[moonspots]

[Roly Poly]

Feeling pretty let down by Windermere who found my tenants, took the first month rent. Contract is for a year but the renters are baling after only 3 months because they are buying a house. So basically they had no intention of adhering to the year contract. As far as i can tell, according to tenant laws, they can pretty much walk out of the contract and there is very little a landlord can do. What a waste! Windermere got their first month rent, and now I start the process all over again!

[bk]

Bummer. That doesn't seem right. RandyHiker's note on engine rebuilds in the living room make me think of this movie: Pacific Heights

[iron]

boo. that sucks. in the contract language we have written up for our rentals, it states that if a tenant breaks the lease before the stated termination date, the full security deposit is forfeited. legal? not sure. but it's in there.

[DIYSteve]

[bk]

I recall my apt. owner decided to use a property manager quite a while back. (He didn't want to handle it anymore. Even though the owner lives a few blocks away, he's getting close to age 80 or something.) He used a big-name property manager for the first year (I think it was Windermere, but don't remember exactly. Big-name.) He was very unhappy with how they handled things, bringing in problem tenants and problem situations (like allowing big dogs in small apartments; drug users . . . or whatever). He dropped them [Windermere?] after that first year and went with a more local guy, who seems like he was pretty good. [This is in Mukilteo; while the big-name guy had to make trips up from Seattle.] Anyway, you can always switch. In terms of laws, besides the WA state tenant-landlord laws (posted extensively online), if you're in Seattle, I do recall they have more particular tenant-landlord laws that are heaped upon the state laws. I'm sure it's a matter of going through the motions. Maybe easier said than done. Hope it gets worked out.

[Roly Poly]

Big Steve, I spoke with Windermere and even though the contract is "air tight", according to Seattle tenant landlord law, it is my responsibility to "mitigate the losses of the tenants" by finding a new renter. I interpret this to mean that the tenants can essentially just walk way! I am especially annoyed that the first month rent went to Windermere and now I have to do this all over again and forfeit yet another month or however long it takes me to get a decent renter. I wont be using Windermere. And on a side note, the tenants looked great on paper with a huge income. So great that they can actually afford to move to Seattle, buy a house within a couple of months and have no reservations at all about breaking the contract. If this had been 10 months into a 12 month lease, I could understand but they are 4 months in! Anyhow, now that I vented, I feel better!

[DIYSteve]

[bk]

What BigSteve says makes sense to me.

[Snowbrushy]

[DIYSteve]

Snowbrushy, you're talking about a landlord's lien. Best to engage an attorney before considering that option.

[Snowbrushy]

Of course.

[Waterman]

If possible, drive by current house for a look. And take a peak in the back seat of their car. You can get a fair idea of what your house will look like from the back seat.