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I am about to get ready to sign a lease for a new apartment, but not sure if this is a practice that I should be weary of or suspicious. It's been a while since I have had to look for a new apartment.
The apartment I want requires no security deposit which is great. Like most, you have to fill out an application with an application fee. The interesting part is that they ask you to pay the application fee, move in fee, and first month's rent all in one when submitting the application. Is that odd?
I would think that you would apply, pay the application fee. Then if you get approved, sign a lease and that is when you submit the move in fee and first month's rent. Or is this common practice? I looked them up on Yelp on the have some mixed reviews. I saw one reviewer said that she filled out the application, payed the move in fee, and the first month's rent, only to have her application rejected. She is still waiting to get her money back.
I kind of feel like telling my agent I will gladly fill out the application and pay the application fee, but prefer to see if I get approved before I also send money for the move in and first month's rent.
They would only get the app fee out of me . don't give in to this practice go elsewhere for an apt and contact the owners of the apartment building and tell them what happened . You can find the owners under the property appraisers office for that county or state and write them a letter or call them or email them whichever works for you . this guy could be a slumlord and taking peoples money and then he might disappear you never know . Good luck
This is not the first time I've heard of this, but it is uncommon in most areas. Ask about it in the Renting forum, specify city and state to find out if it is common in that area. http://www.city-data.com/forum/renting/
I imagine some people might ask for all that out of greed or ignorance. One way to fight that is to refuse to pay it all up front. Landlords need tenants and if its made clear that asking for this is making them loose good tenant prospects, they will stop doing so.
I kind of feel like telling my agent I will gladly fill out the application and pay the application fee, but prefer to see if I get approved before I also send money for the move in and first month's rent.
What do you all think?
That's exactly what I would do. Just stick to your guns. I would.
Not sure if I'd consider it to be suspicious or not. Probably.
It's definitely sketchy behavior though, & would probably feel unacceptable to me. Assuming there are other rentals available, I would probably try to go with a different landlord. But it depends on the vibe I get, too. Among other factors.
Btw regarding the application fee, I've never had to pay one of those for a rental. But, I also haven't rented a place to live in more than 20 years, so I'm obviously not up-to-date with current practices. Have application fees become the standard now? Is it maybe a regional thing, or is it common all over?
This seems unusual. I have seen places that require the application fee and security deposit up front to hold the apartment when the inventory is limited. I have never seen anyone require the first month and the move in on top of those two items.
I am about to get ready to sign a lease for a new apartment, but not sure if this is a practice that I should be weary of or suspicious. It's been a while since I have had to look for a new apartment.
The apartment I want requires no security deposit which is great. Like most, you have to fill out an application with an application fee. The interesting part is that they ask you to pay the application fee, move in fee, and first month's rent all in one when submitting the application. Is that odd?
I would think that you would apply, pay the application fee. Then if you get approved, sign a lease and that is when you submit the move in fee and first month's rent. Or is this common practice? I looked them up on Yelp on the have some mixed reviews. I saw one reviewer said that she filled out the application, payed the move in fee, and the first month's rent, only to have her application rejected. She is still waiting to get her money back.
I kind of feel like telling my agent I will gladly fill out the application and pay the application fee, but prefer to see if I get approved before I also send money for the move in and first month's rent.
What do you all think?
I would love to hear how they justify this practice. I see some people say it's sometimes done, but I would just say no, no, and hell no.
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