is this normal when renting a place?

[jpab14lot]

So I found a cheaper place to rent and filled out the application yesterday. I just got a call back from the realtor saying that the application has been accepted. However, they also said that in order for the listing of the condo to be taken down I need to give them first months rent. This will all happen before I even see the lease. Is this normal? All the other places that I have rented all ask for the security and first months rent at the lease signing. What happens if I find something in the lease I don't like? Will I get my money back? I mean they can't charge me for 1st months rent if I never sign the lease to rent the place can they?

 

[phideltflg]

Not totally unusual. I had to give first and security in the form of cashiers checks on the last place I rented.

 

[jpab14lot]

Not totally unusual. I had to give first and security in the form of cashiers checks on the last place I rented.

did you do it before you signed the lease?

 

[csklad]

did you do it before you signed the lease?

Have you asked if it is refundable? Or if they can email you a copy of the lease for review? Alternatively, go there with the money ASAP and look at the lease before you pay.

 

[jpab14lot]

Have you asked if it is refundable? Or if they can email you a copy of the lease for review? Alternatively, go there with the money ASAP and look at the lease before you pay.

The realtor is the one who told me that I would need the money now and not the owner. He said that after I pay the first months rent that he would get the lease processed through an attorney and then sent to me. So it doesn't sound possible to look at the lease before handing over the money.

 

[PoopandBoogers]

I don't know if that's normal or not, but that sounds shady as hell.

 

[MIKE_G]

Apartment manager must be a black chick. Or think you're one.

 

[Wendy79]

I don't know if that's normal or not, but that sounds shady as hell.

It definitely does. Sounds very scammy.

 

[OrlandNole]

You're being scammed.

 

[F4Gary]

The only thing you should be paying for before seeing the lease is the background check.

 

[noleit]

Sounds iffy.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Is it typical for a realtor to be involved in a condo rental?

 

[DanC78]

He just trying to close the deal. Just tell him that he can leave it up on the listing site and that you'll pay all required deposits once you come in sign lease.

 

[SoProudNole]

OP shouldn't be shopping for rentals if she doesn't have first month's rent. That's wack.

 

[SWFNole]

Is it typical for a realtor to be involved in a condo rental?

If the owner is using a management group to handle the property, it's possible.

As for the question at hand, I'd walk away from the deal as fast as possible.

 

[SoProudNole]

Reading it again convinces me OP is dumb as hell. Why didn't you ask THEM if you get that money back if you don't sign the lease instead of asking the board?

 

[-OB1-]

Reading it again convinces me OP is dumb as hell. Why didn't you ask THEM if you get that money back if you don't sign the lease instead of asking the board?

Well he just said in another thread he's 23. We'll chalk it up as life experience.

 

[RTM58]

The apartment market has NEVER been stronger, but, that said, you don't give them cash till you have a lease.

"The apartment market has never been tighter", Axiometrics' Jay Denton

On the plus side, you're not in South Florida. Apartment rents in South Florida may be reaching the limits of affordability. The average renter in the Miami Metro paid $1,602 per month in April 2015, the average rent in the Fort Lauderdale Metro was $1,447 in April and the April 2015 average rent of $1,416 in the West Palm Beach Metro.
South Florida renters are paying a higher percentage of their income toward their housing, apartment market research found. For example, the average rent took up 28.9% of the median household income in both Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach as of the fourth quarter of 2014, the most recent income figures available. Miami’s rent-to-income percentage actually was lower in the fourth quarter of 2014 than it was in the last quarter of 2013 – 31.1% to 34.9% -- yet, still a very high percentage. In comparison, nationwide average rent was 21.9% of median household income in the fourth quarter of 2014.

 

[seminoledq]

You're being scammed.

Shhhh. Don't tell him. Let's see how this plays out.

 

[ncnole1975]

The realtor is the one who told me that I would need the money now and not the owner. He said that after I pay the first months rent that he would get the lease processed through an attorney and then sent to me. So it doesn't sound possible to look at the lease before handing over the money.

Screw that. Never give money before reading the lease

 

[phideltflg]

did you do it before you signed the lease?

We had to provide before signing the lease. It was 100% refundable if we didn't qualify or take the place. They didn't cash them until we signed the lease. It was all done through a realtor and management company.

 

[Nolec]

Screw that. Never give money before reading the lease

This

 

[jpab14lot]

We had to provide before signing the lease. It was 100% refundable if we didn't qualify or take the place. They didn't cash them until we signed the lease. It was all done through a realtor and management company.

This is my situation. Found out that it is refundable if I don't sign the lease. Love you guys.

 

[F4Gary]

Is it typical for a realtor to be involved in a condo rental?

That's how I rent my house in Austin.

 

[fsuksig]

Stop being coy, Jpa. If you need to beg for money, just beg nicely here.

 

[Seminiferous]

Paying a month's rent in advance could be a relatively inexpensive, unforgettable life lesson.

The problem with experience is that the final exam precedes the lesson.

 

[SoddyNole]

Let the realtor know that the renter's lawyer needs to contact your lawyer first.

"Slippin Jimmy".