Hey El-jay, it's advice needing timez
So a couple friends and I signed a lease on a flat, back in 2008. We were desperate for a place to live and were in not the best situation. 1 of us had a stable job, 1 of us had great credit, (not the same 1 person sadly), 2 of us could get guarantors, 1 had medium credit and 1 had awful credit.
So we were told that one of the things we could do was to offer a heftier security deposit as, well, security for a landlord taking a risk on not perhaps the best tenant prospects. We worked through a broker (a Century 21 office) and found a place and offered 3 months security.
We lived there for three years and then all moved out. For the last month, they never cashed the final rent check and so we assume, they used 1 month of the security deposit to pay for the final month instead. So we should be owed 2 months security deposit back. (Totalling something like $4,400.)
And now the management company is claiming that they never got those extra two months security deposit. We can't find a copy of our original lease - though they are now promising to send me a copy - but we have a document from that Century 21 broker breaking down everything they asked us to pay. The management company claims that Century 21 took that money, not them.
Plus, that Century 21 office? No longer exists. And as far as I can tell, Century 21 works on a franchise basis, not as a cohesive company, so I can't figure out who to talk to at Century 21 to see if they can have files and can prove that they gave the money to the management company. If they did. And if they didn't, who got that money?
So where do we turn? Is there a way to get something from someone at Century 21? Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?
So we were told that one of the things we could do was to offer a heftier security deposit as, well, security for a landlord taking a risk on not perhaps the best tenant prospects. We worked through a broker (a Century 21 office) and found a place and offered 3 months security.
We lived there for three years and then all moved out. For the last month, they never cashed the final rent check and so we assume, they used 1 month of the security deposit to pay for the final month instead. So we should be owed 2 months security deposit back. (Totalling something like $4,400.)
And now the management company is claiming that they never got those extra two months security deposit. We can't find a copy of our original lease - though they are now promising to send me a copy - but we have a document from that Century 21 broker breaking down everything they asked us to pay. The management company claims that Century 21 took that money, not them.
Plus, that Century 21 office? No longer exists. And as far as I can tell, Century 21 works on a franchise basis, not as a cohesive company, so I can't figure out who to talk to at Century 21 to see if they can have files and can prove that they gave the money to the management company. If they did. And if they didn't, who got that money?
So where do we turn? Is there a way to get something from someone at Century 21? Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?