Four months after a West Seattle couple began an attempt to breathe new life into the Burton Inn and opened its doors to overnight guests for the first time in years, the inn is closed again.

Amber Heinemann and her husband, Todd Fregin, had been leasing the building since May and posted pictures of the updated rooms on the inn’s website and Facebook page. Guests stayed at the inn and a few left reviews before an abrupt Facebook post by Heinemann on Monday. The post, shared on the inn’s Facebook page and posted to a Vashon community Facebook page, announced the “Burton Inn and Bistro is officially closed as of September 30th 2016.”

Heinemann’s post indicated that the building’s owner, Armen Yousoufian, was “selling the place from under” them.

Yousoufian — who has an agreement with a California mortgage banker to sell the property to her, though the deal has not closed yet — and his lawyer say otherwise.

According to Yousoufian’s lawyer, Jon Knudson, Heinemann and Fregin received a letter of intent in May stating they could lease the inn with the option to buy it. The couple began extensive work on the inside of the inn and began renting rooms but, according to Knudson, were “not forthcoming” about their accounting records and bookkeeping.

“(Yousoufian) would get 40 percent of the money the property brought in,” Knudson said. “It was part of the agreement that he would have access to their records to ensure he was getting 40 percent.”

Knudson also said the couple did not complete the necessary inspections, licenses and certifications.

Knudson said Yousoufian had every intent to make good on the rent-to-own offer and sell the inn to Heinemann and Fregin, but since they “were not complying with the letter of intent and regulations,” they were served a notice to leave.

The couple left on Friday, Sept. 30, and their lawyer says there were “miscommunications on both sides” about the agreement.

“They didn’t have a clear understanding,” David Savage, the Heinemann-Fregin attorney said Monday. “There were disagreements as to the terms of the deal; they’re trying to resolve all of the outstanding issues.”

He said he would not comment further on the case until speaking to Heinemann, citing attorney-client privilege.

Heinemann on Monday said the situation was “crazy” and drama-filled and that she and Fregin are stepping out of the picture. The two have moved back off-island.

Looking ahead, Deborah Kohler, the California mortgage banker slated to take over ownership of the inn from Yousoufian, said she has plans to restore the inn with “period workmanship” and new landscaping. She said her daughter saw the inn listed on Craigslist in January and urged her to check it out.

She called Yousoufian over the summer and “he mentioned he was having issues with the other tenants,” she said.

The sale to Kohler is expected to close, though Yousoufian was careful to say it is only an agreement currently and “anything can happen.”