STUDENTS BEWARE of Mozart Mgmanagement $700 lost in sleazy option deposit

Mozart mgmt , a property manager in Pittsburgh, has some of the sleaziest and slickest apartment rental practices that I have ever encountered. Students ( or parents of students) dealing with this company be forewarned- do not ever give them a deposit to hold an apartment. We lost $700 with these people in one week.

Here s the story:

My daughter is a student at Carnegie-Mellon and is very inexperienced with leases/apartments. She wanted to rent an apartment through Mozart but was told that the lease required her parents to co-sign . She was told to sign a contingency lease and send the lease to us (her parents in California) to review and co-sign. OK, so far,so good- but here it gets interesting.

She is told that they required a $700 deposit to hold the apartment for one week, with the understanding ( from her salesperson) she had a week to get the lease to us and convince us to cosign or the deal was off and the deposit (less application fee of $70) would be returned.

You know where I am going- the lease was completely unacceptable and I wouldn t co-sign. So, within the agreed-to- week , my daughter called Mozart and told them she did not want the apartment. They told her they would not return any of the deposit.

This seemed a bit strange to me- the apartment in question was standard one in a large complex, and wasn t going to be vacated by the current tenant until June (2 months away) so Mozart had not suffered any damages in the week it was off the market. So, I called Mozart thinking I could talk to someone reasonable to work something out- boy, was I disappointed

The general manager informed me that it was their POLICY never to return deposits ( surprised') and my only avenue was to pursue legal options . I have run a business for 20 years and I have never run into an outfit or attitude like this- greed run amok. The $700 handed over to Mozart was actually a non-refundable option price to hold the apartment for one week Mozart could cancel the lease and keep the money UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. I have paid lower deposits to purchase houses than this. Wow- what a racket- I wonder how many other unsuspecting students they have bilked out of substantial $$$$.

My only advice- DO NOT DEAL WITH COMPANY.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/27/2008
I lived with Mozart for a 2 years moved away, and then moved back. I was going to rent from them again but, I was relocated yet again so I couldn't finish the application process. They were prompt and courteous with returning my money within the 7 day window. They asked a lot of questions during the app process but other than that they were fine. As for their lease, it is pretty standard in Pgh in places that aren't slums (like the apts Lobos Mgmt has-I rented from them too...big mistake) I guess you live and learn, and always read the fine print.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/10/2008
Mozart's lease is actually very tame for any apartment complex (especially in Pbgh). I have had much worse. Most apartments make you put one month's rent down as a deposit. Everything here is standard for any leased space, especially residential. If you were offended by Mozart's lease good luck finding any place acceptable to live.
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/23/2009
I have lived in Pgh for several years and would not agree with the statement "If you were offended by Mozart's lease good luck finding any place acceptable to live.". Mozart runs several big apartment complexes in Pgh. It is common for these management companies to require several months of notice at the end of the lease. Also, they typically do not permit subletting. I am not saying Mozart is worse than the other big apartment complexes. However, there are many smaller management companies and individual landlords in Pgh, and those will often require only 2-month notice. Some might allow subletting. So in that sense, those leases would be more flexible. Of course, it takes more time and effort to find them. Apartment complexes like Mozart make it easier to rent an apartment, especially several months in advance, which can be beneficial to people from outside Pgh. So, renting from a big management company can be a good idea in some circumstances. As per the $700 penalty incurred by the CMU student from California, I would say that is high. It approximately matches the amount of one month rent. This seems a lot in exchange for keeping the apartment available for one week, especially given that the deposit terms were apparently not clearly communicated to the student, and given that the management company apparently incurred little or no damage as a result of holding the apartment. However, I do also have to say the following. If the understanding was that the $700 deposit is refundable, then what was the management company supposed to receive in the event that the tenant changed their mind? $70 ? Clearly, they would be entitled to some compensation, although $700 seems high. The concerned parent from CA has several options available. She can file a written complaint with the CMU Housing Office. This office maintains a "landlord complaint book", which is frequently consulted by new tenants when looking for new apartments. CMU students are a major customer for management companies in the areas around CMU, so adding your entry to this book does make a difference. She can also file a complaint with the local better business bureau (BBB).

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