先说说,你能不能同意这样的“请求”?这位租客给我的邮件里,三句话中有两句是对我的“legal”要求。
“Adding FFFF LLL back onto this thread for legal visibility. (FFFF LLL 是他爹)
We are willing to have a phone call with you to discuss this further under the contingency that we can record the conversation.
Please advise if you agree and can talk at xxxx tonight (0x/0x/2022).“
事情的起因是这样的:
这位租客的Lease 十月份到期。两个月前跟我说要买房子,希望我同意提前搬走, x 月22号搬出去。我说可以,只要准备好两个月的 “Early Termination Charge”。
把房子post 到 Zillow 上72 小时,太多messages 和电话了。最后选中的“MM”是这位租客给的 virtual tour,希望下月1号入住。我同意了。转过头,就告诉这位租客把租金付到月底,而不是一直到十月份。就开始准备MM的Lease。并且告诉MM,因为这位租客告诉我他们22号搬出去,我大概一周可以准备好。所以,下月1号可以作为Lease的第一天应该问题不大。
事情到这里,有什么问题吗?
谁承想,这位租客送给回复:
“I have added my father, FFFF LLL, to this email thread. He is a practicing attorney in the state of XXXXX .“ 。。。” 1) The new tenant is willing and able to move in xxxx 23rd, 2022. “ … 这位租客只同意把房租付到他“最后一天”22号,而不是月底。各位看看,为了一个礼拜的本来应该付的early termination fee,把他当律师的爹都搬出来吓唬我。
我打电话问MM,这是怎么回事。MM告诉我:这位租客给她打了电话,问她是不是可以23号搬进来。她回答说有可能,但是她需要安排了以后在定。而且,目前和我商量的是下月1号。MM在电话里对我说:“They twisted my words”。
我回复邮件给这位租客建议说:“Seems like there are a few things that really need to be clarified. Let's talk over the phone this evening. Is 8:30 PM good for you?”
这是他的邮件回复:“For visibility and record keeping purposes, we would prefer to keep this conversation over email.”。
看来情况是升级了。
我只好再发邮件,去掉他爹,和他确认22号是你的最后一天。而且,更重要的是你交回的房子必须满足 The Lease 里面定义的条件“section 15 of The Lease “Tenant’s Duties Upon Termination” – basically in a “move in ready condition” for a new tenant.”…. 我要求他把两个月的房子作为”Early Termination Charge” 在22号给我。同时,我还说:“I believe most, if not all, of the confusions/misunderstandings can be easily resolved in a 30 minutes phone call. ” … “BTW, just a FYI, I'm waiting for a SOLUTION with you BEFORE I sign The Lease with a new tenant.” 这是第二次希望可以电话解决。
这位租客回复同意22号最后一天,把房子按照Lease 里的条件还给我,但是不同意通电话,也不同意给任何Early Termination Charge:“e) We (the tenants) will not be paying an Early Termination Charge of $X,XXX. The landlord has a tenant lined up and ready to move in as soon as XXX 23rd, 2022.“
这时候,我一边和MM签了下月1号的Lease。另一方面,在邮件中,去掉他爹,我告诉这位租客:
Two items need to be confirmed:
3. e) The Early Termination Charge of $X,XXX is required in order to make this agreement effective. Your statement:” The landlord has a tenant lined up and ready to move in as soon as May 23rd, 2022." is NOT correct.
3. f) The landlord shall return the remainder of the Early Termination Charge back to the tenants in 30 days if a new tenant moves in before XXX 22, 2022. (三个月以后)
22分钟以后,他就回复了最前面的三句话。这回,他想这么快就想到要和我通电话了。
这次,我秒回了:“Please send me your responses by email.“
同时,我也准备找律师,有备无患吧。
你们帮我看看,我有什么漏洞吗?