Let agreed, then owner decided to charge more rent, appl. refund? FINAL UPDATE 23/12

Britwife

We saw a house for rent for £550 and decided to go for a viewing, after viewing we agreed the house would be great for our family. We went to the estate agent and was advised we had to pay a £115 pound fee to apply for the house. Ok, this was the 8th Dec and got the approval on the 14th. I spoke to the home owner as our children attend the same school and I walk past the house on school runs. I told her we were approved and were looking to move in 23 of Jan and she was happy with that. I then ran into her on the 18th and was just chatting about Christmas when I brought up adding moving boxes into the mix and she said that she couldn't confirm the 23 as her bank wanted more info from 2007.

I was a bit concerned as we were told by the agent that they were already approved for the loan before we filled out the application. We did know that they need to get their current house rented before they could move to their new house.

Today, I got a phone call from the estate agent that the owner now wants £575. I told him no as we went for the house because it was £550 (that is an average price in our village for houses of that size) and that we would already be paying more a month because council tax is a higher band that where we rent now and since the house is very open plan a bit larger, our utitility bills would be slightly higher. We can afford to pay it but would rather have that little extra each month to save to buy our own home.

So the estate agent said he would try to change their mind and call me back. In the meantime, I phoned my husband quite upset. We talked and decided that we just needed to end it and not be strung along. Also, we knew that even if the owner agreed to the £550 for the 6 month lease, they would up it as soon as it was over. I then phoned the estate agent that we weren't going to move into the property even for the £550 as we now know what the owners are like.

I should add that property moves fast here and rentals are rare and go fast too. This is a typical semi-det house with a small garden. There is a large detached house for rent down the street with a huge garden for £600. I would rather pay that then £575 for a much smaller property.

Anyway, after everything, I feel we should get a partial refund of our application fee. I understand that the agent pays the referencing company but that should only be about 30ish odd pounds. Am I wrong for wanting/asking it back?

We only applied for the house because it was £550 and that address is on the application and the fact that we were told the owner had a loan already secured.

Any opinions? or should we just let it go?
thanks all and sorry so long, I tend to ramble but wanted to give the full picture.

**UPDATE**
So I stopped in the estate agents office yesterday afternoon and asked about getting my fee back. He understood and said he would talk to his manager. I was told that the reason for everything is either a miscommunicatin on the LL side or the estate agents side.

So I got home and he phoned with an offer. The estate agent wants to pay the extra for one year for us then we would be responsible for paying after that. I declined because we already told our current LL that we would be staying and there is no way I would do that to them after we had just made arrangements to stay on and they have offered to keep our rent the same for a few years. So I haven't received an answer about my fee yet but am going to follow up today.

I just find it odd that they have offered to pay that for us. I'm now wondering if all this is their fault. The LL could not finalize their mortgage until they had a tennant in place so after we agreed they set the chain in motion. Now the LL is out a tennant and mortage is going forward so I'm wondering if the EA is trying to cover their behinds because the LL will now have 2 mortgages and they can't do 2.

At the same time, how could the LL not see what they were signing and not see the advert. This has all been so poorly handled.

FINAL UPDATE 23/12
We are getting a full refund!!!! Update details in post 15

continualdiamond

Im not sure how all of this works, ie legal wise etc. But i would imagine the owner has to stick to £550 as that is what it was advertised at, if they decide to not go ahead with it and want £575, then to me surely you should be entitled to a refund.

If they decide to keep it at £550 and not raise to £575 like they wanted and you decide to not go ahead, then i would imagine you won't get your money back as they're sticking to the agreed price.

Guess it depends if you can afford to loose that deposit as if they agree to keep it at £550 could you not live in the property for 6mths and then if the rent is increased, look for something else?

Britwife

Sorry for leaving that info out, we didn't pay the deposit yet. Our estate agent said we wouldn't pay any money until the day we moved in. The money we paid was for the application fee and they already have the house readvertised for £575.

I wouldn't have minded the idea of moving in 6 months but we have 3 children and as mentioned, houses to let in my village are rare. I would be gutted if we couldn't find something here and have to move my little boy to another school.

We decided to cancel before the agent went back and talked to the owners, we both knew they werent' going to change their minds as the estate agent had tried to talk them out of it before phoning me.

Is this normal for lettings here. I'm not from the UK and the house we rent now was secured by family but in my husbands name so this would have been our first venture out on our first rental. In the states, as soon as you say you want a house, you have to pay the deposit and in some cases, the first months rent at the same time and the lease is signed and you each get a copy.

For this house we were told the day we move in is the day we would pay the deposit, first months rent, and sign the lease and go over the property.

clutton_2

if the LL has changed the terms and conditions of the lease (by changing the rent,) then i think the agent should return all the admin fees which the tenant has paid

when you signed on with the agent were there any terms and conditions which you had to sign and agree to ?

Britwife

Thank you so much for your advice, I'm going to have a chat with the estate agent tomorrow.

The application was 2 pages and half the front was for office input and address and the rest was our information and background. I actually don't really remember any terms and conditions. I'm pretty sure the signature was for saying, yes, all our information is correct. The application's letterhead was for the referencing agency and Taylors wasn't on it.

Britwife

bumping because I updated

clutton_2

if EA have offered to pay the difference for a year - why not just give you the admin fee back ?? doesn't make any sense

Britwife

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'm just annoyed that I have to ring again. As mentioned, I think they are trying to cover their behinds after making a major boo boo. When we were first informed of this, the EA lead us to believe it was the LL who decided to change it and we were so upset with the LL.

And thank you for your help on this. I wasn't sure whether to approach them or not before coming on here.

LisaLou1982

Hiya

It sounds like the people who own the house you want to rent are doing a let to buy on the old house so that they can buy the new one. Apparently, the lender has stated that they would need to get 575pcm to cover the cost of the loan. This is pretty normal, although generally the decision to rent a property out and find a tenant is usually done after the loan has gone through.

At a guess, i would say that the company the landlord is renting the house through is probably selling them their new house and/or has something to do with the mortgage arrangements so therefore it is in their interest to keep the business together wherever possible.

They will have offered to pay the difference as it will mean that their client wont have to start again with finding a tenant and potentially lose their loan fees as well etc etc and will mean that you still get what you initially wanted.

It depends on what your ultimate outcomes are - an increase in rent after 12months is not considered unreasonable and if houses in your area dont come up very often then there is no guarantee that you will be able to find another one. You mention about a bigger house for 600pcm. Presumably the reason you didnt go for this one in the 1st place is because it is more than you want to pay - therefore, dont bother wasting your time thinking about it. Theres no point trying to justify something that would cost you more in the long run than you initially wanted

Britwife

Thanks LisaLou for your input. You are right that the EA is handling the sale of their new home and the rent on their current home. They are old school friends and they trust them with the rental and sale.

The estate agent gave them an evaluation of £550 to £575 for rental amount. Apparently, the LL said they wanted to go for £575 but EA thought they were going for £550.

The larger home for £600 is indeed bigger but on a busier road and that was the only reason we didn't go for it. We can afford it but choose to go for a lower amount so that we can put some money in savings. We never even considered phoning for a viewing anyway. The only thing I'm trying to justify is that for £25 more a month, we could have a much larger house, detached, and a huge garden.

I agree that it is reasonable to raise the rent after a year but this raise would have been after 6 months. We also have to take into consideration that the council tax is on a higher band, same as the larger house and this house isn't much bigger than the house we are currently in.

and yes, I hear you when you say that by them paying the exess for us we would ultimately get what we wanted in the end. However, the LL gave us a verbal agreement for move in date. After that was agreed, we let our current LL know and she set wheels in motion to have an EA come out and get it listed to let. In the meantime, it all fell apart and we told them we werent' going to pay more than what was advertised and agreed upon. It wasn't until after I went in asking for our fee back that they offered to pay. Granted, this was only a matter of 2 days but we had to secure a place for us to stay, we have 3 children as well. I also didn't want my current LL to have to pay anything out if not needed.

Bottom line, this was handled poorly and we shouldn't be out of pocket for their error or the LL's, whichever. The offer came too late and after everything was cancelled.

Britwife

I want to add one more thing....

I don't understand why the EA's don't take your deposit until the day you move in or arrange to get keys. Anything can happen while you are waiting and then you are out of a house.

I'm new to how things work over here but in the states, when you want a place and you get final approval you go in and sign a lease and pay your deposit and most likely first months rent. You then go to the agency on your agreed move in date and get your keys.

At least that way, it's all signed and in writing and you have some protection.