Q: My lease states once house is sold we have 30 days to vacate property.
We where told on November 17 that the person looking at house loan was approved. And we should have til end of December to find new place. Then on the 27 of November was told the closing would be on December 20. But on my lease it stated once property is sold we have at least 30 days to move. Does that start on the closing date? Because real estate agent is telling them that our date to move out is on December 16. Not sure what to do. Our new place will not be available until around first of year and we told them that since we where told by them it would not close until the end of the year. I also have a text message saying the closing could take a couple of months
A:
The general rule is that a document is construed strictly as to the drafter which I presume was the landlord. Anything unclear (capable of several meanings) is thus interpreted to favor the person who did NOT draft it. And words are usually given their 'ordinary' meaning.
Assuming, therefore, the landlord drafted the lease, and the only reference to its termination is 'sold' without defining the term so everyone was clear what 'sold' meant, the reasonable interpretation is property is usually not 'sold' until the deed is delivered to the new purchaser.
This will create a lot of headache, heartache, and hassle for everyone. And if it doesn't get resolved it won't be pretty. I suggest that you figure out when you can actually be out and communicate that to everyone else at the party (including the real estate agent who likely is churning the situation with a lack of knowledge) and if needed everyone sit down to discuss it. And you may end up needing a lawyer to back you up.
Elizabeth Crego agrees with this answer
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