Backing out after a deposit

no opinion really. and certainly not a lawyer. but, isn't there some 3 day rule in NY about backing out of contracts???

Give it back. Do the right thing. If you are priced right, you will have it rented within a week, so not even worth considering being a scumbag.

>>but, isn't there some 3 day rule in NY about backing out of contracts???<<

Yep, affectionately known as the 'cooling off rule'.

But you only need to wait 24 hours to get married... Somebody wasn't thinking when they came up with that one.

"Hurts to be the good guy ??"....OH PUHLEEZE !!! Since when is not being scummy considered "goody goody" behavior. And now you're "letting her sweat it out a bit." How nice. That gal who walked away from your lease should thank her lucky stars not just because she got a better deal from her existing landlord, but that she avoided having an unethical landlord/management company.

but she walked away after not only saying that she would take it but...sending in the deposit check. which presumably was so that the landlord wouldn't rent it to someone else. and he's the scumbag?

Seems logical that you would hold onto it until you get it rented otherwise. Make a good faith effort to rent it and if you get it rented before this person's lease would have started, give it back.

"Hurts to be the good guy sometimes..."

Agree w/ HDLC here, you must be kidding me. If you were really that good, you would have just returned the deposit and moved on. You wouldn't make her "sweat it out for a bit." You wouldn't have posted the situation on this website. You wouldn't be fishing for support to screw over a fellow new yorker who in all likelihood is just trying to get by like the rest of us. why even mention the check is made out to you? so you can show us what a magnanimous person you are that you are not legally obliged to return her deposit? you say yourself that "If she had given it on Friday, it would have been in the bank already." that tells me if she had given it to you then, you wouldn't just screwed her over.

you are trying to make yourself out to be twice as good as you think are, and yet you are only half as good as you think. it's not like the person strung you out for 3 weeks and then bailed on you. it was friday and today it's monday. give the deposit back.

you would've just screwed her over.... not "wouldn't just"

crescent22 presents the fairest option. She used you as leverage to get a better deal on her existing rental while now you are left without a tennant and need to do more work to bring one in. Return the portion that you lose out on, if any, for the unrented says between the agreed terms.

I am ONE THOUSAND PER CENT certain that MAV didn't "hold onto" the apartment while waiting for the deposit to arrive. I am absolutely sure that if some third party arrived at MAV's office on Friday at 4:59 P.M. with a certified check and a fully completed application, then MAV would've kicked the potential tenant at issue off to the curb. When this was a landlord's market, LLs were always quick to say that the apartment was not rented until the potential tenant successfully completed the ENTIRE application process and that included receipt of deposit funds. This is one time when that policy bodes well for the applicant.

Do the right thing and give the money back......
Getting a check for less than $3k is NOT the same as renting your apartment.

I agree that this isn't exactly what I'd call 'good guy' behavior, and honestly, why it 'hurts' is beyond me...

That said, to those who've jumped down MAV's throat, remember that renting out an apartment costs time and money. So he has a right to be pissed over someone flaking out at the last minute. Clearly the flakee was using this as leverage to get her landlord to sweeten the deal on her old place. So if MAV wants to make her sweat for a few days, what's the big deal? She wasted his time, now he's gonna waste hers.

MAV can't plausibly claim any damages -- come on, friday to monday is nothing. Why even post this?...just give it back and be done with it. Any other resolution will come off as too clever by half.

If the check is made out to "me", not the company, presumably you mean the check is not made out to the landlord. What do you mean to imply by that? It was a personal gift?....give it back....

Why are we even discussing this? OK, she wasted your time and it sucks but you know what the right thing to do is. There's a lot of time wasting in RE unfortunately! Actually, this thread is beginning to look like a waste of my time...

Sorry for not returning to this thread sooner.

a few things to clarify
-Unlike most landlords, we do not request a deposit until the applicant is approved (other LLs would have gotten the check on Wednesday when the application was submitted)
-Our application clearly states that the deposit is not refundable if the tenant backs out, and applicants sign that they understand that
-I did not make this particular applicant leave their job on a rainy Friday, and offered to let them just send it to me to make the process easier for them, as I was leaving shortly anyway.
-I deleted all ads of this unit and removed it from my company website on Friday afternoon. I lost a whole weekend of responses

"That gal who walked away from your lease should thank her lucky stars not just because she got a better deal from her existing landlord, but that she avoided having an unethical landlord/management company."

-The law would tell you that a non-refundable deposit is non-refundable.
-I have given it back
-How am I unethical? You do not know me, my company, or anything aside from this thread.

"If you were really that good, you would have just returned the deposit and moved on. You wouldn't make her "sweat it out for a bit." You wouldn't have posted the situation on this website. You wouldn't be fishing for support to screw over a fellow new yorker who in all likelihood is just trying to get by like the rest of us."

--I did return the check. I "made her sweat it out" while I made sure that I would not get heat from one of the investors, who I told at a social event on Friday night that this particular unit was rented. He agreed that the right thing to do was to send it back. I posted a question on the website "what would you do" along with my answer of what I was already doing. Its called making a discussion on a message board. Is that not what you came herer to do? And am I included too in "just like the rest of us", because I too could have used the extra $.

"I am ONE THOUSAND PER CENT certain that MAV didn't "hold onto" the apartment while waiting for the deposit to arrive. I am absolutely sure that if some third party arrived at MAV's office on Friday at 4:59 P.M. with a certified check and a fully completed application, then MAV would've kicked the potential tenant at issue off to the curb. When this was a landlord's market, LLs were always quick to say that the apartment was not rented until the potential tenant successfully completed the ENTIRE application process and that included receipt of deposit funds. This is one time when that policy bodes well for the applicant."

--What are you so sure of? You have so much anger coming out of you that you are not making cohesive sentences.... Are you saying that I would take someone else's deposit after I had left my office somehow and left the person who applied first in the cold? Like I said, you have no clue how our company works. And btw, an apartment is not rented until the completed application (read: deposit) is received. Any smart LL would have that in their application too.

Just to be clear: I gave the full deposit back to her, didn't even charge the application fee, and was just throwing the question to the board of "what would you do?". I am not fishing for compliments, or business, just talking about an issue which came up over the course of working in NYC Real Estate. You can go back to arguing about NYC vs Chicago if you wish....

We would give the deposit back. Glad you agree.

as usual, i don't understand. she signed a document that said that the deposit was non refundable? seems to me that you were beyond reasonable in giving it back under those circumstances. frankly, i don't think you did her a favor because as far as she is concerned, it doesn't matter what she agrees to; unfortunately, for her, the next time may involve a lot more money and a counter party that doesn't choose to bend over backwards.

>>but, isn't there some 3 day rule in NY about backing out of contracts???<<
I heard that if tenant is given posession of the apartment (receives a key that is) at time of signing a lease - he/she cannot back off and "3 day rule" does not apply. Is that true? A comment of a lawyer or knowledgable person would be appreciated.

If it were my company, I would keep the deposit with the proviso that if I rented the apartment within the next 30 days I would refund it. I would earnestly attempt to find another qualified tenant but If I were unable to rent it in that period of time, I would keep the deposit to cover my expenses and lost income and opportunities. People need to know that business transactions are serious and that all parties make decisions and choices based upon everyone acting in good faith and respecting the process. She sounds like a spoiled brat who is used to just making up her own rules based on convenience and self-interest.

Look at it from the opposite perspective: if over the weekend you had found another tenant who'd paid you a higher rent and you tried to void the agreement and return her check, she'd be throwing lawyers at you. These aren't one-way streets.