Long v. Hirs, 1 Div. 841

• Decision Date: 17 December 1959
• Docket Number: 1 Div. 841
• Citation: 116 So.2d 605,270 Ala. 131
• Parties: Laurie Virginia LONG v. Louise B. HIRS.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Page 605

116 So.2d 605

270 Ala. 131

Laurie Virginia LONG v. Louise B. HIRS.

1 Div. 841.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

Dec. 17, 1959.

Caffey, Gallalee & Caffey, Mobile, for appellant.

Vincent F. Kilborn, Mobile, for appellee.

The agreement between the parties is in part as follows '3) For one month (through August 31, 1955), the owner hereby grants the tenant an option to repurchase the properties conveyed to the owner this date and which are the subject of this lease, at and for the sum of Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred and No/100ths ($25,600.00) Dollars cash. The option shall expire August 31, 1955. If, on expiration of the option, the tenant shall pay the next month's rent within five days from August 31, (on September 1, or September 2, 3, or 4 or 5), and if further the tenant has, during August, kept and performed strictly according to all the terms thereof, this lease in its entirety, then an additional option is granted for the month of September (through September 30, 1955) to purchase the property for Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred and No/100ths ($25,600.00) Dollars; in like manner, each month, upon the same conditions as above set forth, a new option shall be granted for the succeeding month, to purchase the property for the same amount. The intent hereof is that a month-to-month option is granted to repurchase the property conditioned upon prompt payment within the first five days of a month, of the rents due for that month and conditioned upon the faithful observance of each covenant of the lease during the preceding month. Receipt of rent after the fifth day of any month shall not be deemed an extension of the option for any additional time, it being expressly understood that a condition precedent to an option in any month is that the rent for that month be paid on or before the fifth day of that month and further that, during the previous month, all terms and conditions of the lease have been strictly observed. If any default occurs under the lease, or any event occurs which by the terms of the lease might work a forfeiture thereof, such default shall vitiate the option grant for any subsequent month after such default or event occurs, and there shall be no further purchase options concerning the property, for if any month's option is once lost there shall not exist any further options at any time.

'4) If the tenant has faithfully paid the rents each month and observed each condition of the lease and the purchase options have been renewed by the terms of this instrument, month by month for a total of twelve consecutive months, then, on and after August 1, 1956, the monthly options shall extend month to month thereafter to purchase the property for Twenty Three Thousand and No/100ths ($23,000.00) Dollars instead of Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred and No/100ths ($25,600.00) Dollars.

'5) Not as a modification of the previous paragraphs hereof but merely by way of reduction of the amount of purchase price in the first twelve months, if the options are in force from month to month as above provided, the purchase price is to be Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred and No/100ths ($25,600.00) Dollars if repurchased within twelve months and Twenty Three Thousand and No/100ths ($23,000.00) Dollars if repurchased thereafter during the term of this lease. If the repurchase options month to month, are taken up within the first twelve months of this lease there shall be credited against the Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred and No/100ths ($25,600.00) Dollars purchase price all rentals paid during the preceding months prior to exercise of the option, so as to reduce the Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred and No/100ths ($25,600.00) Dollars purchase price by those amounts. However, after such first twelve month period no credits on the purchase money shall be made for rents previously paid the purchase price will be a flat Twenty Three Thousand and No/100ths ($23,000.00) Dollars cash, and if the tenant does not exercise the purchase option on or before July 31, 1960, then all repurchase options shall expire and even though the lease itself may be renewed there shall be no option of purchase during the renewal period or periods.

'If during any time an option is granted by this agreement to repurchase the property, it may be exercised only by notifying the owner in writing of desire to exercise the option and depositing with Title Insurance Company, Mobile, Alabama, on the same date the full purchase money in cash in escrow. Promptly upon this being done and being so notified by Title Insurance Company, the owner will execute and deliver to Title Insurance Company a statutory warranty deed conveying the property to the tenant. When such delivery of the deed is made to Title Insurance Company, Title Insurance Company will forthwith deliver the purchase money to the owner, Mrs. Louise S. Hirs, and deliver the deed...