newhomeowner22
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Washington state
Ok, the following is lengthy, so here's the condensed version of my question, and if you need more detail, please read below: I bought a house. I specifically wrote into the purchase and sale agreement that the hottub could be removed by the previous owner, if she did so by the date I took possesion of the house (60 days from closing), but would be my property otherwise. She didn't get it within that time period, so I told her I was keeping it. I also required she pay $1000 refundable deposit upon closing of the house. She left a storage-unit full of her stuff and a few things inside the house for over a month and a half, plus there were various repairs that I had to make (things that weren't disclosed prior to sale), which I charged her for. I didn't give her any money back, as I felt right in doing so (for storage and repairs outlined above). She's now, three weeks later, threatening me with small claims court. Does she have a case?
I purchased a home at the end of March. She happened to be neighbor to my parents, so I knew her (as an aquaintance only). I was aware she was having financial problems, and she told me she had to sell the house (as she had been in foreclosure earlier in the year, before her parents bailed her out). She didn't want to sell the home, but couldn't afford to pay the mortgage, so she said she'd need to rent the home from me for a couple months after it sold. I agreed, and so we wrote into the purchase and sale agreement that I would take possession of the home 60 days from closing, and that she would pay me ($1000/mo) rent. I also required that she pay me $1000 deposit (should anything go wrong). The sale went through, and she did pay me rent and the deposit out of the proceeds of the sale. I wrote her a receipt which stated the deposit was refundable. There was no real estate agent involved.
The day she was supposed to be out, she wasn't. She hadn't moved a thing out of the house. She had packed everything up and it was still inside. She hadn't cleaned, and the place was a mess. She called me to ask for more time. I advised her she really was out of time, but that I would give her one more day to move her stuff. The next day she called to ask for more time. I said no, but advised her if she needed help getting her stuff out, I'd be happy to come help her. When she realized her time was up, she got most of her stuff out of the house, but left the large storage shed full of her things, as well as a hot tub (that I had specified in the purchase and sale agreement would belong to me if she had not removed it by the date I took possession of the home).
She promised me that she'd come the next day to pick up the stuff from the shed. She said it was going to take her a couple days to get people that could pick up the hot tub, and I agreed that she could have a couple days (until that Saturday) to come get it.
She didn't get her stuff the next day, and didn't call me for almost a week. When she did call, she left me a voicemail saying she had some trouble with her storage people and that she couldn't get her things. She promised in the voicemail to have it out within the next couple days. This calling with the promise to pick up her things and then not following through went on for a month and a half before she finally came to get her things. I needed the space in the shed to put my own things (as I was re-flooring the house), and I had moved her things out front about a week prior to her finally getting them.
I had advised her that I was keeping the hottub when she mentioned coming to get it. She got very angry and said it was someone else's hottub and he had got it for her to use there (an ex-boyfriend of hers). I advised her that it was on the property, and she had had two months from the time the house sold that she could have removed it, and now it was too late. I had earlier advised her that I was charging her $25/day storage (about the 2nd week after she hadn't removed her things). Also, there were 4 large holes in the walls that I had to have repaired, a non-working kitchen faucet that had to be replaced (she didn't disclose that prior to the sale). She was very angry and hung up on me. She then called me back and left a message stating that because I was so intent on keeping her money, I could "just keep the deposit, then".
She finally came to get her things, and I even helped her load them up in her truck. She took two days before it was out (she left some things she didn't want, such as six 5-gallon bucket of paint).
Several weeks have passed since then, and I just got a voicemail from her saying she spoke with an attorney and he told her she has a really good case against me as far as getting the hottub and $1000 deposit back. She was "willing to make a deal with me", and said if I give her the hottub, she'll let me keep $500 of the deposit and not take me to small claims court.
I can't see that she has a case against me, but then again, I'm not an attorney. I checked the RCW's, but couldn't find anything that really applied to us. We didn't have a lease agreement, just the the purchase and sale agreement, and I had consulted with a police officer during the whole ordeal about whether I could get rid of her stuff, and he said if I had served her with notification, I could (which I hadn't, so I just held onto it).
Please help
What is the name of your state?
Ok, the following is lengthy, so here's the condensed version of my question, and if you need more detail, please read below: I bought a house. I specifically wrote into the purchase and sale agreement that the hottub could be removed by the previous owner, if she did so by the date I took possesion of the house (60 days from closing), but would be my property otherwise. She didn't get it within that time period, so I told her I was keeping it. I also required she pay $1000 refundable deposit upon closing of the house. She left a storage-unit full of her stuff and a few things inside the house for over a month and a half, plus there were various repairs that I had to make (things that weren't disclosed prior to sale), which I charged her for. I didn't give her any money back, as I felt right in doing so (for storage and repairs outlined above). She's now, three weeks later, threatening me with small claims court. Does she have a case?
I purchased a home at the end of March. She happened to be neighbor to my parents, so I knew her (as an aquaintance only). I was aware she was having financial problems, and she told me she had to sell the house (as she had been in foreclosure earlier in the year, before her parents bailed her out). She didn't want to sell the home, but couldn't afford to pay the mortgage, so she said she'd need to rent the home from me for a couple months after it sold. I agreed, and so we wrote into the purchase and sale agreement that I would take possession of the home 60 days from closing, and that she would pay me ($1000/mo) rent. I also required that she pay me $1000 deposit (should anything go wrong). The sale went through, and she did pay me rent and the deposit out of the proceeds of the sale. I wrote her a receipt which stated the deposit was refundable. There was no real estate agent involved.
The day she was supposed to be out, she wasn't. She hadn't moved a thing out of the house. She had packed everything up and it was still inside. She hadn't cleaned, and the place was a mess. She called me to ask for more time. I advised her she really was out of time, but that I would give her one more day to move her stuff. The next day she called to ask for more time. I said no, but advised her if she needed help getting her stuff out, I'd be happy to come help her. When she realized her time was up, she got most of her stuff out of the house, but left the large storage shed full of her things, as well as a hot tub (that I had specified in the purchase and sale agreement would belong to me if she had not removed it by the date I took possession of the home).
She promised me that she'd come the next day to pick up the stuff from the shed. She said it was going to take her a couple days to get people that could pick up the hot tub, and I agreed that she could have a couple days (until that Saturday) to come get it.
She didn't get her stuff the next day, and didn't call me for almost a week. When she did call, she left me a voicemail saying she had some trouble with her storage people and that she couldn't get her things. She promised in the voicemail to have it out within the next couple days. This calling with the promise to pick up her things and then not following through went on for a month and a half before she finally came to get her things. I needed the space in the shed to put my own things (as I was re-flooring the house), and I had moved her things out front about a week prior to her finally getting them.
I had advised her that I was keeping the hottub when she mentioned coming to get it. She got very angry and said it was someone else's hottub and he had got it for her to use there (an ex-boyfriend of hers). I advised her that it was on the property, and she had had two months from the time the house sold that she could have removed it, and now it was too late. I had earlier advised her that I was charging her $25/day storage (about the 2nd week after she hadn't removed her things). Also, there were 4 large holes in the walls that I had to have repaired, a non-working kitchen faucet that had to be replaced (she didn't disclose that prior to the sale). She was very angry and hung up on me. She then called me back and left a message stating that because I was so intent on keeping her money, I could "just keep the deposit, then".
She finally came to get her things, and I even helped her load them up in her truck. She took two days before it was out (she left some things she didn't want, such as six 5-gallon bucket of paint).
Several weeks have passed since then, and I just got a voicemail from her saying she spoke with an attorney and he told her she has a really good case against me as far as getting the hottub and $1000 deposit back. She was "willing to make a deal with me", and said if I give her the hottub, she'll let me keep $500 of the deposit and not take me to small claims court.
I can't see that she has a case against me, but then again, I'm not an attorney. I checked the RCW's, but couldn't find anything that really applied to us. We didn't have a lease agreement, just the the purchase and sale agreement, and I had consulted with a police officer during the whole ordeal about whether I could get rid of her stuff, and he said if I had served her with notification, I could (which I hadn't, so I just held onto it).
Please help
What is the name of your state?
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