Worried, my landlord returned the money we sent for rent

[freshstart06]

We told our landlord we will be filing for BK, we did not tell him we were going to move or anything because that is really still up in the air. He knew our finanical situation so we let him know we decided to file because that appears to be our only way out. we read somewhere that is was best to pay the rent after you file so we told him as soon as we file will will forward the rent because the courts my take it back. Not sure if this is true but we wanted to make sure he was covered. We planned on filing by Monday.

Well we did pay $1000 of it because that was allowed, I look into my account he returned it. What do you think he is about to do??? is it time to start looking for a place to live asap??? He has not answered any of my last two emails because I wired another $500 to him because we can send anything under $600

This is weird and adding to my stress.

[SinkingFast]

Maybe he returned the money to you because it's the end of the Quarter??

Many businesses do quarterly taxes. The end of June is the end of the 2nd quarter. Could be he had no way to account for the money by the end of the month. Maybe that's why he returned it to you??!!

Just a thought for you. Hopefully it's a simple explanantion like that.

[alh]

Rent is not a preferential payment anyway so you can pay whatever the rent is and it won't get taken back so that is not really an issue. If you have a lease just follow the terms. He can't evict you for simply filing. Only for not paying him.

[freshstart06]

My landlord is the nicest man a person would ever want to meet, I just hope he isn't going through problems either. He owns around 7 or more properties. He finally emailed me and told me to hold on to the money, he will explain later.

[freshstart06]

Okay the plot thickens.... Before I say anything, I want to put out there before we got into serious touble we always paid our rent on time and if we were even a day late we would give him more then the asking late fee. We were really good for the first year and we were paying $2000 a month. When the problems started we offered to move and find other tenants on our expense. We would not have move before we found other tenants. He did not want tenants but he did offer to lower our rent a little, I told him that would not be enough but we took it and things for my family got worse.

This is his last email to us, please someone translate this for me. I am thinking he is asking us to allow a judgement before we file, but I still don't understand why he gave back us all the money then gave us a five day. Something is illegal with that. He kept the money for 1 1/2 then gave it back, it was wired into his account so it is like it was cashed.

this is his email....

first of all, I get that you're going though really tough times. I have empathy for what you've got going on. The 5-day notice is not to evict you immediately. It sets a process in motion to actually give you some more options and gives me some options. The notice is also to make sure that I take care of business in case our agreement goes South. At the rate it's been going, it doesn't look good from my side, but I'm open to you guys making it happen as we talked about.

I have the option to drop the whole process as long as you guys keep up with our agreement inside of this process. But for now, all the advisors I talked to said that this is the best way for me to protect myself if things don't work out. I'm hoping that you guys come through. It's my highest wish for you and your family, but I need to make sure that your decisions don't adversely affect my livelyhood. If I don't do this now, then I have no recourse after you file bankruptcy. Not good for me. I'm not happy about having to take this approach but it's what I need to do. But we we have options inside of this process.

So here's what comes next. If you don't pay the full amount for rent for May and June in the next five days (which I'm not expecting), then we set a court date. At the court date, if we go that far, the judge will take a look at both sides and decide what to award as a judgement. At this point we can negotiate and work something out, much like what we've been doing. This also allows YOU some time to pull some more money together and to get some of your other bills paid. It also allows me to have a safety net if you guys change your mind or just can't do it. Make sense? This is not me quitting on you guys, even as scary as that 5-day notice must have looked. You've got the same amount of time we talked about before this if we just set the court date after the five-day notice expires. Remember, I can at any time drop the court date as long as you guys get current with me as you guys promised. With the bakruptcy pending this was unfortunately my only choice to protect myself, just in case.

Over the next week I'll have no phone service and limited email access. Let's keep our communication open via email and I'll do my best to get back quickly with you. It may take me a day or so to respond via email but it's all I have for now. Now is not the time for you to give up. We're just shifting to gears. My intention is to have both of us win.

Please someone advice.....

[BKer]

I am not really sure, but this is what I think is going on...

In case he is included in the BK, he will not be able to ask you to leave with the bankruptcy process is going on. Thus you can stay in his apartment rent free. He may be trying to establish now, before the BK, that you have not been paying rent and evict you now.

This is just my assumption based on my family's experience with owning an apartment complex. They weren't able to evict someone that included them in a BK. That was over 20-years ago and in California.

I am sorry you are going through this. I pray everything works out for you and that I am totally off base.

[keepmine]

This guy sounds like a real nut and is listening to bad advice. A judgment for unpaid rent can be included in your bk.A rental agreement can also be included. AT the end of the day he has nothing assuming you don't reaffirm the debt.
Were I you, I'd just move. Stop communicating with him. Once you file, he can't communicate with you.

[SinkingFast]

In one sense, your Landlord is right. Under New Law, you cannot file BK to stop Eviction. That was one of the changes.

So what your Landlord has done is set up the Eviction Process in advance of your filing. Depending on the Landlord/Tenant Laws of your State, there may be little you can do to stop the Eviction from proceeding.

You said you paid him money and he sent it back to you. Did you pay your May and June rent and that's what he sent back??

[freshstart06]

We sent all of May and we were going to finish paying remainingJune this Friday. The problem is that he sent back the money before he sent the 5 day, I can understand if it was for June and he kept may but he sent back everything. then told me some kind of lie why and that evening someone drop off a 5 day notice. I feel that we were very upfront with him, we told him before we filed. Now is is like he is sneaking behind our backs plotting. I was going to pay everything up, We are not like that.

Well the good thing is we have enough money to find another place when before we did not. We would have been in a really bad position if we had to look for a place and he did not give back the money. Our here money talks and if you have the deposit and a job you usually can find a place,

I should maybe stop wondering what is going on and look at this as a blessing. I just know we have to move fast.

[keepmine]

I should maybe stop wondering what is going on and look at this as a blessing. I just know we have to move fast.

There ya go!!!!!
You and your spouse just need to get junkyard dog mean and quit worrying about everybody and start acting in a way that benefits your family. Treat this landlord just like you're treating any other creditor-just toss ;em under the bus.
BK is just a business/legal decision-don't let ethics or morals cloud the picture. Once you get that tunnel vision, stress goes away.

[freshstart06]

You are right because he is going to do what he needs to do even if it means we are left out in the streets but thankfully, he gave back the money. We found a bunch of homes, I want to put a deposit on one before we officially file.

[SinkingFast]

You are right because he is going to do what he needs to do even if it means we are left out in the streets but thankfully, he gave back the money. We found a bunch of homes, I want to put a deposit on one before we officially file.

Definitely get the new place nailed down and get moved in before you file. If you try to move during an open and active BK, any Landlord will know you can Discharge your entire lease with them.

Just a suggestion,....... Don't mention anything about potentially filing BK to prospective Landlords. If they ask why you're looking to move, tell them the utilities were outrageous because the place is poorly insulated. That does not cast bad light on your previous Landlord and doesn't tell that you've had "inter personal" problems either.

Your current Landlord was just setting himself up to put you out on the streets. That's why he sent back the money you paid. Include him on your Creditor's Matrix for the approximate amount of your total lease with him, including the months you are behind.

You're better off having gotten this warning before you were in a position where you could not take other recourse. Forget about it and move on with your life.

[freshstart06]

Well I do have my doctor's excuse because I can't take the stairs anymore and my current home has stairs. Well wish me luck.

[CindyLou]

He returned the rent because once a landlord accepts rent then it stops the eviction process. I agree...get the heck out of there, include him in your bk and be done with it!! He was the one that decided to be weird. I filed and my landlord never even knew, or cared for that matter. Rent was paid on time. He is covering his butt while ignoring your needs. Get out while you can. Good luck and keep us posted.