About 3.5 years ago, I leased my townhouse to my best friend's twin daughters, Darlene and Cindy, aged 40 at the time. These girls have Masters Degrees and are by training social workers. I used EZ Landlords Forms and liked it very much. I put down Darlene's new baby as "allowed to live there, too." I knew that they were desperate for a place to live, so I wrote in the lease that they were allowed to have their 9 cats there, too. The sisters signed the lease as they were moving in but never read it, I'm sure, despite my asking them to do so. The first year went by, all went well, except that Darlene's husband whom she was "leaving permanently," followed her from New York, they made up, and he moved in with both girls and the newborn. I put him down on the lease as allowed to live there, too. Please keep in mind that the married couple, Darlene and Jimmy, had lost their house in Long Island, NY and were declaring bankruptcy there, though there were some problems with this, what I don't know. Darlene's husband is a drug addict and has been in and out of rehabs to this day.
Anyway, the second year, I handed them the renewal lease, and six months later, they finally signed it,. I kept to the lease totally, replaced things when necessary. They were always late on their rent, currently they are three weeks late. I didn't charge them the fee, because their mother is my best friend. Also, they changed the locks on my townhouse without telling me (against the lease), and for a year I asked for a key to my house. The third year, I didn't bother giving them another renewal, I figured, what's the point, they never read it, and by the time they sign it, it's almost time for the following year's renewal. Meanwhile, last October, the second twin, Cindy got married, and since her new college-educated husband has been jobless, he basically moved in, too. Last week, I told them that they would have to arrange a direct deposit into my bank account with the hospital where Cindy works, so that the rent checks would come in on time. I own a single family house down the street from the townhouse, all in a very nice subdivision outside Charlotte, NC.
Well, yesterday, this all came to a head. I went over there for the first time since they moved in. There was a dog living there that apparently has been there for close to a year now. I went there to get my key which I've now got, but all of these people have trashed my house, between the baby, the cats and primarily the dog. The hardwood floors, the wall-to-wall rugs, the walls, everything!! They were very disrespectful to me, blaming it all on the fact that they weren't on a lease, other than a month-to-month now, since the yearly lease has expired.
Yes, this sounds worse than a soap opera, and much of it is my fault since I allowed them to do this because of my friendship with their mother and because I never went over to check on my townhouse. They refuse to get rid of the dog. There is no way that they can afford to fix the damage to the townhouse. They can just include me into the bankruptcy that is on again/off again. What are my options, I am a senior who doesn't have unlimited funds! HELP!!
Patricia H, NC on Monday, January 13, 2014