Man can't believe his eyes when old landlord sends him $2,500 check as a ‘share’ after selling home

Doing the right thing isn't always easy. It requires strength, integrity, and sometimes, a lot of effort. An anonymous landlord demonstrated all these qualities with a kind-hearted gesture toward his former tenant, Chris Robarge. Chris was so moved by the surprise that he shared the full story on social media. The uplifting tale left people in tears, with many praising the landlord as someone who truly lives by his values.

In an age where thank you letters and kind notes are becoming rare, this landlord sent Chris a heartwarming letter that left him speechless. Chris, originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, had rented from this landlord for quite some time. In August 2021, he shared a Facebook post expressing his astonishment and gratitude for the unexpected gesture.

“I have been sitting with this for more than a day and I am still completely beyond an actual way to describe what this act means to me," he wrote in the post. "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." Chris added, "Do it off the clock, do it when no one is watching, do it always."

A few days ago, the landlord contacted Chris to ask for his current address. Chris wondered why, but when he received an envelope in the mail, he was astonished. Inside was an honest letter and a cheque for $2,500. Chris shared pictures of both items in his post. While he had enjoyed his time renting from the landlord, this generous gesture was completely unexpected. The heartfelt letter explained that the landlord had sold his house and was giving Chris and every former tenant a share of the profit.

The landlord stated in the letter that keeping this money after the sale of the property was “exploitative and antithetical to a just society.” He even explained the math behind the amount on the cheque he had enclosed with the letter. “I tried to keep the rent equivalent to the monthly expenses of keeping the house (mortgage principal, mortgage interest, taxes, insurance, utilities, improvements). While the mortgage principal, especially in the first years of a mortgage, is a small fraction of those overall expenses, I wanted to return to you that portion of the rent you paid,” the owner described.

He also mentioned that he calculated the principal amount paid each month in the rent, split it by the tenants who were living in the house at that time, and added 40% as the 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,” he said.

After the post caught people’s attention, Chris posted an update revealing that he was keeping $500 for a car repair service, and donating the rest of the money to those who needed it the most. “I want this good deed to reach as far as possible,” he said. He offered $500 to Black and Pink Massachusetts, a prison abolition organization. Apart from this, he said he was going to fill every Worcester Free Fridge. 

The post melted the hearts of people online and gave some of them "a reason to believe once again in humanity.” @g.w.smith.5 commented, “I needed to see this kind of humanity today. Thank you for that.” @virginia.bechtold too was inspired by the landlord’s generous act. She said, “This is what I’ll do if I ever own a rental property. Thanks for the inspiration.” @lisa.mullen.18 also noted, “This is wonderful...goes to show that there are good people out there.”

Chris concluded his post with a shout-out to his landlord and an inspiring message for others, “If you can't do what my former landlord did, let this inspire you to give whatever you can spare to someone or someplace that needs it."

Editor's note: This article was originally published on June 8, 2024. It has since been updated.