talked about having her wedding in the back yard. I asked her if she was certain that she wanted the house, she said yes and asked what was next as did the other prospects whom were interested.
I explained the credit and background check to which each applicant is responsible for paying for, she agreed. The credit checks and background are done from Transunion Smartmove, after she completed the checks, I informed her that she was accepted, she was thrilled, and asked what was the next step, I again asked her if she was sure that she wanted this home, again I had other prospects, she said yes and asked if I could take it off the market and not show it because she wanted it and wanted to show it to her boyfriend, this concerned me because I have been in that situation where the boyfriend comes in the picture and then the young lady changes her mind and then I have to again do the same steps of finding qualified tenants.
This lady asked me to accept a deposit to hold the home and not show it, I was fine with this because she knew that if she changed her mind after the boyfriend looked at it or not, it was NON REFUNDABLE. So to sum it up, she sent the hold deposit and then called me to say, that she wanted to move her furniture and other stuff in the house while she traveled during the holidays and move in February, well this is December and January to move your things in the house would be to pay for January rent and February when you move in. Some how she got Amnesia and said no, I said January move in not February, I and my sister said no, you clearly said that you were traveling for the holidays and that you were still on a lease until April, 2015 and that you could not afford to pay for two places and storage. During our conversation, I informed her that after talking with my sister that she did not want to wait until February, she wanted someone in there ASAP and she went crazy saying that she was not moving in February but January 15 but she thought she could put her things in this house because of the hold deposit. I tried to be professional and cordial and then I get THREATS from the boyfriend to come to where I live, 300 miles away and do me harm, also she put a FRAUD ALERT on CL about this situation and called one of my Broker's in New York. I work for myself and my business is in good standing, what can I do about this situation? I was willing to give her HALF the deposit back but now with the slandering of my name, the threats from her and her boyfriend, I think I do not owe her a thing especially since I stopped showing the home which could have been rented already. I do have an Attorney however I am curious to see what answers I get here. Should I give her back anything?
I explained the credit and background check to which each applicant is responsible for paying for, she agreed. The credit checks and background are done from Transunion Smartmove, after she completed the checks, I informed her that she was accepted, she was thrilled, and asked what was the next step, I again asked her if she was sure that she wanted this home, again I had other prospects, she said yes and asked if I could take it off the market and not show it because she wanted it and wanted to show it to her boyfriend, this concerned me because I have been in that situation where the boyfriend comes in the picture and then the young lady changes her mind and then I have to again do the same steps of finding qualified tenants.
This lady asked me to accept a deposit to hold the home and not show it, I was fine with this because she knew that if she changed her mind after the boyfriend looked at it or not, it was NON REFUNDABLE. So to sum it up, she sent the hold deposit and then called me to say, that she wanted to move her furniture and other stuff in the house while she traveled during the holidays and move in February, well this is December and January to move your things in the house would be to pay for January rent and February when you move in. Some how she got Amnesia and said no, I said January move in not February, I and my sister said no, you clearly said that you were traveling for the holidays and that you were still on a lease until April, 2015 and that you could not afford to pay for two places and storage. During our conversation, I informed her that after talking with my sister that she did not want to wait until February, she wanted someone in there ASAP and she went crazy saying that she was not moving in February but January 15 but she thought she could put her things in this house because of the hold deposit. I tried to be professional and cordial and then I get THREATS from the boyfriend to come to where I live, 300 miles away and do me harm, also she put a FRAUD ALERT on CL about this situation and called one of my Broker's in New York. I work for myself and my business is in good standing, what can I do about this situation? I was willing to give her HALF the deposit back but now with the slandering of my name, the threats from her and her boyfriend, I think I do not owe her a thing especially since I stopped showing the home which could have been rented already. I do have an Attorney however I am curious to see what answers I get here. Should I give her back anything?
