Boston Lease Dispute - Please Help! (real estate, apartments, leasing)

[gofarhaveacigar]

I am a student at Boston Univ and I had a lease signed for an apartment in Allston. Today I get a call from the owner of the real estate agency saying that the landlord "accidentally" rented out the apartment to 2 groups, and as a result, we are out of luck. The lease would have started Sep 1, and now we have to scramble to find an apartment.

There is no way this is legal, since a lease was signed (I don't think we have a copy of it, but we were told everything was ok and it was signed by the landlord... I believe the real estate agency has a copy of it). We do have copies of the checks made for first, last months rents, sec deposit, and realtors fee.

Does anyone have any advice on the issue? It seems like now would be a very hard time to find an apartment within a week, at the same time coordinating packing and moving.

Thanks!

[lorilou]

First see if you can get a copy of the lease signed by both parties. Without that, there is nothing further to discuss. If you can get that, then let us know. Good luck...it sounds a bit sketchy!

[gofarhaveacigar]

I just got back from the realtor and got a copy of the lease... UNsigned by the landlord. Apparently he never signed it. So that really doesn't give me much room to go on. Is there anything I can do?

[Crematia]

Get the agent to help you find another place and maybe he/she can get you a break on the rent on another unit since you got screwed. I've seen it happen before (I used to work for a rental place on Comm. Ave.) and somehow in the event something like that happened, the client was found suitable housing somehow.

[gofarhaveacigar]

I asked the manager of the real estate agency if there were others available, he said "yeah, maybe 3 or 4". The reason we signed a lease in February is so we could get a good apartment. Why did I pay a realtors fee for no reason? I paid them 1 month's rent to do a job, and they didnt do it, which essentially screwed me over. Shouldn't there be some penalty for this?

[Crematia]

Be realistic, it's 8/23....this is the pinnacle of the rental season for that area. You will get more with honey than you will with vinegar. Be nice and try to work with the agent and I'm sure you'll get a place that meets your expectations, if you're just looking to sue someone, get over yourself already this shiat happens often enough that you won't get squat.

[gofarhaveacigar]

The peak of rental season for 9/1 apartments here is March. Which is why we did it in March. THere are literally 15,000 people looking for apartments within a mile stretch of Boston Univ.

I am not looking to just sue somebody, I am looking to get treated with some respect. Similar things have happened to me for 2 years in a row now, all because Realty Agencies know they can just push college students around thinking they don't know any better.

[lorilou]

Originally Posted by gofarhaveacigar

The peak of rental season for 9/1 apartments here is March. Which is why we did it in March. THere are literally 15,000 people looking for apartments within a mile stretch of Boston Univ.

I am not looking to just sue somebody, I am looking to get treated with some respect. Similar things have happened to me for 2 years in a row now, all because Realty Agencies know they can just push college students around thinking they don't know any better.

Gofar,
I have nothing but complete sympathy for your situation. I agree somewhat with the previous poster's suggestion of the "honey vs. vinegar" remedy...try it, because you only have $$$ to lose. Without a signature on the lease, you are completely out of gas. Try to work it out with the agent and let them know how you are not in a position to lose that kind of money. In the long run, however, you may have to accept it as a Life Lesson (these usually suck, btw). The only good takeaway is that THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO YOU AGAIN. Right? good luck!

[gofarhaveacigar]

I realize that I am completely out of luck without a signed lease. But who was at fault with the lease not signed? And why did they still take $10,000 from us when they had nothing to give us in return? I understand the honey vs. vinegar thing, and I am not out to sue whoever I can for whatever I can, but here is the situation from my standpoint:

We wanted to find an apartment early, so we went in March to get one. We found one we liked, signed a lease, gave 4 months rent, including a realtor's fee, in order to get the apartment. We were told everything is fine. Now, with 1 week until we have to move out of our current apartment, we are left literally homeless.

I would be MUCH more understanding if something like this had happened and we were told about it the day that it happened, and not within 1 WEEK of us being left out on the street, literally.

[MagicTouch]

Gofar - I am sympathetic with your situation, but for future reference in obtaining the lease here are a few things I have learned when leasing apartments, especially when renting from long distance (out of state or cross country).

1) Have them send you the lease to have all parties leasing sign (have each signature notarized)

2) Make a copy of the lease, with signatures

3) Overnight or send the lease back with signature required for receipt.

4) Have them send you a copy of the lease with the Landlords signature. If you use E-fax they can fax it to you and will will come to you as a .pdf document in your email.

When you are paying for an agency you need to have them insure that you get a signed copy of the lease. Then stay on top of it by making sure you get the copy in hand no later than 14 days after they received it from you. This would have insured that you would have gotten the apartment. I have done this 3 times, and this way it has guaranteed the apartment is mine, if they change their minds, I have a copy of a signed lease to negotiate with.

Best wishes to you in finding a place, but make sure they get you a signed copy of the lease back.