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On Friday my girlfriend and I signed a lease for an apartment in an upscale complex / neighborhood and we took possession of the unit yesterday (Tuesday). I was working late so my girlfriend went in and did the walk through / acceptance and got the keys, etc. After work I stopped by to take a look at the interior (at this point I had not seen inside this specific unit because there was a prior tenant occupying it) and discovered it was nowhere near the standard represented by their "show" unit.
I have a whole list of issues, from subpar kitchen counter tops to unlevel and unfinished flooring, and this just from a 10 minute walk through. The office was already closed at that time last night so I will be setting an appointment to meet with the manager immediately after work today.
My question is, what are my options? The property management group for this complex is a very reputable company with numerous properties in the area and every representative I have dealt with thus far has had a very pleasant and professional demeanor. I was shocked that they would rent this unit out in this condition. I'm hoping it was an oversight and they will work with us to solve the issues, either by doing a little remodelling (which the apartment really needs in order to meet the standards this complex aspires to), offering to move us into a different unit without such problems, or simply voiding the contract and giving us a full refund (last resort).
I'm not sure what rights / expectations I should have going into the meeting however, as we have already signed the lease and my girlfriend (who is not very experienced in these matters) already did the acceptance. Am I at the mercy of the manager here, or do I still have some legal rights, such as landlord breach of contract or even fraud for mis-representation / false advertising (concerning the show unit vs the actual unit). Do both tenants have to sign off on the acceptance for it to be valid, and does that even have any real bearing on fulfillment of the contract?
I just want to go into this meeting with a better idea of what options I might have if they aren't willing to work with us and solve these issues. Thank you very much for any advice you can offer.
Hopefully the management company will meet you at least half way. If not then you'd best consult an attorney to see whether or not you can squeeze out of the walk-through because only your girlfriend signed off on it when both of you should have done so. Check the wording on the walk-through sheet. Good luck.
CarlitosBala: the issue is that the OP's girlfriend DID sign off on the walk-through.
Yeah, I dropped the ball on this one. I guess I was lulled into a false sense of security due to the great reputation, high standards of all their properties, and the great attitudes of their leasing agents. I just took it for granted that the apartment would have the same high quality trim level / attention to detail as the other units I had seen, especially since this is one of their top end properties, and took the more convenient route (having g/f accept it yesterday rather then wait until a day off to walk through together) so we could start moving in sooner.
Here's hoping the reputation is well earned and they stand by the standards they advertise...
Hopefully it will all work out well and it would be nice if you could return with an update as so often these threads are left hanging! Oh, and by the way, don't berate your girlfriend.
Hopefully it will all work out well and it would be nice if you could return with an update as so often these threads are left hanging! Oh, and by the way, don't berate your girlfriend.
Oh I wasn't being negative at all towards my girlfriend, she's wonderful. She just doesn't have much experience in these matters - she's only ever had one other apartment before this one - and that's why she didn't pick up on some of these issues when she did the acceptance. My bad for putting her in that situation solo instead of waiting to do it together, just really didn't expect any issues and we were eager to get moved in.
I'm meeting with the property manager and maintenance manager today after work, so we'll see if we can get this resolved.
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