-
A real estate agent wearing a suit presents a contract to a tenant.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
-
PSA: actually READ your renewal lease before you sign it, my PM company almost got me
I wish I could say that I hadn't found myself in a similar situation, but as a New Yorker, I have experienced several scenarios where shady landlords and property managers fail to disclose the full truth about what they are selling me and hope to profit from my ignorance.
-
A property manager signs a contract as a real estate agent speaks next to him in a conference room.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
-
Although we are talking about different states here, there is no question that shady landlords exist everywhere. The tenant who shared this story, who amusingly goes by the alias Klutzy_Ganache_293, just so happened to choose to do the responsible thing and read the new lease renewal to triple-check if it actually included the “same terms” as the previous one.
Got my renewal packet last week and the email literally said "same terms, updated dates, please sign by friday" so i almost just docusigned it without looking
was laying in bed playing on my phone and randomly decided to actually open the pdf for once
-
A "For Rent" sign is posted against a glass window.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
-
Buried on page 6 there was a new clause that lets them charge up to $125 "administrative processing fee" for any maintenance request. like i have to pay them to submit a ticket for something thats broken in THEIR unit
Also, they quietly dropped the required entry notice from 48hrs to 24hrs and added a $350 "lease admin fee" on top of first months rent if you ever re-sign
Ah, the hidden fees are where they always try to get you! This once happened to me, not with a lease renewal, but rather, with a first-year lease that I was about to sign. I had been told that I had gotten the apartment and that the monthly rent would be within the budget I wanted. However, upon receipt of the actual lease were several hidden fees, from a “move-in” fee to an inflated broker's fee that was not disclosed to me beforehand.
Of course, when you are signing a first-year lease, you are more likely to read the fine print before signing, whereas in your third or fourth year in an apartment, you might get lazy and allow yourself to be taken for granted.
-
A tenant holds a set of keys in front of a staircase.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
-
After discovering these hidden fees on page six of his lease renewal, the tenant confirmed with the original email that the property manager had claimed in writing that the renewal had the exact same terms. Clearly, that was a lie, and it might be one that would benefit him if he were to pursue legal action. Instead, he chose first to confront the landlord head-on, and, as a result, he ended up having bargaining power in the process.
Nothing in the email mentioned any of this, just "same terms"
Called the office and the lady acted surprised like I wasn't supposed to catch it lol. ended up getting two of the three removed after pushing back.
Just a reminder to actually open that PDF, even when they make it sound like a formality, these companies count on you not reading it
-
The tenant holds a set of keys in front of his apartment.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.