I need to know if anyone has been in this situation before.
We are planning to move. We have been offered a house by a lady who, in all fairness, had absolute hell from her last tenant. Not sure how relevant that is but it might be once you read the rest of this.
The letting agent sent us an email today, after we had accepted the offer, outlining the fees and deposit amount. Finding the money isn't an issue at all.
The problem is, the letting agent are asking us to pay the deposit well in advance. They state, as follows..
To secure the property we need you to pay a deposit of £xxx plus referencing and credit check fees. After the deposit is secured the property will be taken off the market.
After this they have asked us to transfer the money into an account, and given us the details.
AIBU in thinking that paying a deposit before they have a) checked our references and b) signed a contract with them is completely off?
They are a legitimate agency, otherwise I would no doubt jump ship and not pay them a penny, but the requests they are presenting us with seem really rather odd.
AIBU, and WWYD?