Deposit

[aeady]

I gave a deposit to rent a house in April 2010 of 300.00. I visit the house several times and saw no work being done to the property. I asked to visit the property 4 days before my move in and still no work has been done on the property. I received a call on the 1st of July my actual move in date that the property was ready. I refused to move, because I felt that it was a rush job on the work that needed to be done on the place. I was not comfortable with signing a lease. The owner will not return my deposit. Should I take the owner to small claims court.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Couple of questions...

1. Was this deposit a "holding fee" to take the unit off the market?

2. What work was supposed to be done on the property?

3. Was the agreed upon work done at the time your lease initiated?

Gail

 

[aeady]

I did not sign a lease nor was I presented a lease.
The carpet, blinds,new disher washer etc....
I thought that the deposit was a security deposit.
Nothing was being done on a professional level.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Again, the question is was this deposit a "holding fee"? A holding fee is provided to take the unit off the rental market; it is provided prior to the lease being signed.

Think of it along the lines of "earnest money" when a buyer wishes to purchase a property; a good faith show of money that they are earnest in their desire to purchase (or, in this case, rent) the property.

A holding fee (just like earnest money) is typically lost if the buyer (or renter) backs out of the agreement.

Was it clearly specified that this was a security deposit?

What do you mean that nothing was done on a professional level?

Gail