Need advice on rental in irvine

M

meccos12

New member
Wondering if I can get everyones input on my situation.

I went to look at a lease in Irvine and spoke to the current tenant.  He was still living in the place so he said he would text me and let me know when he was planning on moving out since I wanted to move in ASAP.  Meanwhile,  I sent in my application through my real estate agent who then emailed my application to his client.  I got a text from the tenant saying he was going to forward my application to the owner.  I was confused why the tenant had my application.  Turns out the tenant hired the real estate agent to list the property on MLS so he can get out of his lease.  He is screening tenants himself before he sends the application to the owner.  I have no idea if the owner knows of this.  Is this legal???  I do not like the idea that some random stranger has access to ALL my personal information.  I also do not like the fact that this was NOT disclosed to me. 
 
Yes it's legal. I'm not sure how the tenant is any more random than the realtor or owner having all of your financial info.
 
so even though he did not disclose the fact that he was not the owner of the house?  So basically I can hire an agent, post a house for lease on the MLS, gather peoples financial and other private information and that is completely legal?

 
paperboyNC said:
Yes it's legal. I'm not sure how the tenant is any more random than the realtor or owner having all of your financial info.
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The tenant is not the owner of the property.

The realtor has a license to handle such information for his work, the owner needs that information in order to conduct business regarding the rental of his property... where does the tenant gain such rights?
 
irvinehomeowner said:
paperboyNC said:
Yes it's legal. I'm not sure how the tenant is any more random than the realtor or owner having all of your financial info.
Click to expand...
The tenant is not the owner of the property.

The realtor has a license to handle such information for his work, the owner needs that information in order to conduct business regarding the rental of his property... where does the tenant gain such rights?
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A tenant can legally sub-lease a property with the approval of the landlord/owner.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
irvinehomeowner said:
paperboyNC said:
Yes it's legal. I'm not sure how the tenant is any more random than the realtor or owner having all of your financial info.
Click to expand...
The tenant is not the owner of the property.

The realtor has a license to handle such information for his work, the owner needs that information in order to conduct business regarding the rental of his property... where does the tenant gain such rights?
Click to expand...
A tenant can legally sub-lease a property with the approval of the landlord/owner.
Click to expand...
True.

However, I do think that needs to be disclosed.

It's probably doesn't, but it seems a bit shady.
 
I went through something similar.  If a tenant wants to break his lease early, it's the landlords responsibility to find a qualified replacement tenant.  The problem is that if the landlord just says he can't find one (it's difficult to prove whether he could or couldn't), the outgoing tenant is still responsible for the rent.

If the current tenant presents qualified replacement tenants to the landlord, it's his duty to rent to one of them as soon as the current tenant vacates and the current tenant is responsible only for the time he left the property vacant.  Most likely a judge will rule in the current tenants favor if he leaves the landlord with 2-3 qualified tenants and the landlord does not rent to any of them after a reasonable period of time. 

The current tenant probably should have explained the situation to your realtor but I'm not sure if he's legally obligated to do so.  I would say this scenario is more likely than him subletting the property.
 
I understand your situation, if you knew the situation you wouldn't apply and give your financial information. Your situation that you described, sounds sketchy.

I wouldn't even thinking about renting from that guy. You can just let it go and move on. Or change your checking account # and other accounts that you gave to him.
 
I don't understand the concern.  Whether its an owner or a tenant, its just people who might or might not handle that information properly.  At least you know exactly who has your info and the real estate agent is on the hook as well for any misuse of that info.

When we lived in a private condo, our landlord asked us to find our replacement so while we didn't use an agent, we did put on craigslist and people contacted us. 
 
Here is a concern:

If somehow your information was used in identity theft or fraud, if the owner of the property was suspected, you can track them down.

If it was the tenant, and they moved, you may not have any forwarding address information and it will make it much harder to go after them. Additionally, since a tenant may not have any real collateral, if you do find them, there may be nothing to go after. At least with a property owner, they may have something you can put a lien against in case of damages (of course this is dependent on how they hold title but they have more to lose than a transient tenant you may not be able to locate).
 
rkp said:
I don't understand the concern.  Whether its an owner or a tenant, its just people who might or might not handle that information properly.  At least you know exactly who has your info and the real estate agent is on the hook as well for any misuse of that info.
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how is the RE agent "on the hook"?  Can you sue them if you are a victim of identity theft?  How would you prove it was them who released the info?
 
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