Our experience with Leo Chen regarding a rental property was incredibly disappointing and…read moreultimately cost our family significant time, money, and stress.
From our very first conversation, we made it clear that we had a small dog. Leo assured us that this would not be a problem and encouraged us to move forward with the application process. Based on his guidance, we asked our current landlord for an early termination of our lease. Fortunately, our landlord agreed and even began showing our home to prospective replacement tenants.
We submitted our application, and Leo informed us that it had been accepted and that the house was ours. We then paid first month's rent, last month's rent, the security deposit, and a pet deposit. We also transferred utilities including electric, water, trash, and internet service to the new property and began preparing for the move.
Throughout this process, Leo continued to communicate as though the lease signing was simply a formality and that everything was moving forward. However, after several weeks, we noticed that the landlord still had not signed the lease and that the "For Lease" sign remained posted on the property. The day before we were scheduled to receive the keys, we reached out to coordinate key pickup.
That was when Leo informed us that the landlord no longer wanted to rent to us because of our dog.
This was shocking because we had disclosed our dog from day one and had repeatedly discussed it throughout the process. Leo apologized and returned our deposits, but by that point the damage had already been done.
As a result of relying on the information we were given, we had already:
* Begun packing our home
* Transferred utilities
* Changed our address
* Scheduled movers, electricians, and cleaners
* Made significant plans around a move that we believed was finalized
To make matters worse, we noticed the "For Lease" sign was removed almost immediately afterward.
Whether this situation was caused by poor communication with the landlord or a failure to properly confirm key details before telling us the home was ours, the result was the same: our family was left scrambling at the last minute after being led to believe for weeks that we had secured the property.
Thankfully, our current landlord was willing to let us stay, although at a higher rent than before. Had he not been so accommodating, we could have found ourselves without housing through no fault of our own.
Mistakes happen, but this was a major breakdown in communication and professionalism that had real financial consequences for our family. I would strongly encourage future renters to make sure a lease is fully executed by all parties before relying on any assurances that a property is theirs.
