What would you do? Rental agent stuff up....

[TechGirl04]

We have sold our house and are looking for a place to rent. We have quite a few requirements in terms of space, pet friendly etc, so when we found a place that met all our requirements this past Saturday, we immediately applied. The agent did an open viewing so there was quite a few other people there.

We really wanted this place, as a result, we offered R2000 more on the rental price than what the landlord was asking. We submitted all our paperwork on Saturday and in the email to the agent, we told him that we are willing to pay more monthly rental and a higher upfront deposit.

Today we find out we did not get the place, the landlord choose another applicant as they had a joint application. We were told that the agent put through an application for us at R13950 per month (the original asking rental price), even though we offered R16000.

So, we were very suspicious. We phoned the rental branch manager who was very surprised by what we were telling her and told us that it is industry standard to go with the higher offer. After phoning her agent, she found out that the agent did not submit our higher offer to their internal staff for review AND he did not submit our higher offer to the owner when he presented us and another applicant.

We are livid about this, we lost out on a place because the agent decided not to put forward all the facts we presented him.

What would you do in this situation?

 

[SHL]

Forget it and carry on with life.

 

[mushroom]

hello what is your aslr and do you stay in cape town closer to kuila

 

[Lupus]

Move on, what else would you like to do?

 

[Venomous]

Not much you can do. There is no contract as owner has not signed yet. Move on and get another place.

 

[TechGirl04]

We have asked the rental manager to present our offer to the owner to give us a fair chance. Waiting for feedback from that.

 

[zerocool2009]

The power of the pen on paper is HUGE ! Move on ... cut your losses ! You will get a better place !

 

[deweyzeph]

I absolutely despise rental agents. Rather look at renting privately from a landlord who actually cares enough about his/her tenants that they are personally involved in the process. I've had enough bad experiences with letting and rental agents to never ever rent through an agency again if I was ever in the position to have to rent a place.

 

[Steamy Tom]

seems so weird to hear about people offering to pay so much more than the asking price, that is a crazy amount for rent, if you don't mind me asking why are you selling to rent?

personally i would move on it just isnt going to go well.

 

[TechGirl04]

seems so weird to hear about people offering to pay so much more than the asking price, that is a crazy amount for rent, if you don't mind me asking why are you selling to rent?

personally i would move on it just isnt going to go well.

We have started the immigration process, so we sold the house and need a place to rent until we leave SA.

 

[Steamy Tom]

We have started the immigration process, so we sold the house and need a place to rent until we leave SA.

how long a time period are you looking? do the agents know this? it might also be why they didn't consider you as you wouldn't be considered long term.

personally if it was me I would find a reasonable place that can just do for the time period and save the cash etc since sending pets etc over is going to cost you big money.

 

[TechGirl04]

how long a time period are you looking? do the agents know this? it might also be why they didn't consider you as you wouldn't be considered long term.

personally if it was me I would find a reasonable place that can just do for the time period and save the cash etc since sending pets etc over is going to cost you big money.

The time period is about 18 months, could be shorter, could be longer. It depends on a few things. We have the money we need for immigration from the house sale, and we will continue to save monthly. Right now, we just need a house to rent that is pet friendly, close to work and allows us to live comfortably.

 

[Steamy Tom]

The time period is about 18 months, could be shorter, could be longer. It depends on a few things. We have the money we need for immigration from the house sale, and we will continue to save monthly. Right now, we just need a house to rent that is pet friendly, close to work and allows us to live comfortably.

hmm tricky one, your budget is at least high so i would keep looking and walk away from this one, you don't want to deal with people like this anyway. good luck.

 

[Ancalagon]

Something smells fishy.

Estate agents make commission from rent - the higher the rent, the more they get. This estate agent basically told you he didn't want your money.

 

[MEIOT]

We have asked the rental manager to present our offer to the owner to give us a fair chance. Waiting for feedback from that.

What about the other 'accepted' application? Perhaps there'd be other motivating factors that you'd be declined on anyway.

Moving on seems the least effort route.

 

[ToxicBunny]

There is nothing you can do other than be pissed off... Move on and forget about it.

 

[Thor]

Well nothing you can do, BUT I would name and shame.

 

[backstreetboy]

Move on, what else would you like to do?

Complain on MyBB?

 

[Splinter]

The time period is about 18 months, could be shorter, could be longer. It depends on a few things. We have the money we need for immigration from the house sale, and we will continue to save monthly. Right now, we just need a house to rent that is pet friendly, close to work and allows us to live comfortably.

Much is odd about this situation. Although, did you put a time frame on the potential lease? As someone who rents out a place, I would rather have a longer term tenant than a short term one.

Also, were you put through a credit check? If your credit rating was bad, I would have declined your higher offer as well. Especially since you are saying you intend to leave the country.

In fact, if any prospective tenant told me they wanted to emigrate, I too would decline. Simply because you could stop paying. And with the length of time it takes to go through courts, and then the fact that you wouldn't be in the country to claim damages - not a chance.

 

[Splinter]

Well nothing you can do, BUT I would name and shame.

Nothing to name and shame about. I think the agent did a good job.