Mom's plans to be a landlord end in tears
Dear Amy: My husband and I (and our two children) are relocating. We have spent the past 18 months researching a really beautiful mountain community.
We were approved for a rental property there, but it fell through just as we were packing the moving truck.
Luckily, my (relatively well-off) mother heard about it, and out of the blue, she offered to help us BUY a house in this same area (instead of us having to find another place to rent).
After a few days of mulling this over, we took her up on her generous proposition and she put in an offer on a house for our family.
At first, she wanted to give the house to us, with no strings attached, as our early inheritance. Then she realized that she couldn't afford that, and offered to rent it to us at below-market value so we could save for our own down payment (we agreed to that wholeheartedly).
But then she decided that it was an investment. Her requirements changed hourly: First we needed to pay more in rent; then we needed to agree to do significant repairs; then she wanted a commitment that we would buy the house from her after five years; then she wanted to take "before" videos in case we trashed the house; and then she just didn't want that house AT ALL, and tried to force us into moving to a nearby city instead.
Her response was that since she was footing the bill, she would buy a house where she saw fit, and our needs were secondary. The transaction fell apart amid many tears, and now we're not speaking.
We are heartbroken and angry that she put us and the kids through so much turmoil. However, she evidently feels wronged and has insinuated that I was "fake crying," among other things. I'm not sure how to move forward when she changes the story to suit her own narrative. Please help.
-- Thanks, but NO Thanks
Dear Thanks: Say a hearty hello (and thank you) to the bullet you dodged. Fortunately, your mother's behavior was so outrageous that you were able to avoid an even worse mess. Imagine if she had been even slightly more reasonable, and if you had actually taken residence of this home with your mother as your landlord? Yikes.
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