I have a wonderful family and job for which I am extremely thankful however, sometimes in life things happen that are completely unexpected. We lived in a beautiful home until my daughter became of age to go to college.
12 years ago my X left me for another partner leaving me with 3 children. All of a sudden my life became extremely difficult between raising kids, managing my work along with dealing with the daily stresses and deadlines in life. Between a divorce, medical bills and holding things together became more challenging however I did it. My bills were suffering and I started to make late payments. The worst part became my rent, which was late EVERY month while I tried to keep my kids and I on track in life. The good news was EVERY year (for 9 years) my apartment complex offered me a renewal. I had a fantastic relationship with them and they loved me and my kids however, this didn’t change the fact that my payment record was set. On top of that, there were several times by law, they had to start eviction procedures because I was past the deadline several months even though they knew I would pay. Still, for 9 years I kept on keeping out home. Before I left, they had offered me a 10th lease but I declined because my daughter was about to go to college in another state and I was going to be there with her while my Sons moved to their mothers. What happened next was a complete shock to me.
I started looking at apartments in LA and after I applied for one, I was in shock that they turned me down. The reason was because my previous landlord had to tell them about all my late payments and eviction procedures. Although I was never evicted and paid every month AND they offered me another lease, they basically told the apartment company I was applying to they would not rent to me again based on my past payment history. That changed my life. With my daughter with me and me being turned down, I started to worry more than ever hence I contacted a corporate housing company. They assured me they would get me in to an apartment ASAP without issue. I trusted them. I made a mistake in trusting them because after paying their fees and Hotel costs, I was out of pocket $15,295! I was in a Hotel (while my daughter was going to college) for 5 months! The corporate housing company were charging me application fees for VARUOUS apartments and kept the lot! On top of that, each apartment company wanted $5000 down on THEIR credit! (which I would have to pay) After 5 months of intense stress, worry, out of pocket expenses and my daughter starting to doubt her father, I found ‘ways to rent’ through google. It was there my life changed again. I was TERRIFIED to trust ANY company when it came to finding a new home however, I was either stuck with the corporate housing company where I was bleeding money with NO results OR I put my faith and trust in ‘Ways to Rent’.
I first contacted David at Ways to Rent not knowing what to expect. I was terrified to invest in another company I didn’t know personally. But, there was a difference with David. I could tell he was a straight shooter. He was one of these people who tell you how it is and he doesn’t sugar coat it! He told me the different phases as to how it works and he even gave me a time frame as to how long it would all take. HE UNDER PROMMISED AND OVER DELIVERED! I followed everything he told me and sure enough, EVERY SINGLE THING HE TOLD ME WAS ACCUTATE! It was a complete breath of fresh air!! He even told me NOT to expect my move in date to be within a certain time limit because he couldn’t guarantee that. He even told me that if it was an issue, I might have to try something else. He was HONEST!!! I stuck with him and I am SO extremely glad I did. He was a man of Integrity, honesty and seemed to really care. It wasn’t just about money. He wanted to do the right thing, say the right thing and get the results that I needed. He put ME and my daughter first. He was like a breath of fresh air to me after what I had gone through with the corporate housing company. I had not idea the best was still to come! He told me once he received everything he needed from me (which I did in record time) he would pass me over to a case manager. Again, I started to worry because I had JUST built a relationship of trust with David and here we go again. Another person was about to come into my life! BUT, this person CHANGED my life, changed ME AND has given me a whole new prospective in life! Her name was Patrica. Thank God for Patricia. I think this lady is like an Angel that sits on our shoulder to watch after people like me.
Patricia was a ‘no nonsense’ experience which I loved! She told me the steps I needed to follow and IF I followed them, she would apply for some apartments for me. Well, WOW! Simply wow. This lady is simply amazing. As soon as I sent the information she needed, she told me to send a list of apartments I’d like to apply. It was honestly as simple as that. I was TERRIFIED like you wouldn’t believe because remember, 5 months ago I had applied for ONE apartment and when I was turned down, I was to scared to apply again! She calmed me down and HONESTLY made this seem simple. So, I gave Patricia the information on the apartment complex I liked. She applied for me. I went into take a look at it. What amazed me was, after my daughter and I looked at the unit, we went into the main office and she told me what I needed to give her in order for her to proceed with the credit application. So, I gave her the check and she pushed the credit through for me. To my complete and utter surprise, she said it was approved with their ‘onsite’ credit department with a small deposit but we would need to wait a few days to get that confirmed due to it being a holiday weekend.
2 days later, we were approved and the VERY NEXT DAY, WE MOVED INTO OUR NEW HOME! The emotion was simply too much. My daughter and I cried for the first two nights because we were IN OUR home. No more hotels! No more worry! It was an amazing experience for both of us however, I was able to shelter my daughter from the credit worry but she was shaken up as a result of the corporate housing company. Thanks to David and Patricia, things look VERY different today then they did only a week ago! (We actually moved in to our new place WAY sooner that the time frame they gave us! THEY UNDERPROMMISED AND OVER DELIVERED)
I must say that Patricia was simply amazing to work with. Not only is she EXTREMELLY competent at her job, she is a HUMAN WHO CARES. PERIOD! I could feel it every single step of the way. She does not realize that SHE changes lives every single day. She changed MY life and my daughters life. She made this entire process seem and feel effortless because of the speed she does things BUT, from where I sit, she IS THAT ANGEL THAT SITS ON OUR SHOULDER! My heart is touched and FOREVER great-full that she is who she is. I have never met this lady but I can tell you one thing for sure. It is an HONOR to have had her in my life because SHE has restored my faith in SO many ways.
If you need help with securing your home, if you follow what they ask of you, they WILL make it happen! To David and Patricia. My heart is out of control because of what you did for me and my daughter. A ‘thank you’ will NEVER be enough however, it is my hope you can FEEL my words in knowing the difference you have made in our lives. THAT is what you do for a living! Its miraculous!
Kindest regards,
Mike U
