Realtor help
This is slightly long: Hey there, I’m in a bit of a pickle with a realtor, and was hoping that perhaps you all on here might have some advice on how to rectify this situation. As a back story, for several days at the end of last month, my partner and I thought we would…
This is slightly long:
Hey there,
I’m in a bit of a pickle with a realtor, and was hoping that perhaps you all on here might have some advice on how to rectify this situation.
As a back story, for several days at the end of last month, my partner and I thought we would have to leave our apartment, so we blindly started searching and blindly signed an application for one apartment, leaving with them about $1500- the first month’s rent/deposit, which they told us was non-refundable unless we were denied the apartment. A day later, while browsing their site, we noticed an apartment that we were not shown, and requested to see it. Again, we blindly switched the application over to this new apartment (a studio) but did not initial, etc. the changes on the paper- the realtor took care of this at our request.
They did not run a background/credit check on me, so I am also owed that fee and there is no way that my partner alone could pass the application for said apartment.
Long story short, we no longer have to leave our home and want our money back.
We are pretty sure that we would be denied the studio based on my partner’s income (in retail) and my poor credit store and low income (I am a full-time student and a part-time barista), but have a feeling they would approve us out of spite. The best they can offer us is to put the money towards another place- but by June. Again, we now have no intention of leaving our space. The last correspondance from the realtor was today and in addition to basically being told to fuck off we were also told that the manager doesn’t make it a habit to contact clients.
In summation, we feel like we are being taken advantage of and also strongly believe that we are deserving of our money back, because to us, $1500 is nothing to sneeze at.
We are preparing to file a complaint with the Dept. of State in the hopes of getting some legal help.
Anyone out there have any other ideas, advice, etc?
THANK YOU!
Read both my posts, Hannible.
Mopar sorry I was busy to respond to you. I have a life and have got finish working on that down payment so I can buy my forclosed home. As for the poor lads who had the problem with the real estate brokers I know it is harsh but the best thing you can do is report them to the better business bureu and walk away with your lose. Please remember that real estate agents are nothing but blood sucking parisites. I think mopar is one of them. Now that the housing bubble is popped they have no more blood to suck from people so the try to get every drop they can from renters. Let me tell you they made a fortune renting out appartments. What parisites!
What Mrs Limestone said.
Dept. of State- whoops. NYS dept. Of State. Yes, I understand the difference there.
It mostly sounds to me as if you’ve just gotten an expensive lesson in being an adult. If I understand correctly, you were shown at least two apartments, on two different days. The realtor also made clear that the deposit was non-refundable. I can certainly appreciate that you felt pressured by your (misperceived) *situation,* but not apparently by the realtor. On the other hand, if the realtor never completed the credit check, and maybe never submitted an application for either apartment, there might be an argument for some bad faith on the realtor’s part. You’re probably much better off visiting the realtor with hat in hand, asking for copies of the report and application, and asking for a partial refund, than marching in making self-righteous (or even pitiful) demands. BTW, unless you’re filing an international human rights violation suit, contacting the Department of State is not likely to get you very far.
Hannible, Ohio would be the perfect place for you.
i don’t understand the business relationships here. normally when you work with a broker to find a rental, you pay them a commission based on the annual rent once you sign the lease. a deposit or application fee, on the other hand, is paid to the owner to secure the property and protect them against changes of heart (like you had). it’s not clear to me why the broker would get to keep your deposit in this situation. is there a document signed by the owner? or are you dealing with a managing agent of some sort and not a traditional broker?
also, i’m not suggesting you signed a lease — my question is whether you were looking to move in to the new place this month.
Filling out an application is not the same thing as signing a lease. What was the $1500 deposit for? You don’t owe the broker a fee unless they find you an apt. It sounds like a scam. I would contact the DA and the Better Business Bureau. See what they say, then consider sueing them in small claims. Also, BTW, this is not the way to search for an apt. You give them all the money at the same time in exchange for a key on the premises. And I don’t deal with brokers either for this reason. Except ones that have been operating out of neighborhood storefronts for a long time and have reasonable contracts. Was this one of those, or did you find them through Craigslist?
And the lease would not have started until January 1.