Option Expiration
I am a landlord that leased my property to my tenant through 12/31/04. As an addendum to the lease I granted the tenant an option to purchase the property through the term of the lease. It states the option may be exercised with sixty days written notice.
My question is must I receive this written notice no later than sixty days prior to 12/31/04 for the exercise of the option to be valid, or may my tenant provide sixty days written notice as late as 12/31/04 of his intention to exercise his option?
My understanding was once once there was less than sixty days remaining on the lease, it would be too late for him to exercise his option because it would take him beyond the term of his lease. He believes he has the right to give me a sixty day notice as late as 12/31/04 and still be ok.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Greetings MASONJ1,
It would most likely depend on the exact wording of your addendum. And my attorney always tells me that "ambiguity lies with the maker of the document." So if it’s unclear and that addendum originated from you – it might be ruled in their favor. But you may want to check with your attorney to be sure.
HTH
Though I am not a lawyer I would agree with what has been said - you should allow your buyer to purchase the property as long as notice has been given prior to the lease expiring. Anything else may look like you were out to defraud the buyer of their right to purchase, their option money and andy monthly rental credit you were giving.
Now if you would have sent a letter or several letters to the buyer reminding them that they must give their intention to buy by 10/31/04 and you had a receipt that they received such notice, you may of had some wiggle room.
I am not sure why you wouldn't want to sell other than greed, unless you truly made a mistake. You should have been happy with your return that you negotiated when you first went into the L/O agreement.
In the future, you should probably word your contract to say the exact date you need the written notice. If you wanted it within 60 days of the end of the lease on 12/31/04, you should have said, "A written notice of intention to exercise the option to purchase must be received no later than 10/31/04." There is no ambiguity there.
if you didnt specify a sales price....worst case scenario is you can raise the price HIGH and make a pretty nice chunk of money off of the sale...and if its too much for your tenant, he will withdraw...and the house will still be yours...
~Andrew