Our Thai tenants have just asked for a rent reduction

[jack71]

We rented out our building to a nice couple (who are not married) and they signed a 3 yr contract. Facts:

 

- Due to covid / poor economy we gave the first 2 months free when signing the contract in Jan this yr.

- Actually back in Jan they said they didnt want the building until March/April and I thought it was good to sign them up right away on the proviso of getting the first 2 months free. 

- They have thus far only paid 1 months rent to us. The next payment is due on the 1st May. 

- They have made considerable alterations to our building- all of which we agreed to in the contract. 

- They are both quite well off if one takes into account the cars they drive, clothes and other business they run. 

- They said they closed their 4 other business (1 in bangkok and 1 in our city)

- Our city is not in a red zone (yet) for the covid crisis

- We have a mortgage on the building which is higher than the current rent. I suspect they think we own the building outright.

- The interest we are paying on the loan is not so high to be honest. 

- We have a profitable business which is still going strong now and can afford a rent reduction.

- We were in 2 minds as to whether we should even rent out the building as our business easily pays the mortgage. I really liked going there and saw it as my man cave. I was a bit sad to hand the keys over to be honest. 

 

So my wife takes a call from one of them (the Thai lady) and she asks if we can reduce the rent. She said she will talk to me and we will let them know. The wife made the point to me that maybe we pushed them into taking the building early by offering 2 months free. I didnt hold a gun to their head with a pen in the other hand at the time of signing the contract. 

 

I was a landlord back in the mother country for 20 yrs and wouldnt take this <deleted> at all. But this is Thailand and of course my wife feels sorry for them. 

 

If we dont give reduce the rent and they give 2 months notice to vacate and put everything back the way it was.....its not the best situation for us. But personally I suppose I would be ok because I get to go back there all the time but annoying to lose the 3 yrs rental income. 

 

Anything is possible in Thailand and the contract is not registered at the land office and thus is as worthless as toilet paper. Thus if they stop paying rent and abandon the building, we are left with the deposit which I calculate will just cover the alterations they have made. In retrospect I probably didnt ask for enough deposit. 

 

Its a hard decision to make and my gut feeling is that I say no way. I drive past the building all the time and noticed they even had workers putting in benches for their proposed restaurant. They recently put up a huge steel structure for a sign. They have improved the outside area with lattice etc.  They put new lights inside and out. They put up a brick walls for their kitchen area in the back. 

 

Or should we make them sign an agreement to give them x % reduction on the proviso that in year 2 of the contract they increase the rent a bit more than the current contract states. 

 

Any suggestions are appreciated...

 

 

[clivebaxter]

How much do they want it reduced by? sounds like they are trying it on

[tgw]

Be creative and also think about your chances of finding new tenants if these move out.

 

I think that rent should not cover interest + mortgage amortization, it's a sign that the rent is a tad high (if the base of the mortgage was evaluated at market rate).

 

Quote

- We were in 2 minds as to whether we should even rent out the building as our business easily pays the mortgage. I really liked going there and saw it as my man cave. I was a bit sad to hand the keys over to be honest. 

 

lol

but it's not really a financial question then...

 

Quote

- They are both quite well off if one takes into account the cars they drive, clothes and other business they run. 

- They said they closed their 4 other business (1 in bangkok and 1 in our city)

 

cars are probably leased and appearances can be deceiving.

 

 

[BangkokAlan]

You gave them two months rent free but actually in commercial buildings IE retail and restaurants etc you always get 1-2 months rent free to do your fit-out its normal practice but most companies would speed up opening and use rent free period to make profit but they are still preparing themselves. If they rented in Jan then in tourist areas rental are 30-50% lower than normal so they would have got the reduction in normal market rent based on covid impact but if you are in a province that hasn't seen impact then there is no reason to give a reduction.

 

I suggest before you give e reduction you need to ask 1. Is your rental fee at a fair market level? 2. Is there any impact to their proposed trade from covid that was not apparent in Jan when they signed the lease? 3. Are they behind in preparing the opening so expect you to cover the shortfall in their income while they finish there fit-out and open? In this case i would not give a reduction. 4. Did they get their feasibility assumptions on construction cost wrong and spent too much and again want you to support their mistake? Again in this case I would not give a reduction.

 

In any case you should be concerned that its taken them 3 months to prepare their site and they are still not ready to open for business and have wasted their two months rent free and if they can't pay the rent now what reduction would they require for them to have  feasible business. There is a risk you give them a reduction and they still can't make their business work and they may leave anyway. 

[Susco]

Should not be a question, because reading many topics about this on this forum, according to the majority of the TVF members, an at least 50% reduction in rent during this, for everyone, difficult period is a must .............................Oh wait you are a landlord

[BangkokAlan]

You could also consider reducing their rent now until they open to help them while they have no income but get a confirmed opening date and tell them this is a deferral and this reduction will be added back in year 2 and 3 of trading but if they leave they must pay back the reduction . But if they stay you may the full term you would consider to write off the short term rental reduction as you had 3 years. My experience managing large commercial retail building if they cant make it work before opening it will never work and they will leave early leaving you with rent arrears, re-instatement costs, and utilities unpaid that the deposit wont cover.

[Poet]

Awkward situation but it won't get any better. By being considerate previously, you have created a scenario in which you will be on the hook for any further deterioration of the economic situation. It is pretty much impossible that, over the next 3 years, you will actually get what you are currently expecting from them.

Your only slim chance of salvaging the situation is to be unapologetic and crystal clear that the deal is the deal. Get your wife out of the firing line, if necessary hire another Thai intermediary to explain reality to them.

They have already invested time, energy, money, and thought into their plans for the property. Now they are trying it on, probably because they heard some random story about some other business that got discounted rent and fear that they are missing out. Only by being absolutely firm now can you relieve them of the continual fear that there is some additional concession they could get from you. If you cede even one satang now, the prospect of more concessions will keep rattling around in their heads for the next 3 years.

I know how tough it is to find tenants right now but you have to be realistic about what you actually have: tenants who are shameless in taking advantage of your wife's decency. Tenants who will continue to wheedle for any advantage. Tenants who will be more trouble than they are worth. You might be able to convert them into tenants who will settle down and comply with the agreement, but only by you being an immovable force.

So, just say no and be at peace with whatever decision they make. Move on, learn from this, be more professional with the next tenant and require a bigger deposit.

With regard to the comparisons being made between your agreement and supposed norms in commercial renting, that is all irrelevant. They agreed and committed to the terms you offered. Presumably they were considering many other properties and decided that you offered the best deal.

My wife owns a large number of properties, both commercial and residential. While I stay well out of it, I do hear all the stories. It is astonishing how many "nice" Thai tenants turn out to be a nightmare, and this despite her being a shrewd and tough cookie. She actually stopped accepting Thai residential tenants a few years ago after one tenant in a small shophouse brought in, as housemates, an actual football team who, predictably enough, ended up trashing the place.

The tenant then dramatically attempted suicide by jumping from the 2nd floor, resulting in over a month in hospital. As someone who likes to see things done properly, the most annoying thing was that the building had 4 floors and a roof.

 

[richard_smith237]

It sounds like you have good tenants who have made some improvements. 

 

Thus: The question to ask yourself. Would you have agreed to renting out the property for the reduced amount a couple of months ago ???

 

They’re obviously trying it on, that just business, nothing personal. 

 

They don’t want a leave a property they have spent money on ‘doing up’ (making alternations), based on that they are unlikely  leave if you say no to a rent reduction. 

 

How do you think the professional relationship will alter if you don’t compromise ?

 

 

It seems you don’t care one way or another... But.. You do, otherwise you would have answered no already. 

So, you do care, which means you want to keep your tenants. In which case, offer a professional compromise. 

 

Meet them in somewhere in the middle, offer a reduction on rent until Thailand ends the Emergency degree at which time the rent returns to the standard rate.

 

At the same time, when Thailand ends the emergency decree, there will be greater confidence in business again and the property could ‘re-rent’ if thats what needs to happen at that time. 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

Who paid for the alterations ????

[CharlieH]

Its a business not a charity, if they cant honor the agreement. Shut it down !

Dont make their problem your problem.

If this has come up at the 1st payment whats next more free time, lower it more, give a mouse a cookie and he"ll be back for glass of milk !

[jack71]

13 minutes ago, BangkokAlan said:

You could also consider reducing their rent now until they open to help them while they have no income but get a confirmed opening date and tell them this is a deferral and this reduction will be added back in year 2 and 3 of trading but if they leave they must pay back the reduction . But if they stay you may the full term you would consider to write off the short term rental reduction as you had 3 years. My experience managing large commercial retail building if they cant make it work before opening it will never work and they will leave early leaving you with rent arrears, re-instatement costs, and utilities unpaid that the deposit wont cover.

Thanks so much for your 2 comments. 

 

Having thought about them more... back in Jan I was thinking they were very astute business people and are negotiating with us now. When they split the monthly rent between them I dont think its the end of their world. They said that they have closed all their other businesses but have salaries to pay. Probably B.S

 

Your questions:

1. Is your rental fee at a fair market level?

Its high end fair value based on being the best position in town. 

 

2. Is there any impact to their proposed trade from covid that was not apparent in Jan when they signed the lease?

No, same covid situation. We are not in a red zone or anything and no lockdown.

 

 

3. Are they behind in preparing the opening so expect you to cover the shortfall in their income while they finish there fit-out and open? In this case i would not give a reduction.

Its possible but I dont know. A good point you make though

 

4. Did they get their feasibility assumptions on construction cost wrong and spent too much and again want you to support their mistake?

Its possible but again I dont know. They made some quite big changes to my building which I agreed to in the contract. The biggest being that they took out 4 big new windows that we previously installed and knocked out the brickwork under the window frame area. We agreed to it spefically in the contract. After they did this we got a message from them asking if we can store the glass and the frames at our place.... ha ha. A big no to that one. 

 

I think Im going to say to them that they must pay the rent in a few days at the agreed amount and that I will discuss with my attorney and let them know. 

 

What Ive learnt from 20yrs of tenants is that if you give them too much they will expect more down the line. 

 

23 minutes ago, BangkokAlan said:

You could also consider reducing their rent now until they open to help them while they have no income but get a confirmed opening date and tell them this is a deferral and this reduction will be added back in year 2 and 3 of trading but if they leave they must pay back the reduction

Your idea is excellent and this is what I want to discuss with my attorney. 

 

I do worry about our deposit being so low. I wonder if we could ask for more if we agree to reduce the rent??

 

Thanks so much for your comments

 

[jack71]

10 minutes ago, Poet said:

Only by being absolutely firm now can you relieve them of the continual fear that there is some additional concession they could get from you. If you cede even one satang now, the prospect of more concessions will keep rattling around in their heads for the next 3 years.

I totally agree with this. 

 

Interesting that the nice kind thai lady calls my wife. Not the thai guy calling me.... He knows Im quite hard.

 

13 minutes ago, Poet said:

tenants who are shameless in taking advantage of your wife's decency.

yes

 

Im going to have to think it over for a few more days. 

 

Thanks for your ideas on this

[jackdd]

I think that as soon as you give them anything they will soon be asking for more.

If you say you lower their rent by x% in the first year, but will add this x% in the second year, this would just give them an incentive to make a runner after the first year, so I don't think this is a good idea.

Make up some excuse why you need the money and can't lower the rent and just stick with it.

[jack71]

11 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Who paid for the alterations ????

They did. 

 

As mentioned above in another reply we allowed them to take out the new windows and the brickwork below it. Not structural change as such - purely cosmetic but kind of expensive to put back especially if they dont return the windows...

[bluebluewater]

I would just renegotiate the whole thing.  Sounds like that is pretty much what is going on anyway.

 

If the rent does not service the debt it's not going to work out.  Less rent money now is OK but increasing

rent in years two and three.

[gearbox]

45 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Its a business not a charity, if they cant honor the agreement. Shut it down !

Dont make their problem your problem.

If this has come up at the 1st payment whats next more free time, lower it more, give a mouse a cookie and he"ll be back for glass of milk !

I think it depends how bad the economy is going within the area.

 

Here in Samui many commercial landlords who tried to play hardball are now sitting on empty decaying properties with little chance of finding a tenant in the coming few years...and if they do find one, the rent would be way lower than the one they tried to take before the covid.

 

The business of my gf is shut down and she pays 15% of the rent on paper, and I know many other business owners with temporarily shut down businesses who don't pay rent at all.

 

If the tenant now estimates that the business would run at a loss due to the current circumstances,  they either need to reduce the  rent, or walk out.  And commercial rental agreements are not as enforceable as in the West - a small business will just walk out if it runs at a loss.

[Airalee]

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

Its a business not a charity, if they cant honor the agreement. Shut it down !

Dont make their problem your problem.

If this has come up at the 1st payment whats next more free time, lower it more, give a mouse a cookie and he"ll be back for glass of milk !

And to add to this, I find that the following is quite true...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_good_deed_goes_unpunished

 

 

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, jack71 said:

Any suggestions are appreciated.

My mrs has given 2 tenants she has 1/2 price until covid ends her 3rd apartment is still empty.

[kingofthemountain]

i have been on the 2 sides, as a landlord and as a tenant

i don't want to develop too much about all the comments i have read here

my thought on your situation:

 

1\you have a tenant, and it seems it's someone really wanting to stay

and operate his business (Considering the money he has already invested in the alterations) it's not so easy to find in this period so maybe you should to try to keep him and be a little bit more ''flexible''

 

2\it's actually a really hard time for everyone in the business inThailand, giving a reduction on the rent (You didn't indicate how much they ask, but you write your rent is in the high end, that means even if you give the reduction you will still receive a good amount of money) so asking a reduction on the rent is not unusual at all

 

3\ask yourself the question, how much money you will lose the most?

with a reduced rent or if they leave after few months and you have no rent at all for the next years?

 

From my point of view it seems your main concern is not really a money problem at the start you wasn't really ok to rent this building, because it was your man cave. So you are now complaining about everything on the tenants.

 

You should use the money of the rent to rent for yourself another man cave, relax here and left them do their business with a reduced rent, problem solved for everybody

[Poet]

42 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

relax here and left them do their business, problem solved.

For maybe a month or two after which, due to delays in opening and more unexpected costs, they will "need" another discount.

The whole point of investing in property as opposed to, say, crypto, is that the low returns are matched by relative predictability and, with a good tenant, it eats up relatively little of your time and attention. The landlord's time and peace-of-mind has value.

Bad tenants who pay full rent at not worth it. Bad tenants who keep finding excuses not to pay or to pay less are definitely not worth it.

 

42 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

1\you have a tenant, and it seems it's someone really wanting to stay

and operate his business (Considering the money he has already invested in the alterations)

So "really wanting to stay" that he says he will walk away unless the rent is reduced?
 

42 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

2\it's actually a really hard time for everyone in the business inThailand

The pandemic has been running for over a year now. The agreement was reached with full knowledge of it, and the economic affect on Thailand, by both sides.
 

42 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

so asking a reduction on the rent is not unusual at all

Sitting tenants, paying rents agreed before the pandemic, had a valid reason to seek temporary reductions.

Tenants taking properties now must price the pandemic into whatever price they agree to. It is immoral to take a property based on an agreement to pay x amount, and then renegotiate once you are entrenched. If you think a property is too expensive, you either offer a lower amount from the start, or you keep searching for better value and let the landlord rent to someone who does like the price.

 

42 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

3\ask yourself the question, how much money you will lose the most?

with a reduced rent or if they leave after few months and you have no rent at all 

for the next years?

If you panic yourself into accepting firesale prices you will never make money in business.

Even at the price originally agreed, the OP felt some regret. He is now being edged towards far less than he would have accepted in the first place. This is a good property in a good location. Times are tough now but we can predict with some confidence that the economy will spring back to life as the vaccination programmes around the world gain more momentum. Either you believe in the value of your property, and have the confidence to hold out for it, or you should be in some other game.

There is no real economic argument for what these bum tenants are trying to do, but it is very Thai: they are dreaming of a magical lottery jackpot situation in which a farang with "money too much" somehow decides to gift them his property. It is predatory, it is dumb, and life is too short to waste time on such people. They do not understand the concept of win-win.

By the way, the OP is clearly a reasonable guy. Stumbling upon a landlord like that is damn good luck for small business owners and, in the long term, pays off big time. You don't turn around, right at the start of the relationship, and try to squeeze him.

 

[kingofthemountain]

55 minutes ago, Poet said:

There is no real economic argument for what these bum tenants are trying to do, but it is very Thai: they are dreaming of a magical lottery jackpot situation in which a farang with "money too much" somehow decides to gift them his property. It is predatory, it is dumb, and life is too short to waste time on such people. They do not understand the concept of win-win.

Let me tell you a real story, old only from 2 years ago

 

i was the bum farang tenant of a condo. a good tenant, paying rent in time and taking care of the condo. not asking about anything.

 

After one year, at the end of my rent. seing another same condo in the same residence was rented for a lower rent i asked for a reduction on the rent

 

The answer of the Thai owner, maybe dreaming of a magical lotery, was no way to reduce the rent because his monthly payement on the condo loan to the bank was higher than the rent i proposed

 

No problem, i moved to another location and ended paying half of the price i was paying

 

The Thai owner? He is now siting on his empty condo since 2 years with his rent indexed on  his monthly paiement to the bank,

At some point maybe he will realise something is better than 0?

Or maybe not?

 

I agree with you, some people do not understand the concept of a win-win

[Poet]

7 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

i was the bum farang tenant of a condo. a good tenant, paying rent in time and taking care of the condo. not asking about anything.

To be fair, that makes you a pretty great tenant, not a bum tenant.

We may be bums in other aspects of our life, but all a landlord cares about is that he gets the agreed rent on time every month and remains blissfully unaware of you at all other times. Most of us farangs have, at least, mastered that life skill.
 

11 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

No problem, i moved to another location and ended paying half of the price i was paying

 

The Thai owner? He is now siting on his empty condo since 2 years with his rent indexed on  his monthly paiement to the bank,

At some point maybe he will realise something is better than 0?

Or maybe not?

Yes, your landlord made a business mistake. Like many small business people, he was emotionally unable to deal with the reality of his competitive enviroment.

The OP's situation is different. Your request to your landlord was reasonable and, because you were at the end of your contract, did not break an existing agreement. His tenant is seeking to renegotiate an existing and very recent agreement. He has no way of knowing that it won't keep happening. Any way you slice it, these tenants are unlikely to be the low-stress, low-maintenance tenants that every landlord wants.

[itsari]

On 4/29/2021 at 10:04 PM, BangkokAlan said:

You could also consider reducing their rent now until they open to help them while they have no income but get a confirmed opening date and tell them this is a deferral and this reduction will be added back in year 2 and 3 of trading but if they leave they must pay back the reduction . But if they stay you may the full term you would consider to write off the short term rental reduction as you had 3 years. My experience managing large commercial retail building if they cant make it work before opening it will never work and they will leave early leaving you with rent arrears, re-instatement costs, and utilities unpaid that the deposit wont cover.

Never heard of a business making money before they open. 

[nickmondo]

would help if you put the numbers in your post.

[Scouse123]

What kind of business people are they to agree a rent, commence alterations and seek a reduction before opening the business?

 

It says they haven't done their sums properly! Covid19 does not enter into this because it was January 2021 not 2020 when they agreed the deal. Your misgivings about renting it out do not come into the equation here and have no relevance except for you personally.

 

Thais usually drive a hard bargain and if they are pulling on your wife's heartstrings means they have identified her as the weakest link. You say it doesn't affect you and you can afford to reduce the rent as it is easily affordable through your other business.

 

I would sit in on the conversation, offer a rent reduction on a charitable basis or ' good heart ' as they like to phrase it, making sure your wife gets the message across loud and clear, it is a one time deal.

 

Make sure you get across that you know how difficult it is for people right now with the economy and you want to help them but you can only do it this one time. Believe me, after 25 years experience in business in Thailand, they get this and they get being spoken to like this as you come across as fair minded.

 

That way, you stay the good guy, you look good to your wife as reasonable and not uncharitable. You have given them a break. Your wife will remember that you have done this for them and it gives her ample ammunition in the ' face ' stakes if they try to come again.

 

I would not pretend all is rosy in the garden, I would tell them I have to pay the bank and I have repayments too. That way if they are trying it on, they will think twice before asking again.

 

I would draw up a new contract, whether it is valid in court or not because they have shown their colours and they are wanting it to succeed by what they are putting in right now in terms of capital.

 

I doubt they will increase their deposit as it is probably already committed or spent on alterations.

 

I never take notice about what people are driving, even in the UK, my sons mate drives a nice Mercedes on lease finance and he's a plumber.

 

Good luck. In these times you can afford to bend as it states in your OP, and you are giving a bit back and a helping hand but ensuring you are not taken for a ride.

 

I have a German mate leasing a small resort on Samui, his Thai landlord has reduced his rent from 80K THB a month to 25K THB a month up near fisherman's village in Bophut. I say that just so you know, the Thais understand the hard times people are facing as well as us.

[GreasyFingers]

Depends if you want to think like a Thai landlord verses a farang landlord. Both ways you will have empty premises if you listen to some of the posters on here. You wonder if they have ever run a business or been a landlord.

As a previous commercial tenant, landlord and managing agent I would think of that old English saying: "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

[scubascuba3]

Compromise, offer a small reduction, maybe 10% so they get something, if you give 0 they may start looking elsewhere feeling aggrieved

[Russell17au]

The way that I see it is that the agreement was made before this UK mutation of the Covid-19 hit plus well before Songkran and now many businesses are in trouble. The customers are just not going to many businesses because of the unsurety of this bloody virus. I know my wife's business has dropped and the customers are just not coming because of this virus, her business has been operating for over 2 years but we are seriously thinking of closing it because we cannot continue to pay the rent, electricity and water now because the income is just not there now. Unless her landlord is willing to do something about the rent then we will close and then the landlord will lose that income. They did not want to sign the agreement and move in until April/May but you coerced them by giving them 2 months free rent. If they had of continued with their plans of April/May they probably would not sign the agreement because of the changes in the situation with Covid-19.

[Russell17au]

37 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

What kind of business people are they to agree a rent, commence alterations and seek a reduction before opening the business?

 

It says they haven't done their sums properly! Covid19 does not enter into this because it was January 2021 not 2020 when they agreed the deal. Your misgivings about renting it out do not come into the equation here and have no relevance except for you personally.

 

Thais usually drive a hard bargain and if they are pulling on your wife's heartstrings means they have identified her as the weakest link. You say it doesn't affect you and you can afford to reduce the rent as it is easily affordable through your other business.

 

I would sit in on the conversation, offer a rent reduction on a charitable basis or ' good heart ' as they like to phrase it, making sure your wife gets the message across loud and clear, it is a one time deal.

 

Make sure you get across that you know how difficult it is for people right now with the economy and you want to help them but you can only do it this one time. Believe me, after 25 years experience in business in Thailand, they get this and they get being spoken to like this as you come across as fair minded.

 

That way, you stay the good guy, you look good to your wife as reasonable and not uncharitable. You have given them a break. Your wife will remember that you have done this for them and it gives her ample ammunition in the ' face ' stakes if they try to come again.

 

I would not pretend all is rosy in the garden, I would tell them I have to pay the bank and I have repayments too. That way if they are trying it on, they will think twice before asking again.

 

I would draw up a new contract, whether it is valid in court or not because they have shown their colours and they are wanting it to succeed by what they are putting in right now in terms of capital.

 

I doubt they will increase their deposit as it is probably already committed or spent on alterations.

 

I never take notice about what people are driving, even in the UK, my sons mate drives a nice Mercedes on lease finance and he's a plumber.

 

Good luck. In these times you can afford to bend as it states in your OP, and you are giving a bit back and a helping hand but ensuring you are not taken for a ride.

 

I have a German mate leasing a small resort on Samui, his Thai landlord has reduced his rent from 80K THB a month to 25K THB a month up near fisherman's village in Bophut. I say that just so you know, the Thais understand the hard times people are facing as well as us.

Sorry but this new strain of virus does enter into it because many things were starting to pick up until the new mutation hit and now many people are a lot worse off than they were since the end of March this year.

[jack71]

28 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Depends if you want to think like a Thai landlord verses a farang landlord. Both ways you will have empty premises if you listen to some of the posters on here. You wonder if they have ever run a business or been a landlord.

As a previous commercial tenant, landlord and managing agent I would think of that old English saying: "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

So what would you do in this situation if you were in my shoes?