Get Out NOW!

[PepperElf]

or is she a scam artist?

I would hope there's legal penalties for trying to impersonate a licensed real estate agent. I mean beyond just regular laws against scams etc.

If not specifically "impersonation" laws then at least trying to "conduct a third person real estate sale without a license".

[Draper Mel]

It just occurred to me you might also go to Legal Aid for advice. I went to them to look over my severance agreement after I got fired. It should be free or very low cost, and they won't have any stake in the situation, so you'll get objective advice. If nothing else, they can tell you where to go to report things.

[NCO]

Hi all, checking back in.

This whole story has a happy ending.

I got busy looking for another place to live, and for me that meant finding a private individual to rent from instead of a realtor or apartment complex. A couple of weeks ago I narrowed it down to 2 places. One was a studio one street over from where I am now and 3 blocks North. Rent is higher than I pay now but electricity is included. When I crunched the numbers, and factored in no more gas bills, it worked out great.

So I handed the landlord a deposit on the spot. I had to adopt out my cat as he said the cat is no go but my parrot is fine. Spot the Wonder Cat found a new home thanks to Craigslist with a nice older lady who took to her immediately but is probably still digging her out from under her couch because Spot doesn't like strangers.

Sandy the Senegal Parrot is overjoyed to have a home with no cat. Sandy hated that cat. She took great delight in getting Spot to come to the cage and bat at her and when a paw crossed the cage bars, Sandy would bite HARD. That would result in Spot screaming and fleeing under the couch while Sandy laughed. Yes my parrot laughs. And now I can leave her cage open while I'm home, which she just loves.

This past Saturday, I finally got a registered letter from the legal firm representing the bank that foreclosed on the house. It was standard boilerplate, you have 10 days, you may have rights under the law, blah blah blah. It included the email address of the attorney so I emailed him a polite reply stating not to worry that I will be out by 1 September. Which was a little past the 10 days, but he replied back that that would be just fine.

I also took the opportunity to let him know about the actions of the real estate agent and he said that he would be informing the bank and the realtor of what she did. So it's out of my hands on that front. I'm not out for blood. I just want her to be reminded of the fact that she's got ethical standards to adhere to, same as we all do.

Moving next weekend. The new apartment is definitely an upgrade for me. Yes it is a studio so the living room and bedroom are all in one space, but I live alone and the square footage is roughly the same as what I have now. Monthly pest control is included. The apartment also comes with a washer and dryer. I haven't had my own washer and dryer for a long time and I'm going to just love that! The basement studio is located in a very well shaded area, which I love. Private off-street parking, too.

[Aethian]

well hey it sounds like things are looking up

[Jetfire]

Sounds like things are looking great for you. That's good.

One other thing you might want to do, especially if you are friendly (or acquaintancely) with your old neighbours, is to give them a heads up of the rules and what's happening, in case that realtor is doing tricks with them too.

[NCO]

Jetfire, no one else lives in this house, but I did let the landlord know. Only other neighbor owns the house next door. She's the one who told the realtor where I live and when I told her what happened, she was NOT happy.

[wolfie]

This past Saturday, I finally got a registered letter from the legal firm representing the bank that foreclosed on the house. It was standard boilerplate, you have 10 days, you may have rights under the law, blah blah blah.

Just curious, but unless the bank that foreclosed had a buyer already lined up, why would they want a tenant to leave immediately? From what I've read, the housing market in the U.S. is still in the dumps, meaning they'd either have to sell the property for a "lowball" price, or wait a substantial time until values recover. If they chose to wait (because of current market values making it likely that they wouldn't even recover the amount of the mortgage if they sold now), a good tenant is an income stream for them, and means that the house would be occupied (and therefore protected against the shit that happens to vacant houses, such as interior walls being ripped apart by people stealing the wiring/plumbing to sell as scrap copper).