Beware: Get every little thing in writing
My suggestion in working with this woman is to get everything in writing. Don’t accept an agreement made over the phone. My experience involved about 3 weeks of negotiations. My financial situation and recent history and I was up front about needing flexibility. She said she thought she and the owner could work something out. First, they wanted an $18,000+ deposit . I had a bad year. I’m not a felon! We came to an agreement of a total deposit of $13K and $1,000 to hold the rental for 2-3 weeks. I wasn’t sure how long it would be before I could get her the deposit. But I had the money within a day. She sent me the address to deliver the check—14 miles. At the last minute I realized she didn’t tell me who to address it to. That was Saturday night. It was Labor Day weekend. Tuesday she finally said I had to make the check out to the owner. I drove to put it in her hand. She didn’t deposit it. Two days later, she called and said the owner had decided to rent to someone who looked at the rental before I did. Now. 3 weeks later, it’s not rented. A red flag did go up dealing with her before this blatantly dishonest dealing. When I told her medical issues contributed my current situation, she wanted me to explain my medical issues. If that’s not illegal, it certainly should be.