[gmariec]

Hello,
I am a very frustrated first time renter. Here is my sad story. I recently begun apartment hunting and settled on a place very close to my work. When I went in on Sat 6/2/07 to view the apartments I was told by the apartment staff that the rent including specials was $99 total move in (which would cover the entire month of june) and the rent would be $734 a month for 12 months (I also have a flyer with these rent prices listed on them). Upon getting a tour of the apartment I put in an application to rent and gave them a check for the $99. After multiple calls to the property on my part I was finally told I was approved on 6/9/07, dropped off copies of my pay stubs on 6/11/07 and told that my move in date would be 6/18/07. When I showed up on 6/18/07 as arranged I was told that the apartment was ready but the carpets needed to be shampooed and would be done that day. Foolishly I still signed the lease which was for a 12 mth term with a market rate of $839 and an attached addendum of $734 per month for the special and paid a $200 pet fee by check. The apartment agent signed the addendum but not the actual lease. After I signed the lease and addendum I received the apartment keys and saw the apartment for the first time. It hadn't been prepped for move in at all and had stains on the floors, carpets, and mold on the walls. I called the office to get the exact time the apartment would be ready and was told by phone that the apartment now wouldn't be ready until Monday after 5pm. I was frustrated but felt better because the representative said that for my trouble I would given july's rent free and that my rent would be lowered to $699.16 per mth. I agreed to this and made arrangements to move on Monday. Monday came around and I was now told that the apartment wouldn't be ready until Wednesday and that the rent would still be the original 734, but I would still get the one mth free. I went into the office later in the day to get my lease updated to reflect the one month free offer and was told by the manager that her staff was not authorized to make this offer and that my rent would be 769 a month. I tried to explain that I made my decision to move there based on the 734 rent listed on the lease/addendum and she said it didn't matter because she the manager hadn't signed it and that nothing was valid until she signed it, and that the rent on my lease says 839. I tried to explain that the addendum states the 734 and she continued to insist that since the lease wasn't signed she could just throw it away and that I could make the decision to just walk away since it hadn't been signed by her and was not valid. She said that I would get my $99 back in 21 days and that I could put a stop pay on the $200 pet fee I'd already given. Then she said that she would call her corporate supervisor to see if the $734 could be honored and gave me until the following to make my decision. I ran back to the apt and packed up the few boxes I'd already moved in and returned the keys the following day along with a written letter requesting that my $99 be reimbursed.

My question is this:
Do I need to be concerned that I will still be held to the lease that I signed even though she said that it wasn't valid?
If so what can I/should I do to protect myself?

[michealb]

From now on anytime anyone tells you anything with regards to a legal contract remember it that it doesn't mean anything until you get it in writing. I would write up a cancellation notice with what the manager told you and have her sign it as soon as possible otherwise she could hold you to the contract. The landlord not signing the contract is to protect the landlord not you because if they ever want to enforce the contract they sign it, if they want to make it disappear they shred it and it never happened. So she is right she can tear up the lease and it never happened but she could also enforce it. So don't leave the office till they sign something that sayes that contract isn't valid.

[excon]

Do I need to be concerned that I will still be held to the lease that I signed even though she said that it wasn't valid?

Hello g:

Yes.

Send them a letter demanding your pet deposit and your $99 back. Outline the fiasco you encountered. Tell them that if you don't receive your money back in 48 hours, that you'll sue them. Send the letter certified, return receipt requested.

The best defense is a great offense.

excon