Posted by leslie on February 25, 2002 at 16:07:50:
Yes, I now always use a lease separate from the option. I have done a few evictions. Five of those up and moved on before the court date. One of those who had paid a $7,000 option fee has an attorney who is looking at the lease clause that atempts to limit her rights. We may get sued on that, it is in the “works”.
A few tenants are beyond their option period. Do you “notice” them when the option expires? It seems when they stay on renting they assume nothing has changed.
Posted by Todd (OH) on February 23, 2002 at 07:17:43:
Leslie:
I have evicted many T/B over the years. I have never had a problem with the “option to buy” issue being raised in court.
As you probably know, if you use separate agreements, ONE is a “rental agreement” or “lease”, and the SECOND is the “option to buy”, this reduces confusion in the courtroom.
In our county, the Landlord (i.e. you) would customarily submit the “rental agreement” to the court when the eviction was filed. The court would not see the “option to buy”, nor would it be pertinent to the case, because the (alleged) deadbeat is behind on RENT.
Outside of court (literally outside the courtroom where the parties go to work out their differences), a legal aid attorney once tried to make it sound like a crime that I bought the property at a low price and gave his (deadbeat) client the option to buy it at a much higher price… I think he forgot he was in America… In fact, I think Russia and China even have quasi-capitalist economies now, so I’m not sure where he thought he was…