possible verbal agreement? what are my rights?

[melaniein916]

We found a house to rent last weekend. The owner's sister was showing the house and handing out the apps and collecting app fees. She called us 2 days later to tell us we got the house. We made arrangements to meet with her on Saturday 10/31 to sign a rental agreement and pay the deposit. She called us on Friday night 10/30 to tell us that her brother (the owner) had changed his mind about renting to us. because he was concerned about our credit. (we are victims of the forclosure crisis, & we have to move by 11/5)
We were honest about our situation right away. so there were no surprises. we also have my father as a cosigner , but he still said no. The thing is that his sister gave us the keys on Friday to start moving things in the garage. We feel that this is a verbal agreement and that he needs to give us 30 days notice. I'm not sure what our rights are. ?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

You could certainly argue that being given keys implies a verbal agreement.

However, what makes more sense to you? Moving in only to have to move out in 30 days or simply finding another place before your 11/15 deadline?

Gail

 

[jharris352]

I totally agree with Gail. You have time to find another place. You don't want to move in and then turn around and move out. I would offer more security deposit if you can.

By the way, are you being foreclosed upon on 11/5? If so, you have plenty of time. Many people believe that on the date of foreclosure they come throw you in the street. This is not true, they still must evict you which takes time.

 

[melaniein916]

The date we were notified was on 10/5/09. So they gave us 30 days to leave which we agreed to. We were offered the cash for keys program. with the move out date of 11/5, not 11/15. Obviously we don't have any choices open to us. We have decided to keep on moving in.

 

[melaniein916]

You could certainly argue that being given keys implies a verbal agreement.

However, what makes more sense to you? Moving in only to have to move out in 30 days or simply finding another place before your 11/15 deadline?

Gail

Hi, This is an update on my situation. Today (Sunday11/02) my husband and I went to the rental house to check on our belongings in the garage. The owners sister happened to be there with the carpet guy. We started talking about the situation and she apologized over and over again. She feels really bad about her brothers decision to not approve her decision to rent to us. She said that he wants us to remove all of our belongings today. "I said I'm sorry, but that is not happening because you agreed to rent us this house and we have met to every requirement that you were looking for when we filled out the application. Based on your actions, your brother has given you the authority to make the decision to choose the renter, which you did. She said ok,I will tell him. Later on, we went home and she called us. She wanted us to still move in so her and her brothers wife (also the owner) came up with a plan to placate the brother/husband and still rent to us. They want to tell him that they are renting to another family but it will really be us. My husband and I are wary of this but with less than a week to go until we have to surrender the keys/ house on nov.5 . I said either way we have the keys and legally we are supposed to get 30 days notice to evict us. Yes it would be a pain to move again, but at least we would be able to collect our money from the -cash for keys- program and it would give us more time to find a new place. It would just be a matter of not completely unpacking. So now we have an appointment on Tuesday to meet with her to work out the details and sign an agreement and pay our deposit. so what do you think of her plan to lie to her brother? what could the consequences be to us if things go bad somehow?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Depends on what type of agreement you sign. If a lease (and the wife is co-owner) you have a legal contract with the landlord. Keep the lease handy.

Gail

 

[jharris352]

Since you were given keys, the consequences cannot be that bad for you. If anything you can use it as a storage area while you find another place. You know, the longer I think about this the more I agree with you. Once they gave you the keys (consideration) and you began to move in (acceptance) there is a pre se tenancy. I think they have to evict you. Move in, start paying your rent. You are a tenant at will and have to be given 30-60 days notice to move. If you pay your rent, the brother may come to his senses and let you stay. Good luck.