Illinois
My fiancé and I submitted a lease application for a property in Romeoville, IL, in August of 2008. We were accepted and were asked for the security deposit to hold the property for us until the end of August. We paid the security deposit. We were told we would perform a walkthrough of the premises toward the last week of the month prior to the first month in which our lease would take effect, presumably September 2008. No one ever contacted us and as the end of our pre-existing lease approached we had to relentlessly call the realtor to gain information regarding a walkthrough and a move-in date. (The owner of the property is renting through a realtor.) We were told if we paid first month's rent plus half of an additional pet deposit that we could get the keys to move in. We paid the said fees and moved in, but this is where the problem arises.
We walk into the property and the carpets were filthy, covered in stains in every room on both floors. The walls are marked and scraped from the wear and tear of general occupancy, the crayon marks of a child, and from the apparent moving-out of the prior tenants (who also happen to be the owners). Also, large amounts of trash and debris which we were told would be cleaned up were left in the back yard by the patio. The washing machine does not work. The kitchen sink does not drain, nor does the garbage disposal in that sink work. We immediately called the realtor and demanded a walkthrough before we moved in, but one was never granted. The owner was supposed to show up and assess the situation right away, so pressed into a corner (we had vacated the property we had previously rented) we moved in thinking the owner would be there to square things away, but the owner didn't show up until later that evening (approx. eight hours later) only to remove a portion of the trash and debris in the yard and leave. The ground beneath the trash (an old pool liner and some pipes) was revealed to have a trench about ten inches deep running parallel to the back patio, as if they were going to expand the patio, but the back yard by that area is now only mud.
Now it is a week later. No one has given us any word of repairs. We have not signed a lease yet. I know a written lease isn't necessary, but we have not committed to an oral one either. Does paying first month's rent count as a lease agreement? Or does it just offer as a contract of sorts between the owner and the tenant, which hopefully would afford us some leverage? I would like to demand a lease be written stipulating that the repairs and maintenance necessary towards the property be made (within 30 days?), and if they are not made within a certain time period we can have the repairs made ourselves and the cost of said repairs deducted from next month's rent.
That is the general status of things as of right now. I just hope that by paying first month's rent and moving in that I did not blindingly accept the property as is and wave any leverage I may have had beforehand.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
My fiancé and I submitted a lease application for a property in Romeoville, IL, in August of 2008. We were accepted and were asked for the security deposit to hold the property for us until the end of August. We paid the security deposit. We were told we would perform a walkthrough of the premises toward the last week of the month prior to the first month in which our lease would take effect, presumably September 2008. No one ever contacted us and as the end of our pre-existing lease approached we had to relentlessly call the realtor to gain information regarding a walkthrough and a move-in date. (The owner of the property is renting through a realtor.) We were told if we paid first month's rent plus half of an additional pet deposit that we could get the keys to move in. We paid the said fees and moved in, but this is where the problem arises.
We walk into the property and the carpets were filthy, covered in stains in every room on both floors. The walls are marked and scraped from the wear and tear of general occupancy, the crayon marks of a child, and from the apparent moving-out of the prior tenants (who also happen to be the owners). Also, large amounts of trash and debris which we were told would be cleaned up were left in the back yard by the patio. The washing machine does not work. The kitchen sink does not drain, nor does the garbage disposal in that sink work. We immediately called the realtor and demanded a walkthrough before we moved in, but one was never granted. The owner was supposed to show up and assess the situation right away, so pressed into a corner (we had vacated the property we had previously rented) we moved in thinking the owner would be there to square things away, but the owner didn't show up until later that evening (approx. eight hours later) only to remove a portion of the trash and debris in the yard and leave. The ground beneath the trash (an old pool liner and some pipes) was revealed to have a trench about ten inches deep running parallel to the back patio, as if they were going to expand the patio, but the back yard by that area is now only mud.
Now it is a week later. No one has given us any word of repairs. We have not signed a lease yet. I know a written lease isn't necessary, but we have not committed to an oral one either. Does paying first month's rent count as a lease agreement? Or does it just offer as a contract of sorts between the owner and the tenant, which hopefully would afford us some leverage? I would like to demand a lease be written stipulating that the repairs and maintenance necessary towards the property be made (within 30 days?), and if they are not made within a certain time period we can have the repairs made ourselves and the cost of said repairs deducted from next month's rent.
That is the general status of things as of right now. I just hope that by paying first month's rent and moving in that I did not blindingly accept the property as is and wave any leverage I may have had beforehand.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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