12 years Yelp Elite Member and I am pointing this out in hopes that you will read my entire review…read moreto make sure you are aware when considering a rental unit.
When dealing with this Property Management company, please make sure that you ask questions and read everything - the listing, their emails, Application, and more importantly the Lease Agreement. They will loosely use the term Security Deposit but what they really mean is a Holding Deposit. They will even say it is Earnest Money, which this term is only for Real Estate property sale.
If you are serious about considering a rental property, I suggest that you review the lease prior to handing over the "Security Deposit." Just as I have explained above, they will call it a Security Deposit and if you do not like the terms of the Lease Agreement, they will keep the Security Deposit. They say, as they explained in my original post and is below, that the money provided is "Earnest Money" and will not be returned because they took the property off the market. Rightfully so, but they need to disclose that upfront and in writing and not take the entire "Security Deposit" worth one month's rent. A Holding Deposit is typically only $100 to $300 (from past experience). Additionally, when you provide the "Security Deposit" which means the Holding Deposit, they do not provide request an acknowledgement letter to be signed stating that the money will be kept if the rental does not go through. Nor does the receipt did that as well.
In any case, the "Security Deposit" was handed to them, and they took two weeks to provide a copy of the Lease Agreement. It is not a standard agreement that majority of rental use. It has a lot of language that is one sided. Yes, we have renters rights but because it is a contract, I can see you'd have to go to court to fight some of the terms in the contract. Obviously, this is speculation. Please do note that if you were to take legal action against this property management company, there are provisions that state you will have to pay their legal fees. That was my main red flag, but all the untraditional additional fees like administrative fees, not being present if they need to access the apartment ($250), and so forth. It's one page. On top of the $38/month to use AppFolio app to pay for rent when my previous landlord, it was free. These items add up and rent is expensive to begin with.
Be smart. Don't hand over money. The Lease and the Security Deposit go hand in hand and submitted at the same time. It's not Security Deposit first. Like they say, scammers usually try to rush you over the phone with a sense of urgency. This is the same. Make sure you are covered, and trust your gut instinct. A few people have messaged me after my original review and said it happened to them too. Don't be fooled. Why would you be penalized if they took down an apartment from any listing prior to having a lease signed? Because you already gave them the so called "Security Deposit." All they have to do to change this is call it a "Holding Deposit," and give the least upfront to potential renters. Then they wouldn't be doing anything unethical.
If I didn't have contract knowledge or common sense, I'm sure I would've been dupped. I just wish property managers who hire this company know their practices and even look at the lease agreement they are providing potential tenants. Yes, it'll protect you too as the owner but it just doesn't seem right given people who rent really don't have that much money to give away.
PS. Their comment to my previous review, which all of this is now edited, is incorrect. Please research further in regards to the terms they will use and know your rights. What's right, what's wrong, what can they do, what they are not allowed to do, and more importantly what's legal, what's illegal.
It is funny to see that their comment was really to find out who I was versus, "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding." That gives you the whole story on their customer service skills and intentions. Their good intentions are for their clients, obviously. Be nice, have more properties to manage. I wonder where the "Earnest Money" as they call it, goes to? To them, or to the property owners. LOL