Alberto Fonseca and his wife are Cuban doctors living in Ecuador, where they “worked as surgeons”.
The couple recently visited Miami for a visit and decided to rent a property while there. So they hired a real estate agent. “She tells us first, they can rent in your name, show all the paperwork,” Alberto explains, that’s what the agent told them.
But then he suggested putting the names of his friends in the tenancy agreement so that the approval process in the association where they were going to live would be easier for him, and Alberto assures that it was.
“The day they were going to give us the key, we told him, does the owner know? Does the owner’s real estate agent know the truth?” said Alberto, who later found out that the owner didn’t know, so he canceled the contract.
Immediately afterwards, Alberto asked his agent to return the bond he had given, but she did not.
Not knowing what to do, the couple contacted Telemundo 51 responds saying they needed to get back the $2,400 deposit they had given. “It’s the salary of a month’s work for a federal doctor,” explains the Cuban, who points out that when they contacted the real estate agent, they did not receive an answer as to why he would not return the deposit.
Alice Ferrer, a Coldwell Banker Realty agent who was not involved in the case, said that generally a tenant could lose their deposit if they lied on an application. “Then the real estate broker is entitled to that money because the property is taken off the market at that time, it is already under contract and he is not accepting any other contracts,” says Ferrer.
The realtor who works for Coldwell Banker Realty advises to always put the correct information on a homeowners association application and warns that if an agent asks you to change information on an application, it’s a red flag because associations that they must know who lives in the house.
“If they approve a tenant and it’s really other tenants who live, it doesn’t work for the association. They need to know exactly who is going to live there, especially adults aged 18 and over,” explains Alice Ferrer.
In the case of Alberto, although his agent did not send a statement, after we wrote to him, he returned the deposit, a solution with which Alberto says he is satisfied.
“At least they helped us solve a situation and hopefully it will serve as a lesson for others. Don’t get involved in these issues”, warns Alberto, who adds that “when looking for professionals, the first thing to do is to do well”.
If you are like this family and you have a problem that you could not solve on your own, you can call us at 305-888-6842 or write to us through the page www.telemundo51.com/responde/quejas .