Bobbyocean
Junior Member
Today my wife and I had an appointment to meet with a rental agency to review and sign a lease agreement. This is after being selected as the "first most qualified candidate for the property" (their words) two days ago.
Upon arrival it was discovered that we would have to watch videos on cleanliness of the unit and watch a video concerning a recent walk through of the premises. There was then a PowerPoint presentation we had to click through as well as a giant 50 page lease (book?) to read through. Being landlords ourselves we understand wanting to take reasonable steps to protect ourselves, but this seemed excessive. Being good stewards (and being told to), we began a careful read of the lease. We were told it would take about an hour, which it did.
After reading the lease we noticed that there were several items that didn't seem appropriate. For example, one item stated "the agent had the right to perform semiannual cleanliness checkups". I pointed out that this seemed invasive and inappropriate, certainly if the agent had a reason (smells, complaints, etc.) then that is obviously warranted, but without reason? They told me that, "Yes, 'due cause' is required". I said, but your lease doesn't say that. Refusing to change the verbiage, they then said that I souldn't worry, "it isn't like they will really check up on us". Moving on to another example, the lease mentioned bedrooms, furniture, items, amenities that were not present in the unit. I said that I didn't feel comfortable signing a legal document that includes a large number of items irrelevant to the unit I am in (one item said, the tenant is responsible for washing both sides of the windows....but we are in a sky rise). I was told, "obviously you just ignor items that don't apply to you and simply sign the lease". What if they didn't like us and held us to the window clause...doesn't it seem inappropriate to sign a document with things that are not relevant to the unit you are in? Apparently they use the same lease for all 1500 of their properties. Third example, when they first sat down with us, they immediately asked us to sign the lease. I said I have a few questions after reading through the lease and they said that I should first sign and then we would look over our questions. I refused to sign something I was concerned about. They said, "don't worry, your signature isn't valid till you leave the premises". Really? After about 20 minutes of this question/answering session, one of the other representatives walked up and said, "sorry, we refuse to rent to you"; collected all the paperwork, gave us our $3000 back, and asked us to leave.
In addition to being greatly offended, I am left wondering, was that legal? I understand that when the demand/supply ratio is really high (like in major cities), then businesses can easily get away with writing and saying incorrect information. Should they be allowed to do this? Is it legal to present someone with a large legal document and upon hearing the individuals question the verbaige of the document (or read the legal document), rescind the legal document?
In essence, we wanted the place, but we were uneasy or unsure of the legality of the lease presented. Does that give them the right to not rent to us?
I guess we learned our lesson, one should always sign leases blindly. Right?
Location: Honolulu, HI
Upon arrival it was discovered that we would have to watch videos on cleanliness of the unit and watch a video concerning a recent walk through of the premises. There was then a PowerPoint presentation we had to click through as well as a giant 50 page lease (book?) to read through. Being landlords ourselves we understand wanting to take reasonable steps to protect ourselves, but this seemed excessive. Being good stewards (and being told to), we began a careful read of the lease. We were told it would take about an hour, which it did.
After reading the lease we noticed that there were several items that didn't seem appropriate. For example, one item stated "the agent had the right to perform semiannual cleanliness checkups". I pointed out that this seemed invasive and inappropriate, certainly if the agent had a reason (smells, complaints, etc.) then that is obviously warranted, but without reason? They told me that, "Yes, 'due cause' is required". I said, but your lease doesn't say that. Refusing to change the verbiage, they then said that I souldn't worry, "it isn't like they will really check up on us". Moving on to another example, the lease mentioned bedrooms, furniture, items, amenities that were not present in the unit. I said that I didn't feel comfortable signing a legal document that includes a large number of items irrelevant to the unit I am in (one item said, the tenant is responsible for washing both sides of the windows....but we are in a sky rise). I was told, "obviously you just ignor items that don't apply to you and simply sign the lease". What if they didn't like us and held us to the window clause...doesn't it seem inappropriate to sign a document with things that are not relevant to the unit you are in? Apparently they use the same lease for all 1500 of their properties. Third example, when they first sat down with us, they immediately asked us to sign the lease. I said I have a few questions after reading through the lease and they said that I should first sign and then we would look over our questions. I refused to sign something I was concerned about. They said, "don't worry, your signature isn't valid till you leave the premises". Really? After about 20 minutes of this question/answering session, one of the other representatives walked up and said, "sorry, we refuse to rent to you"; collected all the paperwork, gave us our $3000 back, and asked us to leave.
In addition to being greatly offended, I am left wondering, was that legal? I understand that when the demand/supply ratio is really high (like in major cities), then businesses can easily get away with writing and saying incorrect information. Should they be allowed to do this? Is it legal to present someone with a large legal document and upon hearing the individuals question the verbaige of the document (or read the legal document), rescind the legal document?
In essence, we wanted the place, but we were uneasy or unsure of the legality of the lease presented. Does that give them the right to not rent to us?
I guess we learned our lesson, one should always sign leases blindly. Right?
Location: Honolulu, HI
