Applied to Rent and never heard back from Real Estate Agent... (tenants, rental)
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Hi All! I'm from California. I'm new here but was just faced with a bit of a dilemma. In March, I found a house that I wanted to rent. It had just been listed and I was able to see it on the second day it was listed. The Agent, who was very unprofessional, in her appearance, as well as her manner, gave me a rental application and an application for a credit check with a $30 fee for each person (there's 4 of us). I turned in the rental application and the application for the credit check with each fee the next day. After a week, I had to contact the Agent and ask about our applications. She told me that the Owner had not had time to review my app, nor run our credit. Another week passed and still nothing. I wrote her and called her again only for her to give me the run around about the Owner not having time again but would review it that Friday. It took almost three weeks before they finally charged my credit card and run the credit checks. She then stated the Owners were going to look at our application that evening.
A couple of days later I went onto the site where I found the listing to show the house to my boss and it had been removed. I called and email the Agent to ask if they had rented it and she stated that the Owner had decided that the house need work and they were pulling the listing. I asked her to please let us know when it would be available as we were still interested; she said "Will do!"
From mid-March until mid-May, I have been emailing and calling her regarding the house and kept getting the response that they were still working on it and were hoping to have it done by April 1; by May 1; and now here we are May 29 and I find out from a friend who's a property manager and my son, who drove by the house, that it's been rented.
I don't understand why she wouldn't just tell me that they had rented it instead of keep leading me on? Not to mention, my credit check fee.
So my question to you is, should I write her (and maybe her supervisor) an email about how unprofessionally she handled this and demand a refund of my credit check fees since they pulled the rental two days after running my credit and charging me, and never contacted me about it being rented? I wasn't going to expend the energy but this was just handled in the wrong manner and I had always been courteous and cooperative.
Hi All! I'm from California. I'm new here but was just faced with a bit of a dilemma. In March, I found a house that I wanted to rent. It had just been listed and I was able to see it on the second day it was listed. The Agent, who was very unprofessional, in her appearance, as well as her manner, gave me a rental application and an application for a credit check with a $30 fee for each person (there's 4 of us). I turned in the rental application and the application for the credit check with each fee the next day. After a week, I had to contact the Agent and ask about our applications. She told me that the Owner had not had time to review my app, nor run our credit. Another week passed and still nothing. I wrote her and called her again only for her to give me the run around about the Owner not having time again but would review it that Friday. It took almost three weeks before they finally charged my credit card and run the credit checks. She then stated the Owners were going to look at our application that evening.
A couple of days later I went onto the site where I found the listing to show the house to my boss and it had been removed. I called and email the Agent to ask if they had rented it and she stated that the Owner had decided that the house need work and they were pulling the listing. I asked her to please let us know when it would be available as we were still interested; she said "Will do!"
From mid-March until mid-May, I have been emailing and calling her regarding the house and kept getting the response that they were still working on it and were hoping to have it done by April 1; by May 1; and now here we are May 29 and I find out from a friend who's a property manager and my son, who drove by the house, that it's been rented.
I don't understand why she wouldn't just tell me that they had rented it instead of keep leading me on? Not to mention, my credit check fee.
So my question to you is, should I write her (and maybe her supervisor) an email about how unprofessionally she handled this and demand a refund of my credit check fees since they pulled the rental two days after running my credit and charging me, and never contacted me about it being rented? I wasn't going to expend the energy but this was just handled in the wrong manner and I had always been courteous and cooperative.
Thanks,
SS
I would for sure! Who knows if they even actaully ran a credit check.
I would for sure! Who knows if they even actaully ran a credit check.
Absolutely - and if they respond with anything other than the return of your application fee tell them you'll be seeing them in small claims court. No, I'm not sue-happy (very far from that) but sometimes there's no choice. When you get to that point after all attempts at mediation have failed, the mere mention of court intervention is often sufficient to have the matter resolved right away.
Absolutely but I would recommend to write her broker. I'm a broker myself and this is unethical but you need proof. It is already weird how long the time frame of waiting to have the background check running was and they need to keep the proof of that on file so that should help your case.
You deserve your money back from at least the owner and otherwise the agent/office.
Thank you all. I have spoken to her Manager and he didn't seem very happy about this. I am also following up with a letter to her and also to his attention.
I'll bet that the application you signed says the fees are non refundable. But, ask anyway. The worst that can happen is they say no.
OP is in CA. Non-refundable fees are pretty much a no-go in CA. Quick excerpts from CA law re rental application fees:
... A landlord who uses the screening fee to obtain the applicant’s credit report must give the applicant a copy of the report upon his or her request.
... A landlord who never gets a credit report or checks references on an applicant must refund the entire screening fee.
... Unless the applicant agrees in writing, a landlord may not charge a screening fee if no rental unit is available.
... Landlords must provide an itemized receipt when collecting an application screening fee.
It doesn't matter if it is non refundable. Our application fee is non refundable and we even have tenants sign for that but this case is an exception and we had it ones that an owner changed his mind after we had run an application and didn't want to rent the place anymore and we informed the owner that the right thing to do was to refund the fees and he did since we explained this is close to fraud to have someone pay for an application while there is nothing to apply for.
In CA if you pay for a credit check, you have the right to a copy of it if you ask for it. Plus, they can only charge you their actual out of pocket costs for it, and if you ask for them, they have to provide you with receipts to prove the cost. They have to give you back the difference between what they actually paid and what they charged you.
For instance, if they run it online and it only costs them $15.00, they would have to give you back $15.00 from your $30 charge. They also can only run a credit check on tenants 18 years old and older.
He also can't charge you an application fee if he knows the rental won't be ready in a reasonable time, or won't be vacant, etc.
So, send them a copy of the law below and tell them you want receipts for the actual cost, and a copy of your report. And see what happens.
Then, if they don't offer to give the full amount to you, you can go back to them and say you believe they knew the place wouldn't be vacant for a reasonable amount of time, which became apparent in how long everything took, and the law says in that case, they have to give you all your money back. Yes, you could ask for this up front, but I get the sense you'd like to mess with them a little. So, do it in two steps he he.
When you submit a rental application, the landlord may charge you an application screening fee. In 2009, the landlord may charge up to $42.06, and may use the fee to cover the cost of obtaining information about you, such as checking your personal references and obtaining a credit report on you.32
The application fee cannot legally be more than the landlord's actual out-of-pocket costs, and, in 2011, can never be more than $42.41, and may use the fee to cover the cost of obtaining information about you, such as checking your personal references and obtaining a credit report on you.
The application fee cannot legally be more than the landlord's actual out-of-pocket costs, and, in 2012, can never be more than $44.51. The landlord must give you a receipt that itemizes his or her out-of-pocket expenses in obtaining and processing the information about you. The landlord must return any unused portion of the fee (for example, if the landlord does not check your references).
The landlord can't charge you an application screening fee when the landlord knows or should know that there is no vacancy or that there will be no vacancy within a reasonable time. However, the landlord can charge an application screening fee under these circumstances if you agree to it in writing.33
If the landlord obtains your credit report after you've paid the screening fee, the landlord must give you a copy of the report if you request it.34 As explained in the section on "Credit Checks," it's a good idea to get a copy of your credit report from the landlord so that you know what's being reported about you.
Hi All! I'm from California. I'm new here but was just faced with a bit of a dilemma. In March, I found a house that I wanted to rent. It had just been listed and I was able to see it on the second day it was listed. The Agent, who was very unprofessional, in her appearance, as well as her manner, gave me a rental application and an application for a credit check with a $30 fee for each person (there's 4 of us). I turned in the rental application and the application for the credit check with each fee the next day. After a week, I had to contact the Agent and ask about our applications. She told me that the Owner had not had time to review my app, nor run our credit. Another week passed and still nothing. I wrote her and called her again only for her to give me the run around about the Owner not having time again but would review it that Friday. It took almost three weeks before they finally charged my credit card and run the credit checks. She then stated the Owners were going to look at our application that evening.
A couple of days later I went onto the site where I found the listing to show the house to my boss and it had been removed. I called and email the Agent to ask if they had rented it and she stated that the Owner had decided that the house need work and they were pulling the listing. I asked her to please let us know when it would be available as we were still interested; she said "Will do!"
From mid-March until mid-May, I have been emailing and calling her regarding the house and kept getting the response that they were still working on it and were hoping to have it done by April 1; by May 1; and now here we are May 29 and I find out from a friend who's a property manager and my son, who drove by the house, that it's been rented.
I don't understand why she wouldn't just tell me that they had rented it instead of keep leading me on? Not to mention, my credit check fee.
So my question to you is, should I write her (and maybe her supervisor) an email about how unprofessionally she handled this and demand a refund of my credit check fees since they pulled the rental two days after running my credit and charging me, and never contacted me about it being rented? I wasn't going to expend the energy but this was just handled in the wrong manner and I had always been courteous and cooperative.
Thanks,
SS
I would absolutely demand my money back. Write a letter to her broker or office manager and explain the situation. You can go as far as ethics issue as she strung you along for weeks. And then two days after running credit they realized the house needed work? Yeah ok.
If they knew the house needed work they shouldn't even put it up for rent much less take applications. It's not like all of the sudden they had this epiphany that the house needed work. What I see this "listing" to be is nothing more than a test. Don't be surprised if it comes back listed for a few hundred more bucks per month higher rent price
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