I am in Spokane County, Washington.
I put an ad in craigslist offering my place for evacuation of horses during a re
cent fire. Before the ad expired I received a call from someone who wanted to actually board at my mother's place. I had not really been in the market to offer boarding services but I decided to help this person out. I told them that my corrals were not in good repair. They responded that it was ok, they would fix them. I had no conversation with them about reimbursing them for their time or their materials. It was agreed upon that they would pay $60/mo for two horses. They would fix the facilities so that they could board their horses safely and that they could have limited pasturage. I showed them the downed fences and they said they would fix them as well. When they showed up with their two horses, they then left to get a third horse (much to my surprise) I had not agreed to three horses. They needed to provide a decent water trough, provide their own hay, and feed and water their own horses. They have been on my property since Sept 7, 2008. They have not paid rent, they have left their horses out on the pasture(even though I asked them to not put them out 24/7), and they have not provided adequate watering containers. In fact, one day when they were watering their horses they left the water running for about 4 hrs before I realized it was running. I asked them that if they would not comply that they leave. When told that if they would comply they could stay they said that they did not want to stay, and they wanted to be reimbursed for their time and materials building a fence for their horses. They want $1000. I told them that I did not need the fence, I would need to tear it down( I no longer have horses of my own) and they could have it. They want the money. I do not own the land, my mother does and my mother did not make the agreement with them. I would like to know my legal rights. I would like to know the best way to proceed.
I put an ad in craigslist offering my place for evacuation of horses during a re
cent fire. Before the ad expired I received a call from someone who wanted to actually board at my mother's place. I had not really been in the market to offer boarding services but I decided to help this person out. I told them that my corrals were not in good repair. They responded that it was ok, they would fix them. I had no conversation with them about reimbursing them for their time or their materials. It was agreed upon that they would pay $60/mo for two horses. They would fix the facilities so that they could board their horses safely and that they could have limited pasturage. I showed them the downed fences and they said they would fix them as well. When they showed up with their two horses, they then left to get a third horse (much to my surprise) I had not agreed to three horses. They needed to provide a decent water trough, provide their own hay, and feed and water their own horses. They have been on my property since Sept 7, 2008. They have not paid rent, they have left their horses out on the pasture(even though I asked them to not put them out 24/7), and they have not provided adequate watering containers. In fact, one day when they were watering their horses they left the water running for about 4 hrs before I realized it was running. I asked them that if they would not comply that they leave. When told that if they would comply they could stay they said that they did not want to stay, and they wanted to be reimbursed for their time and materials building a fence for their horses. They want $1000. I told them that I did not need the fence, I would need to tear it down( I no longer have horses of my own) and they could have it. They want the money. I do not own the land, my mother does and my mother did not make the agreement with them. I would like to know my legal rights. I would like to know the best way to proceed.
