Do I contact the listing agent directly? Confusion about this process. Northern NJ. (agents, rental)

[ksa822]

Hi all,

I'm hoping somebody here can help me. My family and I are trying to find a rental home in northern NJ, and we currently live in LA. My mom, who is local in NJ, is doing the groundwork for us but we are working with an agent who has been very helpful. I found a listing for a home a week ago that she was not the listing agent on. She took my mother to see it and we decided we'd take it right then and there. We supplied a signed lease, application, and all of the necessary checks.

Important sidebar: The home is a single-family home but here is the catch: in the basement there is a full kitchen and what look like two bedrooms. Though nobody lives down there at the moment, our agent became concerned that when an inspector came through for the certificate of occupancy, that there might be a problem.

Since we "saw" the house, our agent has been coordinating with the home's listing agent who has been hard to get in touch with. After she had all of the proper documentation, she went to the owner and then began to balk saying they wanted to complete the C/O before signing any lease. Our agent said this could be because they're worried they might not pass it and then the owner would be saddled with an invalid lease. Our agent is doing her part as far as I can tell to push with the listing agent but so far, nada. So we are just sitting and waiting, which is very frustrating.

I've never had to deal with TWO different agents on a rental listing before. I've never even spoken with the listing agent, which is a bit frustrating as I feel very much in the dark. My question is, is it inappropriate for me to reach out to the listing agent directly? Or could it possibly be detrimental to this whole situation? We really would like to rent this house as it's perfect for our needs (and the market is quite difficult right now).

I'm just confused about the etiquette here.

[marksmu]

Sounds like your agent is doing an excellent job. The listing agent has likely passed on his concerns to the landlord, who is probably dragging his feet just hoping to get someone in the place without doing anything....remember a tremendous number of agents are super lazy and only want the money, so they wont do any additional work. Here you seem to have an agent looking out for your best interests...I would let the agent handle this. They seem to be on top of it.

[ksa822]

Thanks, marksmu. That helps a lot.

I don't know if you're an agent or not, but if you are, do you know if it's common that an agent would try to rent a place without getting a new C/O? It just seems odd to me that the landlord would even bother listing the property with an agent if he/she knew that a normal part of the leasing process is to obtain a new C/O per each new tenant. I mean, couldn't an agent get in trouble for not following proper procedure? Maybe I'm naive.

[marksmu]

Originally Posted by ksa822

Thanks, marksmu. That helps a lot.

I don't know if you're an agent or not, but if you are, do you know if it's common that an agent would try to rent a place without getting a new C/O? It just seems odd to me that the landlord would even bother listing the property with an agent if he/she knew that a normal part of the leasing process is to obtain a new C/O per each new tenant. I mean, couldn't an agent get in trouble for not following proper procedure? Maybe I'm naive.

I am an agent, but not in CA, so I am not familiar with the laws/requirements. Texas has no C/O except on new construction and remodels that require a building permit. Once a C/O issues here its a done deal for the life of the home and its out of the State/municipalities hands (as it should be)

There are lots of landlords/agents who break the rules and just hope not to get caught. I would not put anything past anyone in this regard....especially with an out of state tenant.