"I evicted my best friend and her husband. AITA?"
I recently gave my best friend a 60-day notice to move out, and I want to explain the situation because there’s a lot of history behind it. Almost three years ago, I started renting a trailer to my best friend and her husband. I charged them $300 a month, including water and trash. It’s a 2-bedroom, 1-bath trailer. It’s older, but it’s still a decent place to live.
Realistically, I could have rented it for $600–$700, especially around here in rural Kentucky, but everything is expensive right now and she was my best friend, so I wanted to help them out. At the time, I had just inherited the property at 19-years-old and was already overwhelmed with the expenses that came with it.
I told them upfront that I didn’t have the money to put into fixing the trailer up yet, but they were welcome to make small improvements if they wanted to. It wasn’t in perfect shape, but it definitely wasn’t terrible either. They painted, added some trim, and did a few small things, which I appreciated and never had a problem with.
They were moving back home because her husband had taken a significant pay cut and needed somewhere affordable to stay. Fast forward to about a year or a year and a half ago. They started asking me about selling them a small piece of my property. They brought it up many times and eventually talked me into saying yes.
But nothing really happened with it until a few days ago when they came to me and said they had already gotten the paperwork ready and that all I needed to do was sign it. At that point, I told them I had changed my mind. I apologized and told them I would reimburse them for whatever it cost to have the paperwork prepared.
When they told me this, they had also brought their rent payment, but I gave it back to them. After that, my friend told my girlfriend that she was going to sue me and have her sister fight me, and her husband also cussed me out. Because of that, two days later I gave them a 60-day notice to vacate.
I also told them they wouldn’t have to pay rent for those two months. Obviously, they were upset, and honestly I would probably be upset too. I really didn’t want things to turn out this way. But at the same time, I didn’t want to sell part of my property either.
They had asked about it for months before I finally agreed, and I just changed my mind. After I gave them the notice, they said they were just angry and didn’t mean what they said. They also told me that I had “ruined their life and future” and that I’m a “messed up person.”
The truth is, I never wanted to evict them. But when someone you’ve known for 15 years threatens to sue you and says they’re going to have someone fight you, that’s something I take seriously. I would never say anything like that to her or about her.
I understand that she was upset, but those kinds of threats feel like a line that shouldn’t be crossed. If the situation had been reversed and she didn’t want to sell me part of her property, I would have respected her decision and handled it completely differently.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
LakeGlen4287 wrote:
I completely agree with you, they crossed lines with their threats and you should evict them and have nothing more to do with them. But I disagree that you started this by saying you'd sell to them but then changing your mind.
They pestered you for a year and a half leading up to that. They never should have presumed to bring you "paperwork." That is totally messed up! You are not under any obligation to sell to them and you should not sell to anyone without a survey and an appraisal!
You have no idea what that land is worth if you start subdividing along lines they chose. They could have landlocked your remaining acreage, or created hazards on it, who knows. They were completely in the wrong for trying to present you with "papers." I would have been furious.
cattripper wrote:
I would be concerned they will trash the place assuming they actually leave in 60 days. I would start documenting everything…the threats etc. Find out what notice you have to give for access and take pics/video of the place inside and out.
Get someone to go with you as a witness and also because of the threats. I have a feeling they aren’t done with any of this yet and if this ends up in court or something, it’s best to start preparing now just in case. Were the threats verbal or in writing( text message)?
wordsmythy wrote:
It sounds like you were repeatedly harassed. You gave your friends a break, they did some cosmetic things, but then decided they want to live there forever, but they also wanted to own where they live. But that’s your property. You were right to initially resist their request, but you finally got talked into it. Good for you to realize it wasn’t a good deal for you.
Yeah, at this point, I would want them off my property also. The husband screamed at you and harassed you and they threatened you. Sorry, but you can’t come back from that. They need to go. You’re not responsible for their welfare. NTA.
TidyBrit1963 wrote:
Stand your ground. Do not sell your land. Do not be pressured or manipulated to selling. The answer is no. No is a complete sentence. Find a large and helpful family member to advocate for you and support you.
Everything is going to be fine. Creat a budget and stick with it. Be careful who you Rent to. Check credit score, get security deposit. Get 6 month contract. Evict if they are losers. Be strong.