ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Tenant taken by surprise after old landlord sent him a $2,500 check as a 'share' from selling home

Chris Robarge went viral for sharing a heartwarming story of his anonymous landlord.
PUBLISHED SEP 8, 2024
Getty Images Credits: Prostock-Studio (Representative)
Getty Images Credits: Prostock-Studio (Representative)

While many of us struggle with rude and exploitative landlords who try to get extract every cent out of our pockets, things turned out to be vastly different for one lucky tenant. Back in 2021, Chris Robarge went viral for sharing a heartwarming story of his anonymous landlord who was the "best ever". One day, Robrage who is from Worcester, Massachusetts, received a heartwarming letter from his landlord and a gift that melted everyone's hearts. The story shared on Facebook went viral with people lauding the person and wishing they had a landlord like him. 

Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki
Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki

In his Facebook post, Robarge shared that he was contacted by his former landlord, who asked for his current address out of the blue. He said that he rented a place from the person for quite some time after his divorce and was always charged a fair rent. He said that he also enjoyed his time there. 

Then he received a letter in his mail. The letter said that the landlord had sold the house and wanted to share the profit with the long-time tenant, out of fairness. The envelope had a check for $2,500.

"I am still completely beyond an actual way to describe what this act means to me. All that I can say is that there are people who talk about their values and there are people who actually live them, and the reason I wanted to share this is that I want to encourage us all to actually live our values," Robarge wrote.

Screenshot from the post | Facebook | @Chris Robarge
Screenshot from the post | Facebook | @Chris Robarge

The landlord explained in the letter that keeping all the proceeds from the sale felt “exploitative and antithetical to a just society." He went on to break down why Robarge deserved a share and how he had always tried to be fair. He wrote that he always tried to keep the rent equal to what it cost for the upkeep of the apartment, including mortgage principal, and interest. Since a part of Robarge's rent went toward the mortgage payments, the landlord wanted to return that portion of the rent. 

Screenshot from the Facebook post | Facebook | @Chirs Robarge
Screenshot from the Facebook post | Facebook | @Chirs Robarge

He also mentioned that he calculated the principal amount paid each month in the rent, and then split them between the tenants who were living in the house. He also added 40% more accounting for an increase in the house cost. “While it’s not much, it’s yours! It was a great house and I’m glad that I was able to share it with you,” the landlord wrote. 



 

As the post went viral, hundreds of users lauded the landlord's actions in the comments. "If this is who I think it is they are a gem of our community and one of my personal heroes (if Im wrong...well they are obviously all of those things anyways)," wrote @CaseyBurns. "'Not all landlords' - this is what I’ll do if I ever own a rental property. Thanks for the inspiration, added another user @VirginiaBechtold. 

Screenshots from the comments | Facebook | @Kalo Rohr Blakeslee
Screenshots from the comments | Facebook | @Kalo Rohr Blakeslee

Robarge later shared an update where he explained what he planned to do with the money. For more updates, follow Chris Robarge on Facebook.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
TrumpRx costs may be as much as 80% less than normal listings, though actual savings may differ.
4 hours ago
The Amazon boss laid off a third of The Washington Post employees, including reporters on duty.
4 hours ago
Members are now required to scan their membership cards simply to get inside a Costco store.
4 hours ago
Natalie's younger daughter Bailey couldn't hold back her tears after her mother won a grand total of $63,990.
11 hours ago
It seemed at one point that the contestant might have missed her chance to win big.
23 hours ago
The FDA recently slapped a Class-II warning label on the product, which was sold by the thousands.
23 hours ago
The city's law dictates that all businesses using such surveillance tech must make it public.
23 hours ago
"I mean, if he came in and said, 'I want to raise them' ... he would not have gotten the job," Trump emphasized on Warsh's role.
1 day ago
He also claimed that such billionaires pay their taxes and give their wealth back to the community.
1 day ago
"Best sliced aged white cheddar in the market that’s farmer-owned and uses zero hormones, zero RBSt, and zero GMO in dairy," a user wrote.
1 day ago
Griffin expressed unease over alleged favoritism, saying that CEOs find it repulsive that the government interacts with corporate America.
1 day ago
"Daniel solved the "bear hug" and continued hugging people, even hugging a car! He was a spectacular sight today," a fan reacted.
1 day ago
While the official website says contributions could grow over $1 million, the details are unclear.
2 days ago
Fans of the show loved what Jennings had discovered and made their feelings known.
2 days ago
The contestant took the advice of her man, who was in the studio audience.
2 days ago
Under this scheme, home buyers will have three years to pay the down payment.
2 days ago
The labeling error meant that the bottles did not show a lot number and expiration date.
2 days ago
The achievement puts the retailer in a list dominated by tech companies.
2 days ago
Sankar pointed out that there an incredible amount of fear around the AI boom.
2 days ago
"That puzzle was not fair. But you know what is fair? Walking away with $47,000 in cash and prizes. She did great," a fan reacted.
2 days ago