Landlord cashes first months rent and security deposit and now wants to renegotiate (lease, negotiations)

[hindukid]

Day 1

I went to see a place with the homestead group in Chicago. We decided we liked it and we wanted it. I was very clear with the agent that I would be using it for home business purposes and that I would not sign a lease that said for residential purposes only. He said that clause was not in the lease.

I look at the lease and of course there is a clause stating for residential purposes only. I tell him that I am going to cross out this clause and attach a separate rider that states I will be using this for home business and lessor will permit this. I also write in the margin of the lease that a separate rider is attached. He tells me that this will be no problem as owner is very agreeable and my business is not intrusive at all.

I write checks for $100 application fee and $2400 first months rent to homestead group. I write check for $3600 security deposit to owner.

Day 2

I drop by homestead group to deliver proof of income, tax statements, references and the business use rider which I have written and signed. I talk with manager of homestead group and she states that she talked to owner and read him proposed rider and all is good.

Day 4

I receive a call from homestead group that owner wants to change lease end date from Aug 31 to July 31, so i need to sign new lease. I go in and sign new lease and make same notation about rider being attached.

Day 11

I call to find out what is going on and when can I get a copy of my lease which has been signed by the owner. I am told that they are behind and I should be patient and give them another week.

Day 21

I notice that all three of my checks have been cashed. I stop by homestead group and see if I can get a signed copy of the lease and they tell me owner should have it and I should call them.

Day 22
I call owner's office and end up talking to someone who works for him. She tells me that she has never received the lease which has termination date changed from Aug 31 to July 31. She also states that the owners need to review the business use rider and will probably want to revise it.

I then call the homestead leasing agent. I leave him a voicemail. He texts me that he is on vacation but I can talk to jeff who is the office manager. Jeff tells me that he talked to owner and they have told him to hold off on sending them the contract with the revised date because they are going to send him a new rider for me to sign. I tell him to call me as soon as he gets it because I want to get this done ASAP.


So right now I am at day 23, am out $6100 and have no signed lease or even one that the landlord has stated they will agree to. I fully understand that the owner is free to reject my application, counteroffer or accept it. What I do not think is acceptable was to cash my checks and now want to further discuss lease negotiations.

They have effectively stolen any leverage I have. Now I basically sign whatever they put in front of me, or else lose 23 days and possibly have to go to court to fight over $6100. Plus if I have to put up another 6K for another place while this money is tied up it will be a big financial strain.

The way I see it is that when they cashed my check with a lease application in front of them they have accepted my offer to rent. If that is not an acceptance then they have cashed my check with no right to do so and that probably has bigger legal repercussions. Though honestly right now all I really want is for them to sign the lease and this to be over with.

At this point I think I give them until tuesday or wed. to get an acceptable rider in front of me or else I start asking for my money back. Further complicating matters are the fact that we really do want this place and we will be out of town from Aug 1 until Aug 24. The lease starts on Aug 15 and we have our current place until AUg 31. This place goes vacant July 31 so hopefully the owner should be a little desparate.

[Huckleberry3911948]

get a lawyer. sign nothing til you talk to them. get out of there stop writing checks. they are a deposit box.

[Mercury Cougar]

You should have gotten the revisions approved by the landlord before you wrote a check. It's not their fault that you tried to change the parameters of the lease without getting their approval first.

[virgode]

The biggest mistake was giving him a check for anything beyond
the $100. deposit, without seeing revisions in the lease.

You are certainly having problems with rentals, bc you'll be running
a business from home, I remember your thread posted a while back.

Sounds like your getting the run around.
Contact a realestate attorney, maybe a letter with some legal
terminology will suffice, if, at this point you still have an interest
in living there. Honestly, you know there's a problem, I wouldn't
chance it.

[nicet4]

Originally Posted by Mercury Cougar

You should have gotten the revisions approved by the landlord before you wrote a check. It's not their fault that you tried to change the parameters of the lease without getting their approval first.

and

The biggest mistake was giving him a check for anything beyond
the $100. deposit, without seeing revisions in the lease.

We have two winners!

[virgode]

Originally Posted by nicet4

and


We have two winners!