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I have a fairly unique problem and I was wondering if you could help.
I think I made all the mistakes I could with Manhattan real estate. I received a fellowship for the summer last minute, which meant I had two days essentially to find a place in the city last week, since I won't be returning from abroad until the day before I start work in August. So I jumped on padmapper and found the lowest priced listing close to my future office in midtown east and submitted an application.
However the broker was very pushy and lied constantly.....the brokers fee was 40% more than what he told us....but I signed out of pressure that 'someone else would' without thinking things through, and also on his guarantee that the apartment would be clean and sufficiently repaired by the time I moved in. When I went back to get the keys and see the place though it took four hours of lysol and scrubbing just to see the counters and there was paint all over the windows, damaged parts of the wood floor and counters were not corrected as promised, etc. I understand these are not exactly huge reasons to cancel a lease, but I was wondering if in your time working in Manhattan if you know that this is a possibility, or what the consequences would be.
It's probably too late for a restart but do you know if it is possible to get money back one from the broker and two from the management?
It has been five days since we signed, and we haven't received the papers back.
I have a fairly unique problem and I was wondering if you could help.
I think I made all the mistakes I could with Manhattan real estate.
Your problem is not unique. You simply made all the mistakes you could with Manhattan real estate!
1) You rushed into it.
2) You did not do proper research
3) You actually signed paperwork before verifying the unit.
4) You took the word of the broker over a stipulated written contract.
I'd say your only recourse at this point would be to take the broker to Small Claims court & explain to the judge that you, "have a fairly unique problem and I was wondering if you could help?"
You are stuck, just suck it up. It will likely be short term, right?
Don't even THINK of trying to get money back via court becasue it is rarely worth the trouble and expense unless the amounts are HUGE.
A lot of the things you mention, like splattered paint, filthy counters just come with the terrrain and you are correct to assume that if you didn't snap it up someone else would.
Forget the apartment and try your best to enjoy the City...it is a wonderful place.
(Take a safety razor blade to the windows to get the paint off. Cover anything ugly with something pretty.)
P.S. Brokers are one step up from the kid in Tijuana who comes out of an alley and says "Do you want my seesta, senor?" My experience: 1 for 1 was a crook...that's 100%.
A lease is basically a contract. If you signed it you must now abide by it.
You learned your lesson the hard way. Hopefully next time you'll do things better.
Looks like you are stuck. Signing a lease without seeing the apartment is way too risky. Even when people are available to see apartments for themselves, most of the time they find that the properties are very different in reality than how they were described by brokers. I've only met one broker who was completely honest with us and tried his best to help us find the type of property we were looking for. That's one out of like 25 that I've dealt with over the years.
Like the above poster said, just enjoy the city. Unless the place is seriously unlivable, you can definitely make it work.
P.S. Brokers are one step up from the kid in Tijuana who comes out of an alley and says "Do you want my seesta, senor?" My experience: 1 for 1 was a crook...that's 100%.
So you did in fact pay for his sister?
But he ripped you off?
What were you planning on doing?
So you did in fact pay for his sister?
But he ripped you off?
What were you planning on doing?
Hmmmm.....
No, I might have paid for his BROTHER but my rip-off was by a croooked rental broker.
But over the years, the RENT CONTROLLED apartment I got was worth tens of thousands to me so I forgave him.
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but my rip-off was by a croooked rental broker.
