Foo - Am I being unreasonable (Landlord related)?

I'm miffed right now. I had gotten in touch with a landlord who said she'd hold a room for me this summer if I sent in a security deposit, this was 8 days ago (Saturday). I was happy with what I saw so agreed. On Monday I sent the check in the mail from my campus post office. On Tuesday she emails me saying she hasn't received payment yet, so I told her to wait as it probably takes more than one day to arrive.

On Wednesday, April 14, she emailed me saying she's offering the living room for me to live in, that it has a pull out bed. I said I'd prefer the bedroom.

She called me this morning to say that she gave the room to someone else because my payment was "late." That is, it came April 16, a day later than it should have. Instead she gave the room to the best friend of the existing tenant. I'm frustrated because not once did she tell me that payments are due on the 15th -- what if I had made such an arrangement with her on April 14?

I've never dealt with a professional landlord before; during the college months I rent from a friend's father. I found her conduct here to be very wishy washy. Is this reasonable on behalf of a landlord?

Doesn't sound like a professional landlord to me. A professional would have had you sign paperwork to protect both parties. Count yourself lucky as who knows what other shifty behaviour would have appeared had you taken the room.

Run, don't walk. Imagine what would happen if something was wrong with the place once you were living there .

Ugh. I consider myself naive in "real world" landlord matters, but this seemed pretty flaky to me. I am only living here on a monthly basis though, so I consider it unlikely that I'll find a lease for just 3 months. At first she was pretty good about answering my emails very promptly, and she did provide a lot of pictures of the place per my request, all in her favor. Sounds like I should start looking elsewhere though.

No contract,no rental agreement,no room for you.
Looks like it's back to Animal House again.

Money talks. The other person probably had the money in the landlords hands before you did. How did she know your check was really in the mail? Should she have given you a day? Yeah probably but life sucks, Go out and find another place. As others have mentioned you don't want to live there anyway.

Money talks. The other person probably had the money in the landlords hands before you did. How did she know your check was really in the mail? Should she have given you a day? Yeah probably but life sucks, Go out and find another place. As others have mentioned you don't want to live there anyway.

Yes the weasel did.
The other tenants of the house were the college cheerleaders.

The other tenants of the house were the college cheerleaders.

Assuming you are a guy. Take any room she will give you!!!! An cost should be no object!! :)

1. That was no professional landlord.
2. If there was no paperwork involved, that deposit could be argued to be a gift now (if she cashed it).
3. What's wrong with motels that charge weekly rates? I'd prefer them over some stranger's room for rent...
4. If the college cheerleading team is really staying at that house, STFU and pitch a tent in the backyard!

lol, thanks for the replies. To set the record straight, though, there are no women living in the house :p

Money talks. The other person probably had the money in the landlords hands before you did. How did she know your check was really in the mail? Should she have given you a day? Yeah probably but life sucks, Go out and find another place. As others have mentioned you don't want to live there anyway.

A lot of people out there are interested in doing what's going to solve their problem quickly without regard for what's right or professional. In this case, she just wanted the money quickly regardless of where it came from. Her response to you was merely to justify her actions. It's not you. It's her.

Although I deal with college students on an annual lease basis, I keep waiting lists for apartments; when I know one is opening up, I get in touch with the 1st person on the list to see if they're still interested, and then give them (e-mail, fax, pick-up) an application to complete. I tell them that until I receive a rental deposit the apartmetn is not theirs, and that they have - usually - 5 days to get it back to me before I call the next person on the list. The return time depends on how close to the beginning of school it is... because we're such wonderful landlords, we don't have too many vacancies, and our tenants usually set up their friends to take over their apartments well in advance of them leaving!

Anyone who rents out a room, without a contract, withour references, without meeting you - is likely to be a flake who will also rip you off. Hope you cancelled your check! Next time, try to arrange something through paypal so you have some recourse if the money is drawn on your account.

I've decided to contact the landlord and ask (demand) something in writing. You know, like a lease :p. In the mean time I told my credit union to deny the check.

I've decided to contact the landlord and ask (demand) something in writing. You know, like a lease :p. In the mean time I told my credit union to deny the check.Having been on both sides of the table, I recommend doing everything in writing. Verbal agreements should be followed up with an email or fax. Then everyone signs everything. While I was a student, I got very acquainted with the housing laws (Nolo Press has a book for every state). And I've had to take over half of all my landlords to court to get my deposits back at the end of the lease.

Now that I'm a landlord, I can see that being too nice to tenants is just asking for trouble. Again, everything in writing and I have no problems with giving the flaky/shady ones notice immediately. And experience have borne out my original assertions of: 50% of people are below average!!!. The ones I have had the best time with have been very one-the-ball, and prompt. Overnighting their deposits and signed paperwork; one time even via courier the same day.

I suggest you skip over this one and find somewhere else a little more professional. She seems like the type that'll be flaky about maintenance and will come up with odd-ball reasons to deduct from your deposit.

I've decided to contact the landlord and ask (demand) something in writing. You know, like a lease :p. In the mean time I told my credit union to deny the check.

Sublet the couch(on the sly) in one of the rooms already rented.This will open this other students budget for more Natty Light.
Who knows,he might have a foxy girlfriend stopping in.