I agree, you should turn this whole situation over to a lawyer to sort out. Problems like this are exactly the sort of thing lawyers are good at. The lawyer won’t necessarily get you off the hook for damages but your renter will think twice about venting their anger at a professional.
Also, if you do plan to rent again, it’s probably worth paying the extra amount for a professional agent to watch over the place. They’ll have experience with angry renters and HOAs and multiple contracts.
This is probably true. Unfortunately my lawyer friend who I’m going to call in a few minutes does not practice law in the same state as the condo. I’d kinda like to hold off on getting a lawyer if I can. If the tenant ends up being ok with me paying his property damage and goes on his way, then that might be possible. If he does end up suing me, well then, I guess I won’t have a choice.
Oh yes, believe me, we are going to do this. Even before the repairs begin, we may hire a professional agency just so we can have someone coming by regularly to keep us up to date on the repairs. My sister has been so helpful, but she really doesn’t have the time to do that. In January, we will move back to the area and be able to look over things ourselves again. (Possibly February…not sure how easy it will be to get out of the house with a baby!)
Do you have a SO? If so, I would have them deal with ALL of this.
Seriously.
Stress right now is not good for you or the baby.
I hope everything works out, starryspice.
Lol, yes, and I will have him read your post :).
More seriously, though, he has been so stressed out with work that I really can’t give him this to deal with because he just won’t do it. He has been working all day and then all night, sleeping maybe 2-3 hours with some cat naps thrown in. I wish I could change that situation, but his work is not normally like this and I’m hoping it goes back to normal soon.
It seems to me that after letting him out of the lease, giving him back his rent and giving back his damage deposit and letting him to get out as soon as he can because of the mold, that it was his choice to still stay there.
You made a good faith effort to do everything right and at some point his choice is his choice and not your responsibility.
I’ll be very curious as to what your lawyer friend says about your legal obligations.
Hey, don’t hold back on getting a lawyer. Take a deep breath, then another, then pick up the phone and hire one. A lot of the stress will decrease from having some one else handling it and some of it will just magically disappear once you have an attorney. If you haven’t hired a mold remediation company yet, go here to find one. This organization sets the standards for mold remediation in the US (except maybe NY state, is that where you are? I didn’t look) Take a deep breath, it seems bad, but you will get through this. You will do what you need to do. After that you will do what you can do that you feel morally obligated to. You will do what you need to do FIRST and you will satisfy your moral obligations only to the limits of your ability and you will NOT promise anything more than that. You will remember that because you have a baby on the way that has higher priority than some one else who lost a few things that can be replaced. What about your insurance? did you have the condo insured? If so, file a claim with them for the mold damage, they should cover it depending on your policy. Discuss this with your beau, keep him informed. Let him know YOU are handling this. Sounds weird but it will give both of you a little boost. Just make sure you do keep him up to date.
It will be ok, this will pass
I’m thinking the same thing - he looked at the place two times before moving in, then he got his rent and damage deposit back - too bad about the water damage, but you’ve been more than fair with him, and it might be time to tell him that (after talking with a lawyer, of course).
If you get everything cleaned up and rent again, your rental company will (or at least SHOULD) do a walk-through with the renter when they move in and have them sign off on the condition of the apartment to prevent a renter coming back to you with problem after problem once they move in.
I think this is a consequence of you being fair with him. Some people never stop til they hear the word no. When you agree to their first demand they don’t think “Oh that starryspice is being really fair with us” They think “She said yes to that, I must not have asked for enough. Lets try this”
starryspice, as a long time apartment dweller who has carried renter’s insurance for years, I’ve never had a policy that covered an apartment where I no longer had a lease. Once the lease was voided, in all liklihood, his stuff effectively had no insurance unless he had a storage rider.
As far as flood coverage, unless it was considered an act of God (ie: catastophic local flooding that was declared a state or federal disaster), most policies don’t cover much water damage. To make a long story short, he may not have any renter’s insurance with the lease voided, which would make your offer to reimburse him one that covered the entire value of his damaged belongings.
I would go along with the others recommending the services of an attorney, preferably one in the state that the property is located. (S)he could save you far more than what the fee is.
Another vote for getting the services of a lawyer. If you can’t afford one, maybe there are free or low-cost legal services in your area. You really really really need an attorney. If you proceed to pay for his “damages”, what will stop him from claiming even more things (moving expenses, etc) until you have no money left.
You had a contract and you are legally obligated by the terms of the contract (if still in force) or the tort laws of the state if the contract is null and void. You can go above-and-beyond your legal obligation if you choose to from a moral standpoint, but at the very least, you need to know what, if anything, you are legally obligated to do for him.
In exchange for payment from you, you must require him to sign a release documenting that (1) he has received his money and (2) he agrees to no longer have any claim against you. Again, another reason to secure an attorney to make sure the release of valid in your state.
I vote for not reimbursing the guy.
If your financial situation is such that you need only step out to the back yard and pluck a few leaves off of the money tree without a moment’s thought, then fine, go ahead.
This doesn’t appear to be the case.
What’s more your guy is now beginning to sound like a prick.
You don’t like confrontation and that’s a good thing. Tell him you’ve been in the process of assessing legal courses of action—true statement but don’t mention it’s been in the form of gathering input from the good folks of Doperland—and that should the matter be taken up in court, you and your attorney will be prepared to argue your case before a judge.
And that’s it. Don’t respond to any more of his emails. You very well may be served with papers at which time you will need the services of a good attorney. That person can provide you with the counsel of the specifics of your situation and will be much more knowledgeable of the nuances of this area of the law and the applicable local statutes from your neck of the woods.
Hang in there.
Also I don’t know if you intended it but I thought:
was quite funny. Hope that’s not taken the wrong way.
This is the best advice. If he has law books, then he’s some kind of lawyerly type. They love to talk and intimidate to get their way. He will talk and bluster and get angry and make veiled threats. Don’t pay anything to the tenant, wait for the insurance companies to hash out their thing. I think it was good of you to let him out of his lease and refund his deposit. That’s all you should do. Do not give him any more money! Especially without getting it in writing.
Thank you all for the extremely helpful support and advice. I’m much less freaked out about this, especially after I talked to my friend. I mentioned the release statement (thanks, Ruby!) and he helped me write one, and will look over the draft I sent him. He doesn’t practice in Massachusetts, which is where the condo is, so I’m hoping it’s still valid there - I’ll ask him tomorrow if there’s a way he can check that. Once we hear back from the tenant regarding the amount of property damage, we will send him the release to sign. (We haven’t heard from the tenant yet, so I expect we won’t hear from him again until the insurance company gets back to him, which could be a few days.)
Anyway, we’re headed over to the condo tomorrow (8-hour drive) to check things out over the weekend and start seeing about mold remediation. Thanks, guestchaz, for that site, we found it very helpful! And thanks, Cat Whisperer, for your (or your husband’s) advice - one crisis at a time - those are exactly the words I should follow pretty much every day!
just glad I could help
Happy to help. I hope the condo goes well for you on the next tenant.
Maybe you should write it on a post-it note and stick it on your bathroom mirror to remind yourself. 
Sorry if I came off sounding a little…paternal. When I first read your OP I went into “calm the panicking customer” mode from my days in the disaster clean-up industry before deciding to be a SAHD. This usually works better face to face instead of on a screen. Anyway, best wishes, remember, do what Cat Whisperer said in the post before this one.
Oh, keep us posted, please, on the progess.