All Forum Posts by: Karen A.

An early reply said buyer can make late payments with NO effect on the contract.

Buyer has made every payment so far, though some have been late.

Kentucky law states the uniform landlord-tenant rules do not apply to our situation. The statute seems clear, so I am wondering why some replies advise to evict.

We could not afford maintenance/repairs on the house in the pre-closing period. Buyer is responsible for maintenance and repairs. Buyer is also free to improve the property as she desires. Buyer does not have to ask permission or inform us of any repairs/maintenance. However, Buyer assumed that responsibility based on our agreement to purchase Home Warranty, which would offset her costs. Since we did not purchase HW, none of her costs will be offset.

Bill, you are correct. What we have is a "possession prior to closing under a sales contract."

Don't see how eviction is possible, even if we wanted it.

Hello All,

The Home Warranty was to cover major appliances and systems - A/C, heating, water heater, etc.

The house sat unsold for nearly three years. The rent our Buyer is paying (though sometimes late) covers our mortgage plus some extra. Our Buyer is well-known in the community, had great references, etc. By any method, canceling the contract is going to cause more hardship for us. My nutty husband has lost sight of this - he wants the rent paid on the 1st, period. My fear is that we've already given our Buyer an exit, by not following through on our contract obligations. My other fear is that my husband has caused the Buyer so much grief that she will find a reason to walk away.

We can't cover the mortgage, maintenance, etc ourselves. There are no other buyers, period, and no reason to think there will be.

So rather than embarking on an expensive/protracted effort to get the Buyer out of the house and blow up the sale, I need advice on how to calm things down, save the sale, and persuade my husband that his "deadbeat tenant" approach is all wrong.

Thank you for responding!

We have a standard Purchase contract with Buyer. The closing date is 24- months out. Handwritten paragraph within contract describing rental terms. The house shows "pending sale" in the MLS.

I don't want to terminate the contract over late rent payments. We need to close the sale. My husband wants to "evict" the Buyer in order to sell to one of our realtor's pie-in-the-sky buyers. I don't see how that is possible (even if we had another buyer, which I doubt) when the landlord/tenant laws don't apply.

Can you elaborate?

Thanks.

Sound advice needed!

Listed our house, almost three years on mkt, price reduced multiple times. No offers! Finally offered as lease/option-to-buy. Buyer materialized, offered more than asking price. Closing delay due to Buyer waiting on property settlements from her divorce. Closing will be in cash. Buyer is responsible for all maintenance and repairs until closing. We pay property taxes and insurance until closing. The rent covers our mortgage payment and then some. The rental agreement was written as a separate paragraph within the sales contract.
12 months remaining.

We've had some problems. The rent has been late on multiple occasions, though always paid before next rent is due. Buyer always lets us know, and has had some serious unexpected problems to deal with, mostly illness. My husband wrote a note advising her that we were charging a late fee going forward, though we didn't include that in the contract, and Buyer has ignored it.

We have also violated portions of the contract. We were obligated to purchase a one-year Home Warranty, but never got around to it. The Buyer paid for a new water heater and garage door opener when the old ones failed. She's been asking about reimbursement from the insurance company/home warranty that she thinks has been purchased.
We also have not paid the current property taxes, and the penalties are starting to pile up.

My husband is making things worse, IMO. He learned that the landlord-tenant laws do not apply since the rental agreement is part of the sales contract. He therefore calls/texts her repeatedly when the rent is late, even when she has furnished explanation and the date it will be paid. Most recently, the Buyer/Tenant was out of state attending to a parent's illness and hospitalization. My DH knew this, as did I, yet he took it upon himself to call and text the Buyer repeatedly (ten times in one day, I checked), demanding that he be permitted to inspect the property in her absence. This morning he left a 7-day notice on her door, which he typed himself, demanding the rent be brought current or relinquish the house! (The rent is ten days late.)
He seems not to recognize that he should not (IMO) treat our Buyer as a deadbeat tenant. While the late rents are annoying, they are paid, and we absolutely cannot afford to lose this Buyer.

Our realtor has stirred things up as well. She contacts my husband from time to time, stating she has other buyers ready and waiting. (After three years of nothing!) She's told us that the Buyer voided the contract by failing to pay rent on the due date. Is this correct? (Though even if it is, I don't like the idea of the sale falling apart over late rent payments.)

I am concerned that by failing to purchase the Home Warranty and pay the property taxes we have voided the contract ourselves. We can't afford an attorney. Hope someone here can help.