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This questions concerns receiving a refund of a deposit on an
apartmental rental before being approved by the prospective landlord
and signing a lease. I signed a propsal, submitted by my real estate
agent, to rent an apartment from a condo owner and, when that proposal
was accepted (24 hours later)by the real estate agent representing the
owner made 2 payments: 1) $100 to the condo association for a credit
and reference check and 2) a check for $975 (representing 1 months
rent) made payable to MY real estate agent's employer, being assured
it would be held in an escrow account until the least was executed.
The listing on the apartment said that the approval process took 2-3
weeks, which I informed my agent was important to me as I had to give
2 months notice on my current apartment lease and did not want to do
so until I knew the new lease would be approved. After 3 weeks, with
no activity, I informed my agent that I was concerned and was
reconsidering the application, as the process was taking too long.
Three days later I told my agent that I would probably cancel the
application. After 4 weeks from the acceptance of the propsal, I
informed my agent that I wished to cancel the application and he so
informed the other realtor (as I did in writing as well). I want my
$975 refunded from my realtor's escrow account, but they are saying
I'm not entitled to it as I would have probably been approved before
the actual intended move in date and the apartment had been taken off
the market for 4 weeks (it had been on the market for over 3 months
before I made my application). I was never told that, should either
party not actually sign a lease, my deposit would not be refundable.
Am I intitled to a prompt refund? The jurisdiction is Florida (Broward
County, Fort Lauderdale). Does the real estate agency holding this
money in their name (Atlantic Realty), claiming it's in an escrow
account, have the right to transfer the money to the prospective
owner's realtor's account without my permission? If I am entitled to a
refund and my real estate agent's broker refuses, what recourse do I
have (arbitration, legal action, state or county real estate
regulatory authority)? Thank you. Deposit, New York Schools, Public, Private and K-12 Schools in Deposit ::
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Small Claims Court is always an option.
I just read the "Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale, Inc.
Agreement to Enter Into a Lease" which was executed by me and the
owner's real estate agent. In Article 7.1 it reads, "A lease
consistent with the terms of this Agreement shall be furnished by
Landlord within 5 days after the execution of this agreement. It
wasn't. Does not this nulify the agreement? Will I need to take legal
action against my real estate agent's broker to get this money
refunded? What if they turn it over to the owner's agent without my
permission...would my action still be against my agent? Can I demand
it be returned within 24 hours and how do I get that enforced?
Back when I was in a business law course in college I remember a case
involving a person and a guy that had borrowed money from them. For
this case it involved a statute of limitations situation but if you
follow me it may bear fruit.
Borrower defaults on oral contract, loaner without any written
contract feels like they are S.O.L. (Sh__ Out of Luck) so they fail to
file anything in court. As usual a two year time limit was passed by
so loaner is sort of S.O.L., until given a small idea. Loaner writes
letter to borrower asking for return of $10,000 dollars owed, borrower
not having loaners number writes back saying, "Hey all I borrowed was
$5,000."
New statute starts with recognizing the loan thru the mail (Envelope
has date of delivery stamped on envelope). Borrower should have
ignored need to set loaner straight on amount owed.
Anyhow, maybe you can setup your own little reverse con on this real
estate agent. Find a friend that is a great B.S. artist or rent an
actor, they approach agent with same situation similar to yours. They
do everything you did plus when delivering money, this time you use
certified mail (Just as well get them in trouble with the government
for committing fraud through the mail). It would not hurt to have a
bank that would hold off on making funds available.
Second idea, here in Phoenix a local news show does this "Channel 3 on
Your Side" deal where they go investigate funny business transactions.
Nobody that wants to stay in business wants that much negative
publicity. Who knows your local news show if they don't have such an
animal may love making your case their first of many. You would be
their "Channel X on Your Side" hero/discoverer.
Visit a few real estate sites, call up a couple of other local real
estate offices and ask them what your recourse is. Find one that knows
this company that would "LOVE" to help put a crooked business out of
business.
And other than that...
As usual sergeant shultz knows... "Nuthing!" Isle of Palms Real Estate - Isle Of Palms, SC : Citysearch.com::
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LSI Real Estate Services, Inc::
Real Estate services for Europeans seeking investments on the West Coast of Florida Cancellation policy: The full rental deposit will be refunded with our receipt
http://www.lsiproperty.com/rules.phpHOME |
Stu,
Sorry to hear about the trouble you're having. Umiat and Journalist
are right in their comments -- small claims is one of your best
options as this point. Often, merely letting the parties know (I
would suggest, in writing) that you will file a claim is enough
motivation to get them to settle with you. And if not, when they
receive the actual notice that a claim has been filed, again, they
might feel a strong urge to settle before going to court.
But if push comes to shove, the small claims court will hear your case
about any money lost (which can include not only the $975, but other
money as well, such as your filing fees at court, and even, perhaps,
the money you might wind up spending here for advice) and make a
decision, usually fairly clear-cut in favor of one party or the other.
If you want details on how to go about the small claims process in Ft.
Lauderdale, let me know, and I'll be happy to provide them as an
answer to your question.
Check real estate law in your state. The real estate agent is
supposed to be working on your behalf if you signed any paper with
her. I'd check to see if she was responsible.
Also, you referenced "the listing on the apartment said 2-3 weeks" Is
that in print? If so, and you can prove (from witness real estate
agent) that it was longer than three weeks, you may be able to go the
small claims court route and recover the entire amount.
The 2-3 week timetable is the average waiting period for condo rentals
and was not put in writing in this specific case. I cancelled before
being approved by the condo board, however, and before they even tried
to schedule a prerequisite interview. Indeed, I spoke directly to the
President of the condo association three weeks after the application
was approved; he promised to get back to me in 4 days, but didn't.
Indeed the condo association only began a credit check and reference
check AFTER my real estate agent told the owner's agent his client
(me) wished to cancel. During this period, the owner could have turned
me down for any reason...so I assumed I had the same right.
 Where was the last debate on wednesday with Mccain and Obama?
 INSTANCE / WAITING FOR SPRING
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