rental advice needed

Restless · 14-05-2009, 19:12

I looked at a place to rent on monday said i liked it and put down deposit £150 this is with Hometrader

Tuesday i give the docs like wage slips etc to proove and the filled in application form... gave him the rent money and got the keys.

thursday i get a letter and this is what it says

Thank you for the recent application to rent the above property. On recipt of your application form, confirmation of id ETC ETC we will then review the info to check if you qualift for renting the property. The application fee(£150) that you have paid is calid for 7 days and is non refundable. If you quality our referencing criteria you will then be required to pay a months rent to secure the property and a move in date will be mutually arranged

Now i have already given him the rent, got the keys.... Why get this letter after the fact?

shillelagh · 14-05-2009, 19:22

its probably a generic letter that they send out to everyone ... you may get another letter in a couple of days time confirming the rental ... but just to check they've received the money etc id give em a ring ... just to make sure.

Restless · 14-05-2009, 19:24

i gave it to the guy at the house when he gave me the keys

shillelagh · 14-05-2009, 19:28

its also acknowledging you paid £150 ....

derekgas · 14-05-2009, 19:37

It is a common thing now for them to get a deposit up front, then credit check you etc to see if you qualify (the criteria will be set by the letting agent), advising you that the deposit is non refundable AFTER the fact is not on, I would check that out with citizens advice, the credit checks etc can take two weeks, I dont know what happens if you fail the checks, but I would get some advice, many landlords (though not all) are dodgy to say the least, and letting agents can be worse, you dont need any qualifications to be a letting agent, and are not very well monitored/policed.

Royboy39 · 14-05-2009, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by shillelagh

its also acknowledging you paid £150 ....

For the application....If the application is refused when the references are checked the deposit is forfeted....wants very careful consideration.

Restless · 14-05-2009, 19:47

yes that is the case royboy but the guy has already gave me the keys and i have give the rent but according to the letter i have to have a sucessfull application to get the keys and give the rent

Royboy39 · 14-05-2009, 19:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Restless

yes that is the case royboy but the guy has already gave me the keys and i have give the rent but according to the letter i have to have a sucessfull application to get the keys and give the rent

Be careful.

emamum · 14-05-2009, 20:18

i was interested in one of their houses, seemed perfect for us but changed my mind when i read about the £150 just for applying, whether it was succesful or not!

Caz · 14-05-2009, 20:35

There is a massive difference in the application fees some of these companies ask for. Some are as low as £50. Eafield and Maple is £60, but that applies for any other house you may apply for in the next 3 months, if for some reason you change your mind about the first, or like happened with us, the house we wanted we couldn't have coz the landlord decided to sell instead.
Surely there should be a set amount for these things. It's only a bit of paperwork and credit searching, possibly a couple of phone calls, so how can they justify £150?

Restless · 14-05-2009, 20:45

he didnt make out that it was for applying... he said it held the property for 4 weeks and that they couldnt advertise it after taking the 150. He double lied to me i guess as it says 7 days on the letter. He then asked when i could pay first months rent and take keys, i said tuesday as my dad got made redundant and he helped me get back renting again... so thats what i did and im there now

though now i am there its noisy as hell, you can hear people walking/running around all the time(welll kids actually)

lancsdave · 15-05-2009, 16:39

Good luck. I'm sure if you do a search on here for Hometrader you will find my views on them

Did the bloke collecting the rent wear and stetson and tethered his horse outside

Neil · 15-05-2009, 17:11

£150 just for applying, and you paid it. You must be mad.

Did you get a receipt for all the money you gave him?
Did you sign an agreement stating what the £150 was for?

Restless · 15-05-2009, 17:18

He mislead me for what the £150 was for. And yeah i did, it was nothing like it is.