Is My Aunts Landlord Trying To Screw Her?

[Cindy1302]

My aunt lived in a trailer park up until January when she moved in with me. She's been trying to sell her trailer for a while. She's still paying rent for her trailer to sit there. It's $400 a month. So, we meet with a potential buyer today. He wanted to stay in the park, and he asked how much the rent is. She told them $400 because that's what she's been charging my aunt for almost 20 years. So the guy who came to look at it told my aunt to consider it sold. So my aunt calls the landlord to make sure they'll let the guy live there. The landlord said that she's raising the rent to $500 now. My aunt asked how much she'd charge if she moved back into the trailer, and she said $400. My response is what the ***. I feel like the landlord is being a bitch and trying to sabotage the sale. Now the buyers are probably gonna change their mind.

[Buenchico]

Contract law might be different in the USA to here in the UK but it all sounds OK to me.  The landlord has a contract with your aunt for her to pay a site rent of $400 and, to her credit, she's happy to continue honouring that contract as long as your aunt continues to own the trailer. However any contract with a new owner of the trailer will be completely independent of the existing one and therefore subject to different terms.

It's no different to when a tenant moves out of bricks and mortar rented accommodation.  That's often a trigger for the landlord to increase the rent for the next tenant.

[Smowball]

If that's what your aunt has been paying for 20 years then  maybe the landlord feels that your aunt selling it is now the perfect time to raise the price in keeping with inflation.

[newmodarmy]

I agree with the above ( well the first 2... I never saw douglas's post). Why is it screwing your aunt? 

[barry1010]

Because if the rent is too high she will have difficulty selling her trailer

[DDIL]

The contract for ground rent is with the owner of the park not your aunt - so strictly speaking you should advise the potential buyer to speak to the owner not your aunt - your aunt can only advise that she currently pays x amount.

So to answer your question NO the landlord is not screwing your aunt - not in the monetary sense!

[THECORBYLOON]

The contract is with the landlord and using this website, www.usinflationcalculator.com $400 in 2005 would be $655 to-day.

[Smowball]

If the landlord hasn't raised the rent in 20 years then your aunt has been very lucky!!

[davebro3]

if the buyer is gonna change their mind over $100 pm extra rent they weren't all that serious in the first place...

[newmodarmy]

 Regarding the 'trying to sabotage the sale' point, I assume the trailer is fixed and has to stay at that location.

Anyway, maybe she should reduce the price of her trailer as she has not managed to sell it so far and it could get harder if the rent will go up for future buyers.

[barry1010]

100USD a month is probably a lot of money for someone living in a trailer 

[newmodarmy]

Well $500 a month rent doesn't sound unreasonable going forwards. so if the trailer isn't selling then the sale price is too high (and/or the condition of the trailer needs to be improved annd then readvertised.)

[davebro3]

//100USD a month is probably a lot of money for someone living in a trailer //

Just do a couple more liquor store robberies!🤣