When people are making deals and there is nothing in writing, those deals can be broken especially when a better one is presented haha. So all black and white when there is money involved!
This might sound a bit harsh, but seeing as these days, especially when it comes to money and business, gentlemen don't exist anymore. If they ever did in the first place. Where money or some kind of asset is involved, then putting it down in black and white, preferably in the company of your solicitor, is always the best option.
{do not get overly friendly with people you are renting to.}.... this is the number one mistake I did with my former tenants, who nearly destroyed me in the end, it was a bitter hard lesson... am never treading down that path again...when its business let it be business, when its pleasure let it be pleasure
Actually a highly valid point. When gentleman's agreements existed, if the person broke the agreement you where allowed to challenge him to a duel. He either accepted the duel or admitted that he was wrong and paid up. The idea isn't as stupid as it seems. Even if a person was an expert with a pistol, and challenged someone who he thought lacked skill in a pistol he is still taking a risk. Therefore it was a motivation to keep the agreement
There were means to flee a fight, but it left your reputation in tatters and your name smeared as a coward, to further the punishment. It was a vastly different era then, and legal proceedings were a lot harder to deal with. Then again, then as now money can pretty much decide the court's ruling. For the average gentleman of the era, it was be a lot easier to just tow the line and keep your promises.
I also think doing things in black and white is still the best option in dealing with money matters. Documentation saves us from the hassles of having to deal with broken promises in the future. My family has been in the apartment business before and I must admit we experienced a lot of those broken promises. We only relied on verbal aggreements before so there were unavoidable times when we become so stressed with tenants who just won't pay. Sometimes we even had to let these kinds of tenants leave without even paying their overdued rentals just so we could find other able paying ones.
When I first bought my house everything was working fine, but all of sudden the mediator asked for money or else they would sell it to another people. This caused me a lot of inconvenience and just proves that we need to have it all black and white!
When letting apartments, I don't think it's always the best option to stick to a rigid agreement. Sure, get a contract written up and make sure it's signed by all parties, but...I would also advise a little room for movement and negotiations. I've rented property out myself, and finding a good tenant is quite hard these days. If a tenant who I have had for a long time, finds their self in a situation where they can't make the rent, I won't rip that contract up and kick them out. I'll do whatever I can to make it so they can stay in the property, if that makes sense? A contract is essential, but then at least it's up to you how strictly you abide by your terms.
In this world were crooks are everywhere and spoken words have hidden meaning, I think it is only fair to have an agreement in writing. You and your friend/relatives will be legally bound to a document that will make any one of you liable should any of you dishonor the agreement. A legal document like an agreement will also save you in times of trouble. So, no, I don't think a gentleman's agreement is useful when it comes to business like real estate. Everything has to be documented.
Many times not even the written documents help us, so what to say about words and gentlemen? I wish it could be like that where the word of a person would mean something, but when money is involved our word doesn't mean anything.
