Advice needed - Have I been scammed? (Chicago: apartments, leasing)

[cjChicago]

Dear Chicagoans,

I'm in a difficult situation and was hoping to get some advice. I thought I'd found the perfect apartment on CL, the landlord was super-friendly, the place was humongous and the price seemed right. Two days after I agreed to rent the place, the landlord gave me a lease, which I said I needed to read over before signing. But I gave him a check for the security deposit to secure the place, and told him I expect the receipt when I hand him the signed lease next time. Well, fast forward two days, I gave him the signed lease, but he left the dates blank, saying we need to confirm with the management office about specific move date first. No mention of the deposit receipt, so I stressed at the end of our meeting that next time we meet I need both a copy of the complete lease and the receipt.

Now 2 weeks have passed, and I've been biting my nails wondering if this guy just ran off with my deposit. I called him on Saturday, and he said he was sorry, been crazy busy, and will call me as soon as he gets home...which he never did. I called him the next day and again the same "busy" excuses, but he said he just wrote in his notebook and will call me first thing Monday when he talks to the management about my proposed move-in date. I also told him about my concerns, and first he said I should just "trust him", but went ahead and agreed to meet on Tues to give me my paperwork. It is now late Monday night, and no calls. Honestly at this point I'm really starting to get cold feet. If it takes this much arm-twisting to get legal documents from this guy, what's it gonna take for him to fix a clogged toilet? Isn't he required by law to provide a deposit receipt within 14 days? Can I use that against him? What are my options?

Thanks in advance! (and sorry for the long post...it's a complicated situation.)

[eevee]

Unfortunately, you never should have given him any money until a lease was signed, a copy was given to you, and details such as move in dates were sorted out (hell, if the place is vacant and move in ready, I see little reason not to get the keys at the same time). I would have rushed to the bank, canceled the check, and moved on from that apartment. I would have been perfectly legit since no lease was signed.

Have you asked if the hold up is with the management office? Did you fill out an application with them? Do you know for a fact that the management office approved you?

Honestly, I'm not buying the "too busy" excuse. I've rented apartments at the height of rental season and have received more prompt responses from landlords. Winter is a slow time for rentals, especially for leases not starting on January 1st (I'm assuming this is for February 1st). Even if he got back to you tomorrow and you got the apartment, this isn't a good sign. At best, he's a newbie and/or overwhelmed at the moment; at worst, he's a flake. Either way, I wouldn't want to have to deal with such a landlord for a year.

[cjChicago]

Hi eevee,

Thanks for your quick reply. I agree it was stupid on my part to hand him the check without any documentation other than my carbon copy. During our conversations, he mentioned several times that the management office requires a mountain of paperwork, and each time I replied that he should give me the paperwork early so I can get started on them and make sure everything is in order before I move in. He admits he sneaked his current tenant in as his girlfriend but says he can't do it for all tenants (and I assured him I do not want to go that route either). But so far no sign of any paperwork. I'm serious thinking about backing out because so far my experience with this guy has been very unpleasant. But can I still back out now with a lease signed by both parties without start/end dates? I suppose losing the security deposit is at least better than having to deal with this guy for an entire year.

[Attrill]

I'm a little confused - you say he's the "landlord" but he has to check with the "management office"? Did you make the check payable to him or to a management company? If you made it out to him, and he is truly the landlord, having to check with a management office seems weird to me. If he's the property manager and the check is made out to a company then I wouldn't be too worried. If you're really concerned just check to see if they've cashed the check and stop payment if they haven't.

[cjChicago]

Sorry, a bit more specific info: this is for a condo unit. He's the owner of the unit, but there's a management overseeing the building (which I couldn't find any information on Google). The check was cashed 3 days after I gave it to him.

[snoylekim]

Ahhh .. a condo ..OK .. They're probably not scamming as much as just not being 'professional' in the landlord department ..We had a few owners that were first time 'landlords' that needed to learn the processes around leasing, Chicago Landlord Tenant requirements, Board requirements for leasing a unit and the like. They probably need to have the lease approved by the association/management company , plus arrange for the elevators and the move-in fees ( Be sure you ask about these ..many associations charge 200.00 and up for a 'move in') . "Approval' of the lease usually just means a quick review to insure that any required clauses ( e.g. 'any violation of association rules by the lessor constitutes breach') are included .
Be sure you have a discussion about what services or repairs you call the landlord about versus calling the building management office; in most developments, the management office/service team will respond to emergency repair situations such as water leaking, but other repairs will be the owners responsibility ..The management office is not the landlord/owner, so there are things they will not get involved in .

[cjChicago]

well, I'd love to give him benefit of doubt, but he kept on stressing: "I've done this before. This isn't my first time." when I pressed him on issues. I've called him repeatedly to find out about the move date and move-in fee, and two weeks later I still get the "oh I think it might be ok...but I'll double-check and call you back". I've heard that 5 times so far. Unfortunately the building maintenance team doesn't take care of in-unit repairs, so I'm at his mercy for that. And if this is how he handles things, I'm in for a nightmare of a year

[knitgirl]

You should be able to find out if he actually owns the condo. I can think of a couple of ways to try. I'd start by finding out the name of the condo management company and speak to them. You can also look up ownership online. You'll probably have to start with the Cook County Assessor's website to get the pin# of the unit Cook County Assessor's Office - Property Search , then you can go to the Cook County Treasurer's site :: Cook County Treasurer's Office - Chicago, Illinois :: which will give you the name and address of the person who gets the tax bill. This would help you figure out if he's just disorganized or if he is really a scammer.

[jgardener]

Start looking for another apartment, two weeks is a ridiculously long time to wait, especially if the lease doesn't have even have a date yet. What date do you need to be the apartment by? Was this originally for February 1st, March, Apri, or later? If you really need to be out of where you currently are, you need to be more direct and insistent with him. Tell him you need to be in there by a certain date or you have to have the deposit back.

This doesn't sound like a scam, however it may be like many condo buildings where only a certain percentage of the units can be rented out at one time, some buildings it's 25% and a friend's building only 3 out of 20 units are allowed to be rentals at once. He may be trying to skirt regulations, but for sure he is a disorganized mess. Find out who the management company is and find out some specifics. I don't know how to search for their name(sometimes there's a sigh or a small plaque on the building with the management name), but maybe someone on here does? Management company names sometimes come up when I google condo addresses (even the self-managed associations). Just find out if he's even allowed to rent the unit.

If you're worried about his general behavior as a landlord (I would be), demand the deposit back and find a new place. You can always try going after him in small claims court after you're settled in a new place or if it isn't worth the hassle to you chalk it up to lesson learned.

[cjChicago]

Hi knitgirl, that's excellent information! I was able to find out who the tax bill goes to. According to chicago.blockshopper.com, it looks like the landlord I've been talking to is indeed the most recent buyer, although for some reason the owner on tax bill is a different person.

jgardner: I'm supposed to move in at the end of Feb. After much digging on Google I was able to find a number for the management, will be calling them for some more information. Perhaps he's not trying to scam me, but I do think there's something fishy about his unwillingness to confirm things with management. Sigh...lesson learned!