Citispot Realty

Review: Citispot Realty lied, omitted, and misrepresented important terms and conditions of a rental transaction. When we (my boyfriend and I) first saw the apartment with one of Citispot's brokers, we were told there security deposit is 1 MONTH and potentially 2 MONTHS if we needed a guarantor. The next business day I went into the Citispot office and again asked about the terms and next steps upon submitting a rental application. The broker I spoke to brusquely ignored my question altogether and firmly told me I just needed to fill out the application and that all terms are what the original broker had told me. At this stage, my boyfriend and I logically interpreted their actions to mean that were we to be accepted as applicants, our security deposit would be maximum 2 month's rent. This was not the case. We were asked to pay the first month rent upfront IN ADDITION to 3 months of security in an escrow account upfront. These are terms I've never before encountered from any management service in NYC. Instead of apologizing for lack of communication, Citispot continued to hound us to accept and put up 4 months of rent towards the apartment. When we declined and asked to withdraw our application, they would not return our application fee because it is non-refundable. Under most circumstances, yes. However, in a circumstance where we were lied to from the beginning and this lie DIRECTLY impacted our decision as to apply or not, our application fees should absolutely be refunded to us.Desired Settlement: $240 refund for the application fee.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

We, Citispot Realty have learned to make sure all prospective applicants sign and acknowledge all information given to them when they are applying. It is also crucial to note that owner's/managements make their own decisions regarding applicants/guarantors on the terms of approval, so we are unable to tell prospective tenants with certainty any feedback regarding their applications without landlords consent.

As for [redacted] complain, which is 100% false. I never told her what will the landlord decision be. I also informed her that the owner are looking for extra security because both she and her boyfriend are students with an out of state guarantor. Landlords in NYC commonly require prospective tenant to earn at least 40 times the amount of the monthly rent. [redacted] and her boyfriend are both students with no monthly income. She has a guarantor who lives in Florida, yet many landlords limit their guarantors to be in-state or within the metropolitan area (such as New York City tri-state area) in order to avoid any hassle trying to go after a guarantor in a different state court system.

In [redacted]'s case, once we gathered all the required paperwork, we prepared her boyfriend and Guarantor application package and presented it to the landlord. A couple of days later, the landlord accepted their application and asked for 3 months security deposit, due to the fact that they are both students with no income and with an out of state guarantor. As a result, her boyfriend decided not to take the apartment.

The application clearly states that: ANY FEES COLLECTED FOR THIS INVESTIGATION ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.

Please find more info at the Management Web site at: http[redacted]

She also signed the Citispot Realty Good Faith Deposit agreement, which clearly states again that all managements application fees are NON-REFUNDABLE. In addition, in the Good Faith Deposit form, it clearly enumerates that when a person decide not to take the apartment after approval, all good faith money will be forfeited.

[redacted] gave us a total of $500.

$240 for the applications fees and $260 NON-REFUNDABLE Good faith Deposit.

We returned her the $260 good faith deposit money as a courtesy to try to settle this matter. However, [redacted] and her boy friend [redacted] are condescend, obnoxious, disrespectful threw this entire process and their unrealistic demands are impossible to meet. I have all the emails to prove my case ( For example: on June [redacted] sent me the following email: " I would strongly prefer not to raise hell over this issue as the dollar amount of our application is a relatively small amount for you compared to all the inconveniences and legal expenses it could otherwise involve").

I request that this complain will be removed for Revdex.com website.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Best Regards,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

Again, I have not yet received my check. I offered on terms of goodwill to pick it up and was told to come in before 4pm. When one of my appointments were late, I said 5pm and [redacted] responded no issue. I showed up early and still no one knew of where my check would be. I want it mailed to me ASAP by mail because we are both interested in resolving the matter and I see receiving my $260 as a necessary means to do so. At this time, it still appears there is no check in my mail for me despite a direct response from [redacted] it was in the mail last Tuesday. Please issue this. My address is [redacted]. Please include a tracking number so I can keep abreast where it is instead of contacting you as it is obvious we would prefer not to communicate.

Additionally, our guarantor is a lawyer working on one of the biggest cases in the US and does not have very much time on her hands. Seeing I was able to sign for my boyfriend on the lease without an issue, it seems normal to assume I could sign for our guarantor as well. At no point was it made clear to us this was not ok, seeing I explicitly stated on the form it was "signed for" by me, not the person.

I want my check for $260, and an external decision on the $240 application fee. Finally, I also encourage Citispot to look at its reviews online. Trust me when I say your other clientele are just as unhappy as I.

Thank you.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

I mailed the check to you and you should be receiving it soon. I don't work on you time table because I have more important things to attend with my time. As I said before, I will mail it and I did!!