Thursday, April 17, 2008

Lease Update‏

Dear Friends of Matt Budge:

Many of you have expressed a continuing interest in the status of Matt Budge's lease. I apologize for not sending an update sooner, but I've been waiting until I had more definitive news to share. I thought that was going to happen more than a week ago, but communication with Western Rim/The Mansions has proven to be difficult and slow. At long last, I was able to finally have some meaningful dialogue with them and reach a resolution. Fortunately, they have agreed to waive most of the fees associated with the Budges having to terminate their lease four months early. To do so, the Budges will have to pay a $1630 "reletting" fee, a $50 carpet cleaning fee, and about $20 to replace one window blind. I was pleased that the cleaning/repair costs were so low, which they should have been given that the apartment was in great shape (particularly after members of the Budges' church cleaned the place from top to bottom). Still, I didn't know what to expect from the apartment management.

After applying certain credits, the total "walk away" cost on the lease will be $1514.00, which is great news, particularly considering that the apartment complex orginally was saying it would cost nearly $9,000. Thanks to all of you for your part in helping to bring about this result. I know that many of you contacted the apartment management/ownership to urge them to release Matt from further financial obligations under the lease. I also feel to commend Western Rim/The Mansions for ultimately showing some compassion and generosity by agreeing to waive most of the fees. From a legal standpoint, they didn't have to do that. Naturally, I'm disappointed that they would not waive the reletting fee, particularly given that within about 3 or 4 days of the Budges giving notice of their intent to move, the apartment was already released with new tenants scheduled to move-in on May 1. Since the Budges are paid-up through April, that means that the company will not have missed a beat in receiving full rental income on that apartment. In light of the following language in the lease agreement, the reletting fee seems particularly unnecessary under the circumstances: "The reletting charge … cover[s] only part of our damages; that is, our time, effort, and expense in finding and processing a replacement. These damages are uncertain and difficult to ascertain – particularly those relating to make ready, inconvenience, paperwork, advertising, showing apartments, utilities for showing, checking prospects, overhead, marketing costs, and locator-service fees." I would be surprised if the company incurred any of these costs.

You may be aware of the 98.7 KLUV Radio listener who offered to donate $9K to the Budges. Unfortunately, that did not ultimately materialize. I have been in regular contact with her and have kept her apprised of the status of the lease. She pledged to pay whatever was ultimately due on the lease and then to give the remainder of the $9K directly to the Budges for other medical/family expenses. She only asked that I provide a final statement from The Mansions confirming that the Budges were released from any further financial obligations under the lease. It is that final statement that I have been trying to get for the past couple of weeks so I could meet with the donor and make final payment arrangements. However, a couple days ago I received a voicemail message from the donor stating that she would no longer be able to help the Budges. She alluded to a health issue, but not much else was said in the voicemail. I have attempted to call her back to assure her that there are no hard feelings about her rescinded offer and to make sure she is okay. Thus far I've only been able to get her answering machine.



On the issue of donations, I've seen or heard reports to the effect that "donations are pouring in" for the Budges as a result of the media attention. There has certainly been a HUGE outpouring of support and love for the Budges (and a wide variety of other sentiments directed at The Mansions/Western Rim), but I don't think that has translated into any significant amount of monetary donations. It may be that some who were inclined to help in that way held back when they heard of the $9K donation. There's no way to know. Because there was no indication that that donation would ultimately fall through, I made no effort to have others standing by to help out under that scenario. When people have contacted me about helping, I've told them the lease expenses were handled and invited them to donate to Matt's medical expenses if they felt so inclined. There is a donation mechanism set-up on Matt's blogspot (matthewbudge.blogspot.com), and last I heard, a small number of donations had been made there. To the Budges, of course, this was never about receiving donations. They would have been content to remain anonymous and quietly do their best with the help of family and close friends.



Finally, let me convey some good news to you on Matt's medical front. He has just completed his second full round of chemotherapy and his liver (and other organs) continue to respond well to the treatment. This good response allows his doctors to continue to pursue an aggressive treatment plan. Matt has also gained back some of his lost weight. The Budges consider these to be small but mighty miracles in their lives and are so grateful for the thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes on their behalf. Anyone desiring more detailed updates on Matt's medical condition is welcome to visit the "updates" section of the blogspot noted above.



Thanks again to each of you for all you've done to help Matt and his family. It is appreciated more than you know.


--Steve Buys

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