What does 30 days notice in writing mean?

Question

My wife just fired her property management because the owner has been playing games about charging her repairs on her house without giving her the price before the works and deducted 3 months of the rents plus she also have to pay over $7,000 in addition to the works which only partially done and ignored even after several complaints. The contract requires 30 days notice in writing for the termination. She sent out a letter via the priority mail USPS on 24th of this month and the letter still in route to the property management office. She worried it will miss the time for the 30 days period until the end of March 31th. She emailed the owner of the property management at 10 pm on 2/28/20 about the termination of the contract. The owner email is his company email address and not his personal email address. My question are 1) does the email with her signature consider legal document? 2) The owner may say he did not read the email until he is at his office on Monday 3/2/2020, then can they charge my wife another month of management fee until the end of April? Thank you in advance for any helps.

Phillip Vera · Answer

@Joe Lui the letter should be fine and typically certified mail is better in these scenarios to ensure it is delivered or at least a tracking #.  We accept e-mail as written notice.

Also, check your management agreement.  If the PM company violated the agreement, that will give you the ability to be released from the contract without penalty.  Are there penalty fees for you pulling your property?  How far into the agreement are you?  The PM should let you out of the contract within a day or two.  I would call and follow-up to confirm they received your letter and e-mail.

Chad Hale · Answer

I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is:Typically a date stamp on a USPS letter is considered the date of service.

If rent is mailed in via USPS and postmarked on the first it is on time even though you may not receive it until a few days later.

Ricardo R. · Answer

@Joe Lui wait until Monday to see what the PM's reply is. For good measure, if this issue persists or for future issues make sure get a proof of mailing. Hope this helps.

Charles D. · Answer

The contract states 30 days notice in writing for termination request. She does not owe any balance on the account but the owner of the management likes to play games all the time in the pass and don't know what to expect from him next.

Matthew Irish-Jones · Answer

@Joe Lui if you don’t owe a balance on your account and your letter shows up a day or two late the PM should let you go.

Are their penalties written into the contract?

Theresa Harris · Answer

@Joe Lui  If she's that worried, she could have it couriered.

What does 30 days notice in writing mean?

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