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Lease option question, lease option ripoff??
3 months ago I lease optioned a home from a realtor and owner, the house has a swimming pool which the woman said I would love, it has solar heat, everything works and even sent me last summers picture with her and kids smiling in it! this is a cold climate and I took occupancy in April, when I went to open the pool in June, I had a professional pool guy try to fix it, he said it wasnt fixed properly and there were tons of Fall leaves in it (I wasnt here then) and the solar was completely cracked and ruined because it wasnt winterized properly. I wrote of my dismay to the Real Estate company and the owners, telling them they must fix the pool. They refused saying this comes under "renter/buyer is responsible for maintenance and repairs" I wrote back and told them I dont think so as this was totally ill maintained and not repaired when I moved in, I have not been able to use the pool, so fix the pool. Owners got angry and now pick on me.telling me they are going to "evict" me, rights? I did not get a disclosure or the opportunity to inspect. They told me the house was perfect and I would be responsible for repairs and maintenance. The repairs I assume are ones that occur during the contract, not before. The house was not a "fixer upper" but a over $200K house. The garbage disposal was non functional the first day, and the refused to repair that, the repairman told me that it hadnt worked for some time, it was frozen and rusted together. The first week both toliets leaked all over the floor, again, I had a repair person out who told me that the seals and bolts were rusted, and someone put caulking in the holes and it came out..there is also a blackish mold coming out of the white painted walls now, the walls have bubbles on them and you can see mold coming through the cement block. These people have misrepresented this house in everyway possible, including telling me the farm across the way, was a hay storage facility and it has been a PIG farm for 30 years! PWW
Public Comments
- Now you know why you need legal representation before entering into these types of contracts. She is right...you had the opportunity to inspect the property, and declined it. Now she has your deposit which she can now keep in full if you don't buy the property. The flip side is, if you are making your payments on time, it is very, very hard to evict someone who has a RTO contract.
- Get a tenant rights lawyer. The seller misrepresented the property and is liable to you for repairs. The seller is obligated to reveal these things! It's the same as if you bought the house outright--upon inspection by qualified professionals, you discovered the flaws they concealed in order to take your money. That is FRAUD. You might file a complaint against that realtor, too. If he or she is a licensed Realtor, they can be kicked out of that club AND lose their license for misrepresenting the condition of that home. You may need the lawyer to force these people to make the fixes. Google up your state + "tenants rights". I predict you are going to sue them in civil court and win the repairs OR a large amount of cash OR both.
- Hi, Depending on how they set up the contract. If they did a lease option with one contract, ie lease and option in the same contract, you can ge tout of it. If they did a lease with separate option to purchase it maybe more difficult. If you email me the contract I will look at it for you. If you can't get out of it you could purchase an expanded home warranty which includes pool coverage.
