Did I get FUCKED? Renting an Apartment. - GoFuckYourself.com

sortie · 02-04-2008, 05:22 PM

I just thought about something that happened a few years ago.

I answered an ad for an apartment and went to see it.
While I was looking at it two more people came to see it also and waited
outside. I said I wanted the apartment and was told to go to the main
office and write a check for the deposit.

So they have to run a credit check and all that before I actually get the apartment so it will take at least a day before I know.

I get a call from the landlord and they tell me I got a apartment but it's not the one I looked at. It's on a different floor and $25 more per month than the one I looked at. I say I can't accept it without seeing it and I want the cheaper apartment because I was there first and paid the deposit first.
The landlord said I can't have that apartment because they rented it to the other two people who got there after me.

The reason I was given is that my income was higher than the other two people and I could afford the higher apartment and the other people couldn't.
I thought this was bullshit.
They can't come up with an extra $12.50 a each?????
And why is that my problem?

Anyway, I wanted to get into that building so I didn't argue anymore and went to see the aparment and it was so good that I was glad to rent it.

So, just because I was happy with what I got I didn't care anymore about what happened.

But was this bullshit and I should have done something about it?

BradM · 02-04-2008, 05:24 PM

Yea, fucked up. I wouldn't have rented there.

IllTestYourGirls · 02-04-2008, 05:27 PM

yup you got scammed.

sortie · 02-04-2008, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradM

Yea, fucked up. I wouldn't have rented there.

I hear you but it was a nice place and options were slim in a tight market.
At the time I thought it was better to take the pain and get the best place.

slapass · 02-04-2008, 05:30 PM

Nope very normal. You did not profile for what they wanted so they took the couple as a for sure as they did and figured they could push you and maybe lose you. I used to do it all the time. Were you pretty young at the time? No one likes to rent to young people.

02-04-2008, 05:30 PM

Sounds like a setup to get more money from you. Sorry to hear that happened to you.

When you paid the deposit, did you get a contract signed and in your hands?

D · 02-04-2008, 05:30 PM

You coulda played hard ball,and threatened to walk away from the deal if they didn't give in to what you considered the original terms of the deal... and they probably would have caved. The prospect of another month going by without them renting the room out can be a big motivator to meet your requirements.

And, of course, they coulda refused to rent to you at any point, and simply returned whatever money you gave them up until that point.

Until the lease was signed, no one was obligated to do anything.

But there's definitely wiggle-room... especially if you were in a place to pay a number of months up front. I don't think I've ever paid what's been the first offer for any apartment I've lived in.... always put a couple extra months' rent up front, and asked for a 2-5% price break, at the very least.

candyflip · 02-04-2008, 05:31 PM

I had that happen to me and I haven't rented since. When I tried to back out, they tried to keep the deposit. Quick call to the bank, stop payment on the check, fuck you to the landlord.

Our mortgage on the house we're living in is 1/3 of what I was paying to rent a 1 Bedroom in NYC. Unless you're somewhere like NYC or LA, renting doesn't make any sense.

sortie · 02-04-2008, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapass

Nope very normal. You did not profile for what they wanted so they took the couple as a for sure as they did and figured they could push you and maybe lose you. I used to do it all the time. Were you pretty young at the time? No one likes to rent to young people.

Young? Hell no! Only baddog is older than me.

The other two were in their twenties and they actually moved out after about 3 months.

sortie · 02-04-2008, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sherm

Sounds like a setup to get more money from you. Sorry to hear that happened to you.

When you paid the deposit, did you get a contract signed and in your hands?

Only a receipt because they have to do the credit thing before they will give me a lease.

WiredGuy · 02-04-2008, 05:35 PM

If you said you were gonna not get either, I'm sure they would have come back later and said you can have the cheaper one. I bet they would have tried to pull the same scam on the other 2 people though.
WG

Miss Munki · 02-04-2008, 05:36 PM

The landlord should have waived the extra $25, that's kinda shitty considering you were quoted that and it's not that much money anyway. I'd let it go though, they have a right to rent to whoever for however much, it's just up to you whether to take it or not. I'm sure whatever you got is worth the extra 25 bucks

sortie · 02-04-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D

You coulda played hard ball,and threatened to walk away from the deal if they didn't give in to what you considered the original terms of the deal... and they probably would have caved. The prospect of another month going by without them renting the room out can be a big motivator to meet your requirements.

And, of course, they coulda refused to rent to you at any point, and simply returned whatever money you gave them up until that point.

Until the lease was signed, no one was obligated to do anything.

But there's definitely wiggle-room... especially if you were in a place to pay a number of months up front. I don't think I've ever paid what's been the first offer for any apartment I've lived in.... always put a couple extra months' rent up front, and asked for a 2-5% price break, at the very least.

Oh, thay had me on the hardball game!
The apartment was about 35% cheaper than anythinig in the area that size.
They knew I wasn't going to walk away over $25.

The only hardball chip I had was that they were getting tired of renting to Japanese girls for only 3 months while they went to some english school as an excuse to fuck off in America. But there was no limit to them, just a pain to keep taking applicants and moving another girl in.

sortie · 02-04-2008, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munki's Girl

The landlord should have waived the extra $25, that's kinda shitty considering you were quoted that and it's not that much money anyway. I'd let it go though, they have a right to rent to whoever for however much, it's just up to you whether to take it or not. I'm sure whatever you got is worth the extra 25 bucks

Yeah, that's what I did and it was worth the extra $25.
But I still think that is wrong.
I got there first and saw an apartment I wanted and accepted right away and then later I'm told it's rented.

I'm thinking maybe I should have done something rather then just being
"happy-go-lucky" about it. I was glad how it worked out, but still it was fucked up how it happened.

Miss Munki · 02-04-2008, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sortie

Yeah, that's what I did and it was worth the extra $25.
But I still think that is wrong.
I got there first and saw an apartment I wanted and accepted right away and then later I'm told it's rented.

I'm thinking maybe I should have done something rather then just being
"happy-go-lucky" about it. I was glad how it worked out, but still it was fucked up how it happened.

Agreed, why can't moving ever be pleasant???

DigitalDruid · 02-04-2008, 05:48 PM

Landlords are shysters all the way...... Have to be crooked to make a dime in that biz

sortie · 02-04-2008, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigitalDruid

Landlords are shysters all the way...... Have to be crooked to make a dime in that biz

New York city has the most crooked landlords!!

This episode I'm talking about was nothing compared to when I rented in NY.
But they are so good in NY that you have a hard time doing anything about it.

You have to "pay everyone off" to get a decent place in NY.

Ayla_SquareTurtle · 02-04-2008, 06:08 PM

Landlords and (particularly) property management companies and apartment complexes get away with a lot of illegal bullshit. The trouble is that not many people know their rights and so they just keep on going, sometimes for years, screwing over more and more people.

The best thing you can do (aside from learning your own rights, of course) is refuse to rent from someone like that. If you find yourself already in a lease with illegal elements or if they try to change up the terms or hit you with unfair charges/fees, you can send a demand letter through certified mail with print outs of your local lease laws where you will highlight the specific statues/laws they are breaking. If they refuse to return any unlawfully collected money or continue with the illegal portions of the lease, you can go to your local justice of the peace.

Elli · 02-04-2008, 07:01 PM

Sounds shady. Charging the customer more because he can afford more is a bit suspect. Is there a tenants' ombudsman or protection group in the area? They might be able to help you. In BC it's the Office of Housing and Construction Standards.

After Shock Media · 02-04-2008, 07:15 PM

A little unfair perhaps but other than that not really illegal as they were not discriminating against you in any legally definable way.

Then again if its a month to month if you ever want to talk about fucked up. Nothing like moving into a place (non rent controlled areas) and receiving a notice at the start of the next month that effective the following month your rent has been increased by X amount. Now what do you do? Pay and deal with it while feeling pissed off or actually start looking for a new place and start packing up all your shit you just finally unpacked and all that crap that goes along with moving.

I personally do not use any dirty tricks with any of my tenants aside from the occasional one that is caught off guard by my yearly rent increase of 5-7%. Yet on the flip side I do have a rental agreement that is very damn strict. I also have the listed replacement and cleaning expenses of every single item in the entire rental; from appliance cleaning to the cost of a missing working light bulb. I also have a late fee applicable at midnight of the day that rent is due with no exceptions and a annual APR interest rate on fee's and rents in the amount of 24% which is near the legal maximum in my state. I also have a certified 3 day or quit notice mailed out the day after the rent is due and one also delivered same day both at the tenets costs, then I also begin eviction procedures near that time. I grew very tired of tenets who know how to fuck landlords and use/abuse the system.

02-04-2008, 05:22 PM	#1
sortie Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 7,771	Did I get FUCKED? Renting an Apartment. I just thought about something that happened a few years ago. I answered an ad for an apartment and went to see it. While I was looking at it two more people came to see it also and waited outside. I said I wanted the apartment and was told to go to the main office and write a check for the deposit. So they have to run a credit check and all that before I actually get the apartment so it will take at least a day before I know. I get a call from the landlord and they tell me I got a apartment but it's not the one I looked at. It's on a different floor and $25 more per month than the one I looked at. I say I can't accept it without seeing it and I want the cheaper apartment because I was there first and paid the deposit first. The landlord said I can't have that apartment because they rented it to the other two people who got there after me. The reason I was given is that my income was higher than the other two people and I could afford the higher apartment and the other people couldn't. I thought this was bullshit. They can't come up with an extra $12.50 a each????? And why is that my problem? Anyway, I wanted to get into that building so I didn't argue anymore and went to see the aparment and it was so good that I was glad to rent it. So, just because I was happy with what I got I didn't care anymore about what happened. But was this bullshit and I should have done something about it? __________________

02-04-2008, 05:27 PM	#3
IllTestYourGirls Ah My Balls Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Under the gold leaf ICQ 388-454-421 Posts: 14,311	yup you got scammed. __________________

02-04-2008, 05:30 PM	#7
D Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Valley Posts: 7,412	You coulda played hard ball,and threatened to walk away from the deal if they didn't give in to what you considered the original terms of the deal... and they probably would have caved. The prospect of another month going by without them renting the room out can be a big motivator to meet your requirements. And, of course, they coulda refused to rent to you at any point, and simply returned whatever money you gave them up until that point. Until the lease was signed, no one was obligated to do anything. But there's definitely wiggle-room... especially if you were in a place to pay a number of months up front. I don't think I've ever paid what's been the first offer for any apartment I've lived in.... always put a couple extra months' rent up front, and asked for a 2-5% price break, at the very least. __________________ -D. ICQ: 202-96-31 Last edited by D; 02-04-2008 at 05:31 PM..

02-04-2008, 05:31 PM	#8
candyflip Carpe Visio Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: New York Posts: 43,067	I had that happen to me and I haven't rented since. When I tried to back out, they tried to keep the deposit. Quick call to the bank, stop payment on the check, fuck you to the landlord. Our mortgage on the house we're living in is 1/3 of what I was paying to rent a 1 Bedroom in NYC. Unless you're somewhere like NYC or LA, renting doesn't make any sense. __________________ Spend you some brain. Email Me

02-04-2008, 05:35 PM	#11
WiredGuy Pounding Googlebot Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 34,494	If you said you were gonna not get either, I'm sure they would have come back later and said you can have the cheaper one. I bet they would have tried to pull the same scam on the other 2 people though. WG __________________ I play with Google.

02-04-2008, 05:24 PM	#2
BradM Confirmed User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: 1123,6536,5231 Posts: 3,397	Yea, fucked up. I wouldn't have rented there.

02-04-2008, 05:30 PM	#5
slapass Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Earth Posts: 14,625	Nope very normal. You did not profile for what they wanted so they took the couple as a for sure as they did and figured they could push you and maybe lose you. I used to do it all the time. Were you pretty young at the time? No one likes to rent to young people.

02-04-2008, 05:30 PM	#6
shermo Guest Posts: n/a	Sounds like a setup to get more money from you. Sorry to hear that happened to you. When you paid the deposit, did you get a contract signed and in your hands?

02-04-2008, 05:36 PM	#12
Miss Munki Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: OC Posts: 1,355	The landlord should have waived the extra $25, that's kinda shitty considering you were quoted that and it's not that much money anyway. I'd let it go though, they have a right to rent to whoever for however much, it's just up to you whether to take it or not. I'm sure whatever you got is worth the extra 25 bucks __________________ Sex Toy Distributing \| [email protected] \| ICQ: 198221207

02-04-2008, 05:48 PM	#16
DigitalDruid Confirmed User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 647	Landlords are shysters all the way...... Have to be crooked to make a dime in that biz __________________ Get on here and make some ca$h

02-04-2008, 06:08 PM	#18
Ayla_SquareTurtle Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: 5000 full paysite reviews and counting Posts: 3,550	Landlords and (particularly) property management companies and apartment complexes get away with a lot of illegal bullshit. The trouble is that not many people know their rights and so they just keep on going, sometimes for years, screwing over more and more people. The best thing you can do (aside from learning your own rights, of course) is refuse to rent from someone like that. If you find yourself already in a lease with illegal elements or if they try to change up the terms or hit you with unfair charges/fees, you can send a demand letter through certified mail with print outs of your local lease laws where you will highlight the specific statues/laws they are breaking. If they refuse to return any unlawfully collected money or continue with the illegal portions of the lease, you can go to your local justice of the peace. __________________ gone. long gone. aylasquareturtle .."a"t".. gmail dawt com

02-04-2008, 07:01 PM	#19
Elli Reach for those stars! Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 17,991	Sounds shady. Charging the customer more because he can afford more is a bit suspect. Is there a tenants' ombudsman or protection group in the area? They might be able to help you. In BC it's the Office of Housing and Construction Standards. __________________ email: [email protected]

02-04-2008, 07:15 PM	#20
After Shock Media It's coming look busy Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn". Posts: 35,299	A little unfair perhaps but other than that not really illegal as they were not discriminating against you in any legally definable way. Then again if its a month to month if you ever want to talk about fucked up. Nothing like moving into a place (non rent controlled areas) and receiving a notice at the start of the next month that effective the following month your rent has been increased by X amount. Now what do you do? Pay and deal with it while feeling pissed off or actually start looking for a new place and start packing up all your shit you just finally unpacked and all that crap that goes along with moving. I personally do not use any dirty tricks with any of my tenants aside from the occasional one that is caught off guard by my yearly rent increase of 5-7%. Yet on the flip side I do have a rental agreement that is very damn strict. I also have the listed replacement and cleaning expenses of every single item in the entire rental; from appliance cleaning to the cost of a missing working light bulb. I also have a late fee applicable at midnight of the day that rent is due with no exceptions and a annual APR interest rate on fee's and rents in the amount of 24% which is near the legal maximum in my state. I also have a certified 3 day or quit notice mailed out the day after the rent is due and one also delivered same day both at the tenets costs, then I also begin eviction procedures near that time. I grew very tired of tenets who know how to fuck landlords and use/abuse the system. __________________ [email protected] ICQ:135982156 AIM: Aftershockmed1a MSN: [email protected]