Family of 3 with two very well behaved/trained indoor dogs in need of a home this week. We were supposed to move in to a home today (6/1). The lady contacted through an ad on Sowal Long Term forum. When I contacted her I specifically asked if she owned the home or if she was an agent. We toured the home last week. Submitted an application, agreed to deposit, monthly rent and a non-refundable pet deposit on Thursday. She asked on Friday if we could set up a time on Saturday to sign the lease and pay the deposit, etc. We scheduled a time and about 45 minutes before she said she had been too busy that day and asked if we could do it on Sunday, so we scheduled a time. We were planning on starting to move in today (Monday). Before the time came for our meeting I received a voicemail from an older gentlemen telling me he was her father, that he actually owned the home and even though she had a dog in the townhome he did not want renters that had dogs. We have a Chihuahua that is all of three pounds and an 8 year old German Shorthaired Pointer that has lived his entire life inside. We are professionals, in fact local business owners and very responsible with plans to build a home in the next couple years. I respect the fact that he does not want pets in his rental home, however we were misled and made to believe that the daughter owned the home and she approved our pets. This has put us in an almost unbelievable predicament that we are homeless at the end of the week in a market that is extremely difficult to find suitable long term rental properties and even more difficult looking for a place on 6/1 that is available on 6/1.
Is there a forum or resource that a consumer/ potential renter can use to protect themselves against such a thing? Landlords want the renter to be completely transparent and forthcoming about their history but the renter has to just trust the landlord. Just like our last landlord, told us he had professional landscapers and would have the house painted, neither of which was true. We were the black sheep of the neighborhood because he was always behind paying his HOA dues and had a lot of deferred maintenance, we paid on time every time and even paid in months advance sometimes, but there was no way for us to know what kind of landlord he was going to be. We didn't complain or cause problems with him we just paid rent and waited until we could find something else and this happens.
If you are a homeowner that has a long term 3 plus bedroom available now or even a short term available starting this week through the summer please contact me.
Is there a forum or resource that a consumer/ potential renter can use to protect themselves against such a thing? Landlords want the renter to be completely transparent and forthcoming about their history but the renter has to just trust the landlord. Just like our last landlord, told us he had professional landscapers and would have the house painted, neither of which was true. We were the black sheep of the neighborhood because he was always behind paying his HOA dues and had a lot of deferred maintenance, we paid on time every time and even paid in months advance sometimes, but there was no way for us to know what kind of landlord he was going to be. We didn't complain or cause problems with him we just paid rent and waited until we could find something else and this happens.
If you are a homeowner that has a long term 3 plus bedroom available now or even a short term available starting this week through the summer please contact me.
