[michaelkelly923]

Hello,
My girlfriend and I are looking to move into an apartment Sept. 1. We decided to look through a realtor and found a place in New Haven we really like. We have already put down the security deposit (1,387.50) and received a copy of the lease with a witness' signature (the secretary at the office) but without a signature of the landlord (owner). The realtor wants us to pay the $925 first month's rent still without getting a copy of the lease with the landlord's signature. We have had no contact whatsoever with the property owner and instead have dealt solely with the realtor. Is this unusual? We have asked for a landlord signed copy but the realtor has refused saying we need to pay the first month's rent first and also that supposedly CT law says tenants don't receive a lease for 30 days past the move-in date.
Please advise.
Thank you.

[Cambium]

Here's what I do: pretty easy process:

Come look at the place
Fill out application
Get approved
Draw up the lease
Have the tenant sign the lease and leave a deposit + 1st months rent with it
I sign the lease and mail back to them or hand it to them

[waterlily1010]

Did the lease contain any address for the owner?
Did your realtor also represent the owner? If not, maybe you could contact the realtor who listed the property (if the property is still listed, you might still find that information on realtor.com).
Good luck!

[Joanna Adams]

Another option is to contact the brokerage that your realtor is associated with and ask to speak with the broker or manager. Explain the situation and that you don't feel comfortable paying the first month's deposit until you have a signature from the landlord. They should be able to give you some guidance or they will talk directly to your realtor. Good luck!

[michaelkelly923]

Thanks so much for the advice so far everyone! I will keep you updated on what action we choose, since it is now the weekend no progress will be made until at least Monday.

[michaelkelly923]

Thanks for all your help!!

Nature27- I assume you are a realtor? You have the power to sign instead of the landlord? You sound VERY easy to work with!

Waterlily1010- Lease contains nothing besides landlord's name. No addy/ph no. We found a home phone number of the landlord online. Left message on answering machine, no answer. The realtor does represent the owner. In fact, the realtor lives in these apts and is friends with the owner. We couldn't find any info on realtor.com

Joanna Adams- could you tell us how to find out what brokerage the realtor is associated with? We have never gone through this type of thing when renting an apt before. It was always an immediate exchange of lease ( with all sigs) and security deposit, or something similar.

[michaelkelly923]

OP's gf here. What follows is a timeline of events, if it sheds any more light on the situation. Sorry it's such a novel.


Early July- see the apartment, fall in love with it. Note: that unit was unoccupied and ready for move in at the time. There are 2 other “similar” apts that we cannot see bc they are occupied until Aug 1st. This becomes important.


2nd week of July- We call the realtor and tell her we're 100% positive we want to move in to that Sep 1, if she will have us. She tells us to come down the next week and fill out an app. Yay!


Middle of July- We visit the realtor. She tell us that the landlord is on vacation for next 8 days, and she will “try to talk him into” holding the apt we saw until Sep 1, otherwise we can take one of the units we haven't seen due to people still living there. We fill out the app with credit info, employer info, past landlords, etc. At the bottom of the page, before the signature line, there is a paragraph stating that all the money we give to the realtor will not be refunded if we change our minds. We inquire- is this an app fee? She tell us we need to pay the security deposit of $1387.50 right now. Which is a lot of money to us! We tell her that there is no way we can give her that much non-refundable money when there is a chance that we may have to take an apt we haven't seen. What if the apts aren't the same at all? We would either have to live there, or lose almost $1400! We tell her that we feel more comfortable waiting for the landlord to come back so he can decide if we can have that specific apt. If he says no, the other 2 apts will be vacated very shortly and we can take a quick peek to see if they are similar enough. She says she can't promise that she won't give all 3 apts to other people. We say that's fine, we completely understand, this is your business. She says fine, she will make sure we get the apt we saw even though the landlord “might get mad” at her. We say that's amazing, we really do want that apt, but we are not giving her the money without some sort of proof- like a lease. She says she cannot give us any proof in writing. We tell her that we want to be sure that the landlord isn't going to come home and say “no, I'm not holding this ready-to-move-in apt til Sept!” Which we could understand him doing- he will lose a whole month's rent. The realtor says “Fine, we will make the lease for you so you feel better.”


The Next Day- We come back and read the lease. The apt # is on it, the price, the move in date, the full address, everything. We are ecstatic and have check in hand! Who is going to sign the other half of the lease? Can the realtor sign it? “No one can sign it right now,” says the realtor. We express and reiterate our same concerns. She says that the landlord will be back in one week, and she will make sure to get his sig on the lease and get it to us asap only because I am “so nervous.” We give her the check and receive a receipt. Then she says we owe her app fees. Also understandable. Then she tells us that first months rent is due (check payable to her) no less than 1 week before Sept 1st. Which we've never encountered... the lease says rent is due by the 1st, but not a big deal. Shes helping us, we'll help her. The lease also states that we will have the signed copy within 30 days of moving in. Which we had also never heard of... who moves in somewhere without the lease??


Some random day in between- Realtor cashes check.


2 Weeks later- We figure that's enough time for the landlord to come back from vacation and settle in. We call realtor and ask if we can pick up the landlord signed copy of the lease. Realtor then tells us that we must pay that 1st months rent before we can get the landlord signed copy of lease. First we heard of that! Then she says the 1st months rent should be paid in cash or money order if we want the lease quicker, bc she would have to wait for the check to clear. First we heard of that, also!! Realtor keeps saying that if we pay 1st months rent on Aug 12, she will get us the lease on Aug 17. She also keeps saying that “by Connecticut state law,” we don't have to get the lease until 30 days after we move in. We asked another realtor who rents apts in CT who says she never heard of that either. We are terrified of giving her more money (and in cash if we want it quicker) and having the 17th roll around only to be told, “you don't get the landlord signed copy of the lease until Sept 30th. Or never.”

[michaelkelly923]

Our 2 concerns are:


1) The one thing we want in this world is a lease! Is it normal to have to give this much money without anything with a landlord's signature?

2) Why are we not being informed upfront & clearly of payments, fees, when getting the lease,etc?

[renovating]

Years ago when we first rented (and I mean years ago) we were required to pay upfront first and last months rent as well as 1 month security, which equals 3 months rent. I believe we signed the lease together and then paid the money.

It may be time for you to look for a new realtor (and another apartment) as the one you have doesn't sound very helpful in easing your anxiety. I would not give any more money until you read the lease. Good luck!

[Cambium]

Wow...where should I start. I read all of your timeline... I stopped after i read that you wouldn't get your money back if you decided not to take it. I heard of non refundable deposit but this just insures the realtor that she'll get paid for all the work she's done. It's crazy and i wouldn't have signed either. You're smart. So I continued.

Realtor cashed the check then asked for cash or money order for the 1st months rent?? WHY DO PEOPLE DEAL WITH A MIDDLE MAN? AND WHY ARE REALTORS SO ROBOTIC?

So bottom line is, YES you do have to give your deposit + 1st months rent BEFORE you recieve the landlords signature. Get reciepts for everything and use checks. And make sure in the contract it says lease is contigent upon tenant recieving landlords signature. (probably too late for that).

I am not a realtor nor do i want to be one. Howeer. I have used a realtor before to rent out my properties and not only I would pay the commission to her but the tenant would pay her as well. 1 month rent was the fee. She would hold the checks until we BOTH signed the lease then once we BOTH recied copies, she would pay me with a companies check.

In other words the tenants money was held in escrow, companies account until both parites signed the lease.

When I rent my properties on my own I'm so easy...give me deposit + 1st months..once checks clear you'll get my signature. period. Be nice, follow the rules and you never hear from me.