May 2, 2018
A Pattern of Unethical Behavior
I have emailed them about this and was blown off. The District is keeping my $50 despite me never actually applying I’d like to share thoughts about their lease and why I opted to not apply (to my best recollection). -The stipulation that merely applying for an apartment obligates you to the lease is very unusual. The fact that you are given the application form (which obligates you to the lease if your application is accepted) before being given the lease suggests the company is used to dealing with very inexperienced renters. -The stipulation that you are financially responsible for the entire year’s rent in the event that you cancel is very unusual. Most apartments require a 30 day notice and then only obligate you 1-3 month’s rent. -There is nothing requiring the property management company to give notice before entering the apartment. Applicants should be aware that there is nothing in NC law to protect you from this omission being abused. -The District will keep your money even if you never submit an application or even given them permission to perform a background check. It is common to make application fees non refundable once an application has been submitted because the money goes to a vendor who runs the background check. This is a protection against someone applying, being rejected or not following through, and then demanding their money back even though the background check has already been run. The fact that The District will keep your money even if you haven’t applied or authorized them to run a background check, and hence have no justification for not refunding you, tells you a lot about the ethics of this company.