Is this pretty typical for rental houses (application procedures) (Seattle: for sale, apartment)

[shaylahc]

My husband and I are looking at rental houses in Seattle. We found one house which was perfect, and put in an application. The management company said they had 1 application already but were "looking for someone who didn't have a realtor so they didn't have to pay a realtor fee." We went ahead an submitted an application (and they ran a credit check, which I know dings your credit). They contacted us and told us the owners had selected us and to please let them know as soon as we knew my husband's job offer had rolled in. 2 days later the offer still had not rolled in, so I emailed the company to let them know I'd be willing to put down a deposit to hold the house for a few more days, and the person at the management company said they had rented it out to someone else that same day because, "they were willing to start renting right away."

Is this typical of how rental properties are handled in Seattle? I thought it was shady of the management company to accept multiple applications on the property (there was 1 other property we viewed that said they had 2 applicants in line), not to mention offer us the house and then rent it out to someone else without telling us. It costs money to submit an application, not to mention every time someone pulls your credit report it affects your score. I know the rental market is fiercely competitive right now, but the whole process just left a bad taste in my mouth.

[theyreinphx]

Yes, yes, yes! We are in a similar situation. We are moving to the Seattle area in about 3 weeks. We have been searching for rentals for the past month and everything goes right away to locals who are willing to move in right away. We are very frustrated. We have decided to just move into an apartment so that we have a roof over our head when we get there and then scope out the area to decide where we want to live. I think once we are there, our options will open up. Unfortunately for us though, we will be stuck in an apartment for a year. Good luck! I gave up a couple days ago.

[shaylahc]

Originally Posted by theyreinphx

Yes, yes, yes! We are in a similar situation. We are moving to the Seattle area in about 3 weeks. We have been searching for rentals for the past month and everything goes right away to locals who are willing to move in right away. We are very frustrated. We have decided to just move into an apartment so that we have a roof over our head when we get there and then scope out the area to decide where we want to live. I think once we are there, our options will open up. Unfortunately for us though, we will be stuck in an apartment for a year. Good luck! I gave up a couple days ago.

Good luck to you! It certainly is frustrating!

[Hemlock140]

Rental houses are few, and the decent priced ones go very quickly. Sorry to say that's what you will have to deal with moving here. Most friends/relatives in rental houses found them by word of mouth, such as a friend of a friend moving out putting them in touch with the landlord before it was even vacant. When they actually have a vacant home to rent out there are multiple offers and they can rent for well above what the landlord is asking. This is a fairly new thing, over the last year or so as Amazon and others have added thousands of good paying jobs while homes for sale in nice areas of Seattle have climbed back up almost to what they were in 2007.

[Kayela]

Unfortunately after you give permission to run the credit check they can run one whether they rent to you or not. You can ask that they not run one except as a final criteria after they've already decided to rent to you, but really it's at the landlord's discretion once you've signed the application and given permission. I'm not saying it doesn't suck that it dings your credit though. We're apt shopping too and it's definitely not a renter's market.

[Bright*Raven]

Yes, it's normal. The rental house market is insanity here. I just went through an experience where a house had been up for about 18 hours, and my husband and I were the second folks to see it. Both parties put in an application, and we got a lot of calls negotiating (would we pay $50/month more, would we sign a 2-year lease), and after all that, we "won" the house. The next morning the landlord decided instead to rent the house to a friend. Lovely.