What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AL
We moved to TX in 2013 and originally put our home in Alabama on the market. We couldn't get some things on the moving truck but if the house sold we were going to go back and get the remaining items, such as the lawn mower, rakes, etc. The housing market was so bad, we ended up taking the house off the market and renting it out. We wanted $800 a month. Well, a young couple wanted to rent it, but they asked us to reduce the rent, so we reduced it to $600. They didn't have any thing as far as yard equipment so we agreed to leave those things so they could take care of our yard. My husband had also custom built some shelves in the garage for extra storage. Since we had had it on the market to be sold, it had been completely repainted and the carpets cleaned. They paid a $500 deposit and first month's rent. The wife was pregnant and they wanted to go ahead and move in to be ready for the birth. We agreed to let them move in using the deposit as the rent for the few days of February that they were moving in early. They asked to be given the option to buy the house once their lease expired. They signed the lease in 2014.
We never had any problems with them. They paid late a couple times but paid the late charge. Their lease expired on 3/1/15. We are moving back to Alabama. We gave them the option of buying the house and they said they were going to move to be closer to the husband's new job. So we decided to move back into our home and gave them a 30 days notice to be out of the house by 4/30/15. They moved out on 4/19/15. And that is what brings me here.
They took a lot our property when they left. They took the lawnmover, the rakes, the hedgeclippers, a huge wooden lighted cross that my husband made for us to put in the yard for Christmas, the custom shelving in the garage, a light fixture in the livingroom is gone, garden statues, a small patio table, and never returned the garage door opener. The carpet is ruined, the window blinds are torn down, there's holes in the closet doors, and dirty diapers in the fireplace. The grass hasn't been cut in a year, the gutters are full, there's half of a dead deer in the back yard and cooler full of beer. They held their baby's first birthday party and used a staple gun to staple the streamers to the ceiling and walls. They also left a letter on the counter stating that because they were not paying pro-rated rent for April and that because they paid a deposit that we owed them $120 and if we agreed to pay it, that if we would text them that we agreed, then they would provide a forwarding address. I changed the locks but I'm worried about the missing garage door opener giving them access to the house.
My husband wants to press charges for the theft of property. Do we also press charges for the destruction of property too? I know the rent is civil court but I'm not sure what to do about the stolen property and the trashing of our property. Please give us some direction.
We moved to TX in 2013 and originally put our home in Alabama on the market. We couldn't get some things on the moving truck but if the house sold we were going to go back and get the remaining items, such as the lawn mower, rakes, etc. The housing market was so bad, we ended up taking the house off the market and renting it out. We wanted $800 a month. Well, a young couple wanted to rent it, but they asked us to reduce the rent, so we reduced it to $600. They didn't have any thing as far as yard equipment so we agreed to leave those things so they could take care of our yard. My husband had also custom built some shelves in the garage for extra storage. Since we had had it on the market to be sold, it had been completely repainted and the carpets cleaned. They paid a $500 deposit and first month's rent. The wife was pregnant and they wanted to go ahead and move in to be ready for the birth. We agreed to let them move in using the deposit as the rent for the few days of February that they were moving in early. They asked to be given the option to buy the house once their lease expired. They signed the lease in 2014.
We never had any problems with them. They paid late a couple times but paid the late charge. Their lease expired on 3/1/15. We are moving back to Alabama. We gave them the option of buying the house and they said they were going to move to be closer to the husband's new job. So we decided to move back into our home and gave them a 30 days notice to be out of the house by 4/30/15. They moved out on 4/19/15. And that is what brings me here.
They took a lot our property when they left. They took the lawnmover, the rakes, the hedgeclippers, a huge wooden lighted cross that my husband made for us to put in the yard for Christmas, the custom shelving in the garage, a light fixture in the livingroom is gone, garden statues, a small patio table, and never returned the garage door opener. The carpet is ruined, the window blinds are torn down, there's holes in the closet doors, and dirty diapers in the fireplace. The grass hasn't been cut in a year, the gutters are full, there's half of a dead deer in the back yard and cooler full of beer. They held their baby's first birthday party and used a staple gun to staple the streamers to the ceiling and walls. They also left a letter on the counter stating that because they were not paying pro-rated rent for April and that because they paid a deposit that we owed them $120 and if we agreed to pay it, that if we would text them that we agreed, then they would provide a forwarding address. I changed the locks but I'm worried about the missing garage door opener giving them access to the house.
My husband wants to press charges for the theft of property. Do we also press charges for the destruction of property too? I know the rent is civil court but I'm not sure what to do about the stolen property and the trashing of our property. Please give us some direction.
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