l have a rental home that is nothing but a headache -- but that is neither here nor there.

In mid September l had a family look at the house, verbally tell me they wanted it -- Husband said ''take that sign down, you have my word.''

Two days later l hand deliver the lease to their place of work. They return it completed and signed. l countersign and get their copy back to them. Several conversations took place throughout September, but they never followed through to get me the deposit. Then October 1 arrives and l inform them via phone their rent and the deposit is due. This is when the wife springs it on me that she has a medical problem, but they still want the house.She can’t leave the house, the husband is working overtime and that is why they have not brought the deposit by. More than once she says they still want the house.

After another week goes by, l start leaving them a message approximately every other day. l also send emails. Approximately once a week they will answer the phone, and only once returned my call, but that was an accident since l didn’t leave a voice mail and they wanted to know who called their cell. Each time l get someone on the phone, l get the health story, but then they have another incoming call, or say their battery is dying, and they just hang up.

l know they have to be out of their current house at the end of October.

During this entire time l kept the house listed.

Yesterday, l get them on the phone again, and they inform me that they told me via email on September 30 that they can not take the house (after they've told me on the phone at least 3 times after October 1 they want it). l never received the email. They did forward it to me today, it was an email written by the husband, sent to the wife, never sent to me until today.

Now their story is they were able to work out something with the mortgage company -- the home they are in is in foreclosure and the mortgage company now will be the landlord.

I am not a big company, just someone that let a real estate agent present him w/ a deal that included a lease-to-own tenant. When that tenant failed to buy the house at the end of the lease-to-own deal, l now have a home l need to rent out. I've had 4 tenants in that house over three years. Two of them have moved prior to the lease ending.

I am tired of giving people the benefit of the doubt and these people LIED to me several times.

Is it a waste of time to sue them in small claims court? They live locally and l have their current address. Can l sue them for 1 months rent and late fees? What about the unpaid security deposit?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Lease is written in TX using the Texas Realtors Association standard lease.

l own 5 rental properties total, this seems to be my only headache property.

This is a 3500 SF home being leased for $1595 / mo.
l just wanna know if l take them to small claims court, is the fact they did not give me any money going to make my suit meaningless.

l know business should not get personal, but in this case it is personal since they LIED on multiple occasions, and l did not say this originally, but the played the ''religion'' card when l first met them.

How long is the lease for? It depends on which state you are in as to the laws governing this. If l were you l would contact a real estate agent and ask for professional help. You also have to consider any legal fees you may have to put up to get any money out of them. It may be in your best interest to just let someone else lease the place and be done with the whole thing. Just my thoughts. Good luck

Well first l would like to say l have been a regional manager for a real estate company for the past 20 years. In addition every state & county have there own local laws that need to be followed. They also have what they call a Landlord Tenant Association that u can list a complaint & they will tell u based on the current laws what u can do to re-coupe any loses.

It does sound to me that u r not checking these people out property prior to approving them for tenancy in ur rental property.

If u require an application charge a fee not to exceed ur county/state law.

Require a holding deposit not to exceed the 1st months rent. After they move in u can apply the holding fee to Rent or Security Deposit.

Do a credit check as well as reference & rental history prior to approving ur candidate.

You will need to send them a letter approving or rejecting the applicant.

Once approved if they do not move in ur holding fee will help cover any lose u may have.

Sorry to hear about all your headache is concerning the house. l am a rent tenant myself.Everywhere I've ever lived has required a credit check.Then a few days later ,if all went well on my credit check(if they did it at all) they call me up and require a check covering the 1st months rent and deposit.After l pay, l get the keys to the house.My advice to you is in the future do not rent to people who can not pass a credit check.Good luck in the future

In the UK we never get serious about a prospective tenant until 1) we have checked them out for solvency & employment. 2) They have committed by signing the agreement (contract) & most importantly paid the first months rent, & deposit if applicable, at the time of signing. l am afraid that human nature being what it is u will come across indecisive applicants from time to time. l regard it as part of the job! People will lie, u just have to sharpen up ur skills to weed out the bad contenders. Do not give up, chalk it up to experience, as we say. And do not sue, it is far too much hassle & expense, they will plead poverty & u will end up with court fees to pay. Keep smiling.

Your problem is that you keep putting yourself in this position. Promises mean nothing. Your first clue was that you had to keep chasing after them. Your second clue was the fact that they did not give you a deposit.

Stop ''renting'' places to people who have not paid you a dime. A serious tenant will have the deposit when they sign a lease.

If they signed a 12-month lease yet failed to follow through u can take them to small claims court. Obviously it might be like squeezing blood from a turnip if they have all these financial problems that they mention, but at least any judgment in ur favor would be legally recognized & make things somewhat easier to collect going forward.

They have 72 hours to back out of a contract & they obviously did not do that. Also, since the email was merely sent between the two of them & never sent to u until well after all this occurred u can present it in court as proof that they did not notify u in a timely manner of their intent to renege.

Yes, sue them for the entire rent you're going to be out for two months or more. You have a completed & signed agreement stating that they will pay rent. It is none of ur business if they never move in, as long as they pay as agreed. They can request to sub-let the house to someone else, but they're still responsible for the entire rental amount. They knew this when they signed the agreement. You could have made the agreement contingent upon delivery of the deposit, but chose not to. Wo not make that mistake again, l am sure. They now repudiate the lease, which is a breach saying they no longer want the premises. They still owe rent as damages.

File a notice of eviction immediately, as their rent is late. After the notice expires, file an eviction in court (look up the Texas eviction procedures to find out how long to wait & what to file), at least for the record (they will have a harder time renting anywhere else). Your lease probably says they can be charged the full amount of rent for every month of the lease in which u cannot find a replacement tenant, in addition to collection fees, court & attorney fees. Send them an invoice for rent for each month in which the house is not rented, as is ur right under the contract.

Invoice them immediately for any attorney fees caused by their breach. Send them the bill from the court for filing the eviction case. Put everything in writing, send mail by certified mail with return receipt requested. Keep written logs of every conversation, email, visit, document exchanged with them. This will soon be a dispute over $3,090 (two months rent), plus eviction & collection costs. You can file a lawsuit & put a lien on their property, garnish their wages, etc. They cannot get away with these lies. They will be liable for the lease & the breach of contract that they signed.