Boy is this a mess. I live in Wisconsin and this is my situation:
It all started oh so long ago...
The place that I am living at right now is shady, really shady. Two years ago the basement in my townhouse was flooded due to the manager leaving a sprinkler system on all weekend. I returned from out of town to see about three inches of water in (what had been) a finished basement. My manager and I made a verbal agreement: I would pay for the damages immediately so that we could continue to use the basement as an office/playroom and we would be reimbursed. The OWNER of the complex toured our basement and agreed to those same terms. I spent the next two months paying partial rent while replacing the flood damaged items. They asked for a list of the things that I would like replaced and their approximate cost. I provided this list and nothing ever came of it. So, I ended up owing them money for three months half rent, about $1300.00. There was nothing that I could do, it was their word against mine, and I had no way to pay them.To make it worse, they had been charging me late fees on top of that, so I had to move. By the time that I left, with the number of months that I continued to pay only half rent or half rent plus late charges I owed a bit over $2,000.00.
I moved to a complex owned by the same company but in a different town with a lesser per-month rate. I signed an agreement that said I would pay $200 per month plus regular rent. I was forced to sign this. How so? There was nothing for me to sign until THE DAY I WAS LEAVING. My manager came up to me while I was packing up the truck and basically said that I had to sign it otherwise there would be no keys waiting for me in the next town. So, I signed it. For several months everything worked perfectly until I got pregnant and had to cut back on hours. I spoke with my manager about it and she said that everything was fine and that I should just pay what I could while still making ends meet at home. I did just that, always paying what I could and paying extra when I could as well. The agreements with my manager were always verbal and she would never put anything in writing even when asked to do so.
Then things got really messy...
Last month I was behind on rent. I had paid half rent in May and half rent in June, but had called my manager and had it set up that I would pay full June rent by the 29th, and also discussed that I had found a new job which would allow me to work full time while sitting, so I would be able to catch up on what I had not paid in May. She said that that sounded great and we chatted about her upcoming vacation.
The next day I received a call from the owners of the complex stating that I would be evicted if I didn't come up with ALL money owed immediately that I would be evicted. They had sent a five day notice to me which clearly states that my options were to, "PAY ALL RENT DUE OR COME TO AN AGREEMENT WITH YOUR MANAGER". I explained that I hadcome to an agreement with my manager and that I was planning to pay money on the 29th. The woman on the phone, a secretary for the management company, said that there was no such clause on the notice. I explained that I was reading it to her from the notice itself and she said something ridiculous like "Oh on the first page?".... (There is only one page).
My payment was refused on the 29th. I went to pay and the substitute manager had been instructed not to take my money order. I called the head office to ask for something in writing explaining why they were refusing my payment. They refused to send anything to that affect.
Two days later the entire complex received a notice which was a personal letter from the owner of the complex. It stated that no agreements would be upheld and that anyone past due on their lease would be evicted on the 24th of the month, regardless of any agreements that may have been made. He basically sent out a written statement saying that he was willing to, and planning on, breaking all verbal agreements made over the last year.
Several people are being effected by this, myself obviously included.
Now to the really awful part... my new landlord is my mother and she is screwing me over
Miraculously, my mother calls from out of state on the 27th (two days before my payment was refused over at my rental place) and asks me if I would be interested in renting her house. She had moved to another state earlier in the year and had been unable to sell the property that she had been living in. This other property is about half a mile from where I had been renting. I said that I would be very interested, and that if it was going to happen that it had to happen fast. I told her everything that was going on my my management and all of that nonsense. I made it clear that I would want to move in for the month of July and she agreed that that would be best. She couldn't afford the mortgage without my rent payment, and I couldn't stay where I was. Perfect.
On the 29th I call her and ask if I can get the keys from the Realtor. She tells me that the Realtor is showing the house over the weekend to prospective buyers. I am very confused, and I ask her what she is talking about. She assures me that this is the last showing and that she had to agree to it because it was still June and the Realtor had a right to try to sell the house. Begrudgingly, I agree to wait until the 4th of July to get the keys.
I called her on the 4th of July and her long-time boyfriend answered the phone to say that while the office was closed for the weekend, that we should be able to get the keys on the 5th.
So, on the 5th I called my mother. Her boyfriend answered the phone and said that the Realtor had just called and that she wanted to show the house two more times, and that we would know by Saturday the 9th how everything had gone. I was irate. At this point, there was no way to renew my lease with the awful people I had been renting with, I had gotten rid of two of my pets (per my mother's request), I was am 7 1/2 months pregnant, and they would not give me a straight answer. Unable to do much else, I explained why I was upset to my mother and said that I would call on Saturday. Her boyfriend assures me that if I call on Saturday at 4:00pm and the house has not sold that he will get the keys to me "that evening by 6:00pm"
Saturday rolls around and I call. It was only 2:00pm, but I was antsy. My mother's boyfriend answers and says that the showing at 10:00am did not go well at all, but that the Realtor wanted to show it one more time at 2:00pm. (So it was being shown as I was on the phone with them, in theory). He said that things were looking, "bad for us but good for you guys!" I was astounded. While my situation was dire, my mother had no clue what my rental worries had been when she asked me to help take over her mortgage. This was supposed to be a symbiotic relationship and now it was "bad" for them but "good" for us. I didn't see any reason to argue semantics, so I just said that I would call at 6:00pm (they asked that I call at 6:00pm rather than 4:00pm) to see if the house had sold and if it hadn't I would be given the keys.
I called at 6:00pm. No answer
I called at 7:00pm. No answer
I called at 8:00pm, 10:00pm, and 12:00am
No answer.
I don't know what to do. My mother has given me three different move-in dates but has kept her house on the market. She keeps changing when things are supposed to happen and I feel helpless. I have looked for other places to go but mid-month and in the middle of the mess that I am in I am not finding much. Plus my pregnancy (which you would think my own mom would take into account) is nearing an end which makes me fat, sleepy, and prone to stress.
When she called last month this was a 'sure thing'. I was picking up the keys at the beginning of the month and moving in that first weekend. Now she is seeming unsure, but I have already told my manager that I am leaving. Is she under any obligation to rent the house to me since she agreed to do so verbally?
Thanks for reading, I know that that was a lot.![]()

