The Apartment Hunt Scam

[rsmith6621]

My wife and I are relocating our home back to Seattle after 18 months in Memphis.

This morning we toured 5 property's all of which has their pros and cons..WE think we have found a place to call home but since we have a Cat it is interesting to see how many fees are involved..

There is the monthly surcharge of $10.00 a month....their is the application fee for the Cat of $200.00 and a NON REFUNDABLE deposit of $250.00 basically $600.00 for the first year on a 12 month lease.

I asked one agent what the purpose of the monthly surcharge was for...she said for damage like pissing on the carpet or scratching the woodwork/walls... I asked her then what is the deposit was for....she had no answer...at this time my wife and I decided we did not want to live there so I said it sounds like another way to take advantage of people and their situations..She said cats cause damage....I said so do children so why don't you charge a child surcharge for possible carpet damage and damage to walls and such...

Her Reply.....I don't know???...we thanked her for her time and left.

The economy cant be to bad if Apt Managers are not willing to negotiate thes fees

[virgogal]

1. A child surcharge would be illegal I assume.

[Fresh_Start]

2. a child charge would be illegal nt

nt

[mnhtnbb]

3. Have you looked at Craig's list for Seattle?

[mnhtnbb]

4. Here's the list of cats ok Seattle apts/housing

http://seattle.craigslist.org/search/apa?query=&catAbbreviation=apa&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max&bedrooms=&addTwo=purrr

[Berry Cool]

5. Solution: Find a landlord who is a cat owner, loves cats and knows they aren't perfect little angels

whose every behavior can be controlled by their owners. One who expects cat-owning renters to be responsible and keep the property neat, clean and odor free, but is not going to freak out about the possibility that your cat or cats may have an accident, puke up a hairball or scratch something. One whose biggest expectations are:

1. Your cat or cats will be spayed or neutered.

2. You will have a litterbox or boxes to accommodate your cat or cats and keep them clean so the cat or cats will use them, and keep them as odor-free as possible.

3. You will clean up any accidents or hairballs neatly and completely ASAP after they happen.

4. You will have many options for the cat or cats to discourage clawing that will damage any apartment property, such as carpeting--scratching posts, corrugated cardboard, mounted carpet remnants, etc. If the cat does destroy anything that's part of your apartment with clawing, you will pay to replace it.

Such a landlord may charge a pet fee and/or deposit up front, but chances are it will not be an onerous one.

Like I said, the trick is to rent from people who love cats themselves and see them as fully dimensional creatures, not just annoying or damage-causing. They can be found.

[laconicsax]

6. Check the RCWs

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18
RCW 59.18.260 Moneys paid as deposit or security for performance by tenant — Written rental agreement to specify terms and conditions for retention by landlord — Written checklist required.

If any moneys are paid to the landlord by the tenant as a deposit or as security for performance of the tenant's obligations in a lease or rental agreement, the lease or rental agreement shall be in writing and shall include the terms and conditions under which the deposit or portion thereof may be withheld by the landlord upon termination of the lease or rental agreement. If all or part of the deposit may be withheld to indemnify the landlord for damages to the premises for which the tenant is responsible, the rental agreement shall be in writing and shall so specify. No deposit may be collected by a landlord unless the rental agreement is in writing and a written checklist or statement specifically describing the condition and cleanliness of or existing damages to the premises and furnishings, including, but not limited to, walls, floors, countertops, carpets, drapes, furniture, and appliances, is provided by the landlord to the tenant at the commencement of the tenancy. The checklist or statement shall be signed and dated by the landlord and the tenant, and the tenant shall be provided with a copy of the signed checklist or statement. No such deposit shall be withheld on account of normal wear and tear resulting from ordinary use of the premises.

RCW 59.18.280 Moneys paid as deposit or security for performance by tenant — Statement and notice of basis for retention — Remedies for landlord's failure to make refund.

Within fourteen days after the termination of the rental agreement and vacation of the premises or, if the tenant abandons the premises as defined in RCW 59.18.310, within fourteen days after the landlord learns of the abandonment, the landlord shall give a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit together with the payment of any refund due the tenant under the terms and conditions of the rental agreement. No portion of any deposit shall be withheld on account of wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises. The landlord complies with this section if the required statement or payment, or both, are deposited in the United States mail properly addressed with first-class postage prepaid within the fourteen days.

The notice shall be delivered to the tenant personally or by mail to his last known address. If the landlord fails to give such statement together with any refund due the tenant within the time limits specified above he shall be liable to the tenant for the full amount of the deposit. The landlord is also barred in any action brought by the tenant to recover the deposit from asserting any claim or raising any defense for retaining any of the deposit unless the landlord shows that circumstances beyond the landlord's control prevented the landlord from providing the statement within the fourteen days or that the tenant abandoned the premises as defined in RCW 59.18.310. The court may in its discretion award up to two times the amount of the deposit for the intentional refusal of the landlord to give the statement or refund due. In any action brought by the tenant to recover the deposit, the prevailing party shall additionally be entitled to the cost of suit or arbitration including a reasonable attorney's fee.

Nothing in this chapter shall preclude the landlord from proceeding against, and the landlord shall have the right to proceed against a tenant to recover sums exceeding the amount of the tenant's damage or security deposit for damage to the property for which the tenant is responsible together with reasonable attorney's fees.

RCW 59.18.285: Nonrefundable fees not to be designated as deposit — Written rental agreement required.

No moneys paid to the landlord which are nonrefundable may be designated as a deposit or as part of any deposit. If any moneys are paid to the landlord as a nonrefundable fee, the rental agreement shall be in writing and shall clearly specify that the fee is nonrefundable.

I'm not sure about this, but there might also be a section defining fees or surcharges as one-time events except under very specific circumstances. Find a lawyer to look over your rental agreement.

[rvablue]

7. LOL on the application fee for the cat!

What are they going to do, check her credit rating.

While the monthly fee sucks, I can understand it in a way. Keeps people responsible.

But the application fee is a pure, simple rip off.

Good luck.

[liberalhistorian]

8. I had to do this for my cat for my apt. in Rapid City, SD,

several years ago. I didn't have to pay an extra application fee, but I did have to pay a $200 deposit that was refundable as well as an extra $30 a month on the rent. I didn't have a problem with it, frankly, because I can see where they're coming from and because most landlords in the city didn't allow pets of any kind. I got the deposit back when I moved and they saw that the cats hadn't done any permanent damage and that I'd kept things clean. The apts. all had hardwood floors, and if cat piss had eaten away at it, it would have cost them major bucks to repair, far more than the $200 deposit. And I personally witnessed several tenants allowing their cats and/or dogs to do some damage, making no efforts to stop them or repair it. That costs the landlords a lot of money to fix. Not everyone cares about damage to the properties they rent and there are people who aren't responsible when it comes to such things. The landlords are within their rights to try to protect themselves from that.