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I have a tenant whos refrigerator died thursday night. He left me a message thursday evening, say 7pm, and i didnt receive the message until 11pm. Friday morning, he leaves me a message saying that he can’t wait to hear from me regarding the matter, and that he is going to go to HomeDepot later that afternoon and pick up a fridge himself, and that he will deduct the cost from this months rent. I get the message sometime around 2pm and try to call him before he tries to make the purchase. He winds up buying a refrigerator that costs $600! Which is a considerable figure considering I had one picked out for less than $400, and what he was replacing was a basic, bare minimum unit. Tonight, I get his rent check minus $700, which includes the cost of the fridge, tax, and delivery.
In a situation like this, am i responsible for the entire cost of his appliance considering the difference of what I would have purchased? Is it unreasonable to only reimburse him $400 and try to collect? Any advice is much appreciated