Estate Agents Really Worrying Me!

gemzyfish

Hi,

I would really appreciate any help or advice you can give me with this matter, or just tell me if i am being a bit overdramatic and panicking about nothing!

About a month ago i found an apartment that i wanted to rent, wanted to move in end of september. Found somewhere i liked, called up the estate agent, made an offer and it was accepted woohoo!
I am due to move in to it on the 25th september.

I made the offer on august 19th and they took an administration fee of £117.50 there and then and the apartment was taken off the market. I have filled in all of the neccessary paperwork however i was told that there was a problem with my income and that i needed to provide bank statements etc to prove that i can afford to rent it, which i can.
I therefore offered to pay all of the rent plus deposit in advance as soon as possible. The agent i spoke to said he needed to get in touch with his branch manager to confirm that this would be a viable option and it has been about a fortnight since i have heard anything back. I keep getting told that the manager is away on business.

I am panicking now and feel that things are moving way too slowly. If for some reason this payment option is not allowed then i am in a terrible situation as i am left with about a week to find somewhere else to live. Could it be the case that i am not allowed to pay all of the rent in advance? I feel like i am bothering them everytime i call them up to ask of the status of my application and i get answers like "it should be ok yeah to pay up front, erm i dont see a problem with it i just have to ask my manager....."

I am just not filled with confidence. I feel like i need a more concrete answer. How can i go about getting this sorted as soon as possible? They seemed pretty eager to take my admin fee!

Thank you so much for any help you can give,
Gem x

ocalllo

can you go in and talk to them face to face in their office?

the manager or someone senior might be there?

good luck

Radish72

Hi Gem

Ring them back and ask to speak to the "stand in " manager. Someone must have taken over his job role whilst he is on buisness

Don't take no for an answer, until you get to speak to someone

(See if you can get them to ring you back if its not a free phone number)

Ankatden

Anybody who offers to pay DH the full 6 months in advance is likely to get turned down as he puts it down as SCAM because of using property as Massage Parlours, Cannabis factories, etc etc and immediately raises warning bells.

Letting agents can view this as similar which may be the reason for concern.

tbs624

Write to this LA, obtaining a cert of posting and keeping a copy of the letter. Give the property date, the amount paid and to whom and tell them that they either need to proceed with the tenancy or refund the fees that you have paid to date.

sonastin

I'm not sure I understand why you want to pay upfront. Is it because you don't want to provide the additional information or is it because they have looked at it and decided that they don't think you can afford it if you pay monthly? Surely its better all round if you pay monthly, unless there is a reason why they don't think you can do that?

Gwhiz

I had a LA asking for 6 months up from when I rented a really expensive place a year or so ago as, on my salary, I supposedly could not afford it.

Seems a very sensible option for initial 6 months!!