Hello,
A relative of my husband's needed a place to stay. I have a house that has been vacant. Trying to be the nice person, I extended the possibility for his relative to rent my house on a temporary basis until she could find a place of her own. As far as rent/deposit and specific terms of rental agreement; barely discussed. We did not agree on a rental amount, a period of time, or any specific information. We got as far as around the end of December, and rent would be around the same she is paying at her current place of residence. She was supposed to speak to my husband, but never did. Long story short, now a blood relative of mine is in a dire straits situation. I had offered her the house a while back, and now she really needs it...no place to go. I told my husband's relative this and she is now claiming I made a verbal contract. I don't agree because we did not agree on specific move in date, specific amount agreed upon, deposit, etc. We were not at that point yet. Once I told her that I was going to rent to my relative because of his situaiton she claimed that I had made a verbal agreement. She was upset because she spent the deposit. I don't understand why she would do that. I don't understand why she thought that I (if we follwed through on this further), would not require a deposit. I am a business women, I would at least require a contract to cover terms as well as a deposit. To me this was a discussion that had not gone to the contract stage as of yet. There was no exchange of money either. I was trying to help her out not loose my shirt.
Is this considered a legal verbal agreement, and if so, would it be enforceable by a court of law in Virginia?
If so, what would prevent me from giving her 30 days to get her out of my house if I have to let her in my house? I am convinced that even the thought of her being in my house is a bad idea. It is becoming more clear to me that her finances are a lot to be desired, and her attitude about this whole issue concerns me.
Thanks for your time and assistance
A relative of my husband's needed a place to stay. I have a house that has been vacant. Trying to be the nice person, I extended the possibility for his relative to rent my house on a temporary basis until she could find a place of her own. As far as rent/deposit and specific terms of rental agreement; barely discussed. We did not agree on a rental amount, a period of time, or any specific information. We got as far as around the end of December, and rent would be around the same she is paying at her current place of residence. She was supposed to speak to my husband, but never did. Long story short, now a blood relative of mine is in a dire straits situation. I had offered her the house a while back, and now she really needs it...no place to go. I told my husband's relative this and she is now claiming I made a verbal contract. I don't agree because we did not agree on specific move in date, specific amount agreed upon, deposit, etc. We were not at that point yet. Once I told her that I was going to rent to my relative because of his situaiton she claimed that I had made a verbal agreement. She was upset because she spent the deposit. I don't understand why she would do that. I don't understand why she thought that I (if we follwed through on this further), would not require a deposit. I am a business women, I would at least require a contract to cover terms as well as a deposit. To me this was a discussion that had not gone to the contract stage as of yet. There was no exchange of money either. I was trying to help her out not loose my shirt.
Is this considered a legal verbal agreement, and if so, would it be enforceable by a court of law in Virginia?
If so, what would prevent me from giving her 30 days to get her out of my house if I have to let her in my house? I am convinced that even the thought of her being in my house is a bad idea. It is becoming more clear to me that her finances are a lot to be desired, and her attitude about this whole issue concerns me.
Thanks for your time and assistance
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