Landlord oral contract...

[BCrossan]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas

Nov 2011 I was about to go homeless in Ohio and an online friend invited me to move into one of the small apartments he had on his property here in Arkansas... for free. I of course took him up on the offer but sometime around Sept of 2012 he told me the property was being sold. House sold rather fast to a family from Iowa and the new landlord questioned me about how I would pay for rent each month, so I had asked him about giving me time to sell my Camaro Z28. He questioned me about how much I wanted and I told him $7000... after a little bickering he agreed upon taking my car and letting me live here for 2 1/2 yrs at the rate of $250 a month which included utilities.

Well a few months ago the landlords wife left him and moved back to Iowa and somehow while up there duped a judge into letting her take possession of the family dog and the Camaro. Landlord spoke with his attorney and determined that whatever she did, was not legal and currently they are fighting the judges decision along with a divorce case. Also the soon to be x wife pulled another illegal step and sold the car even though due to the ongoing divorce... nothing was too be sold.

Ever since the wife left, the landlord has struggled to find and keep a job and every other day or so he was complaining about one utility or another being disconnected because he cannot afford the payments. We actually had the gas shut off during the winter for a few days and couldn't get a shower or anything. Anyway... this constant worrying about electric... water... or any utility being turned off is not healthy for me, since Im already trying to get Social Security Disability due to a multitude of physical and mental issues, so I needed to find a more stable environment to live in and my x sister and brother in laws invited me to move to NJ with them.

Well me moving on July 9th would make it 10 months into our agreement and 20 months remaining... so I of course want that back. That would be $5000 he owes me... $250/month for 20 months. Now I did say this was an oral agreement, but also in my possession I have a copy of a hardship letter he wrote to my psychologist office so I could get free visits. In this letter signed by him he admit taking my car for payment and I would have 24 months (should have been 30 and I didn't notice, so not sure what this will mean since we did orally agree on 30 months).

What should I do? What options do I have? I can't just be expected to walk away from $5000....

 

[swalsh411]

You're the one choosing to leave. Why should he owe you anything?

 

[Zigner]

You're the one choosing to leave. Why should he owe you anything?

OP's contention is that s/he has pre-paid for 14 months of rent that s/he is not going to use. (Or, 20 months). As such, s/he is entitled to have the excess rent payments returned.

 

[swalsh411]

OP's contention is that s/he has pre-paid for 14 months of rent that s/he is not going to use. (Or, 20 months). As such, s/he is entitled to have the excess rent payments returned.

Not using something you purchased ahead of time does not automatically entitle one to a refund of the unused portion. OP has no evidence that such an arragement existed.

 

[Zigner]

Not using something you purchased ahead of time does not automatically entitle one to a refund of the unused portion. OP has no evidence that such an arragement existed.

You're comparing apples to oranges. This is LL/Tenant law, not a purchase of goods. The OP would be entitled to a refund of rent paid ahead of time. Of course, s/he's not going to get it all back, only the amount paid that goes beyond any required notice.

 

[swalsh411]

How do you propose OP substantiate this alleged prepaid rent? Because he gave the guy a car and was allowed to live in his home? I guess in the end it will boil down to what the Judge believes happened.

 

[Zigner]

How do you propose OP substantiate this alleged prepaid rent? Because he gave the guy a car and was allowed to live in his home? I guess in the end it will boil down to what the Judge believes happened.

That is a different matter. If the OP did, in fact, pre-pay rent as s/he alleges, than s/he is due a refund for the unused portion. I agree that the OP will need to prove his/her case.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

OP has an oral contract. The contract terms are clear. " I had asked him about giving me time to sell my Camaro Z28. He questioned me about how much I wanted and I told him $7000... after a little bickering he agreed upon taking my car and letting me live here for 2 1/2 yrs at the rate of $250 a month which included utilities." I see nothing in the contract providing for cancellation of the contract, in exchange for refund. That said AR law requires a written contract for leases over 1 year. It appears the agreement was put into writing and affirmed by OP, when they submitted the letter to their doctor. OP can certainly attempt to get the money back. I do not think they will be successful.

 

[Zigner]

OP has an oral contract. The contract terms are clear. " I had asked him about giving me time to sell my Camaro Z28. He questioned me about how much I wanted and I told him $7000... after a little bickering he agreed upon taking my car and letting me live here for 2 1/2 yrs at the rate of $250 a month which included utilities." I see nothing in the contract providing for cancellation of the contract, in exchange for refund. That said AR law requires a written contract for leases over 1 year. It appears the agreement was put into writing and affirmed by OP, when they submitted the letter to their doctor. OP can certainly attempt to get the money back. I do not think they will be successful.

The "writing" you are referring to was NOT a lease agreement. It was simply a note from one party to a third party. It was, in no way, an agreement between a landlord and a tenant.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

The "writing" you are referring to was NOT a lease agreement. It was simply a note from one party to a third party. It was, in no way, an agreement between a landlord and a tenant.

It went from the landlord to the tenant. The tenant used it as proof of a contract to a third party. It occurred within the one year statutory period. Let the judge decide. I think OP will lose.

 

[Zigner]

It went from the landlord to the tenant. The tenant used it as proof of a contract to a third party. It occurred within the one year statutory period. Let the judge decide. I think OP will lose.

I think the OP will lose too -but not for the same reasons as you.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

I think the OP will lose too -but not for the same reasons as you.

Please share. OP is trying to develop arguments to any defenses the landlord raises. For $5k it is worth filing. The only other thing I had considered was whether 30 notice would be required due to month to month tenancy or whether OP would owe until landlord rented property again.

 

[Zigner]

Please share. OP is trying to develop arguments to any defenses the landlord raises. For $5k it is worth filing. The only other thing I had considered was whether 30 notice would be required due to month to month tenancy or whether OP would owe until landlord rented property again.

The OP will need to prove that the vehicle was used to pay the rent for that period of time. I suspect the letter the the therapist merely stated that they had a 24 months rent agreement at $250 per month. NOT that the rent was already paid.

I am of the opinion that this would revert to a month-to-month arrangement and not a term lease.

 

[tranquility]

This is not just a landlord/tenant issue, it is a sale issue too. While the length of the purported lease and the value of the good being sold both implicate the statute of frauds, what result if the statute is not complied with?

Status quo ante. If there was no contract for the lease, what did the OP get for the vehicle? He gave the purported landlord a gift? Strictly speaking, the most equitable way out of this oral mess (Assuming performance or other reason does not take the events out of the statute.) would be for the OP to get the car and the landlord to get quantum meruit for the time the OP was in the rental.

Certainly the OP should bring this to court. Bring all the proof he can of what happened and see what the judge says. I find it unlikely the OP would get nothing on such a claim. Not because the contracts must be enforced, but because it's fair.

 

[swalsh411]

OP will also have a problem proving the "sales" price of the car. I wonder what the landlord put as the sales price when he went to pay sales tax on it... Seeing as how in AR you didn't have to pay sales tax on used cars under $2,500..... (it's $4,000 as of 2012) Hmmm.....

And I wonder if there was any bill of sale, and if there was, what the price on that was.