This owner is a thief. He pulled the bait and switch on me twice and got away with it since flatio doesn't punish people for doing this.
The apartment is on a very trendy street in Karlin, so renters usually ignore the awful conditions they live in due to the convenience of the location. He is also targeting foreign nationals since we are usually less prevalent to make trouble.
I knew something was wrong from the moment I rented the apartment when the owner reached out to me to provide me with his personal WhatsApp account.
Days before the move, I was provided with pictures that were so unfamiliar that I reached out to the owner. The drapes in the living room were removed and replaced with sheer oned that provided absolutely no coverage for my six-year-old daughter and me. I was told at least twice that curtains/drapes would be and was ordered, but they never came. I also asked if the television set could be replaced since it was pictured in the flatio ads but not in the photos sent to me. The kitchen table and the sofa was different. I am from California, so I selected the apartment based on its size on posh look.
On day one of the move in, a maintenance worker wheeled a grocery cart to my apartment and into the kitchen to hand deliver me two plates, a set of forks and spoons, two large bowls, one small and rusty frying pan, and four drinking glasses.
I felt as if someone forgot to tell him that black people were free and communism had fallen.
The scam gets deeper. I didn't have WIFi, so I spent the night in hotels for the first week since it was so close to the end of the fall term, and I was in deep with preparing for finals.
The property manager then texts you to state that a cleaning lady is available once a week at 150 czks per hour. Here is the catch, even if your apartment is spotless, the lady walks around your apartment until she has accumulated two hours exactly on the clock.
After observing her scam a couple of times, I overpaid 400 czks, never returning.
Two months into the lease, the owner comes by and states, "he rented the apartment on flatio at $1170 by accident. He stated that the $1170 was only suppose to be for one month even though I signed at least two contracts that specifically quoted the $1170.
Flash forward three days after krizikova street gets voted the 11th most popular street worldwide, and now the owner wants me to sign a year lease for $1400 at his trash smelling, police wandering around, tenants yelling and screaming and kicking on doors all times of the night or vacate in 30 days.
So I decided to vacate and still pay $1400 but somewhere much nicer. The owner was so upset that he told flatio that I left the apartment a mess and broke items to keep my deposit. He was so stupid that he forgets his property manager had already done a walkthrough with me and only found a light bulb that he tried to charge me for the whole lighting switch. The manager was so petty
that he wanted me to nearly buy him a brand new refrigerator for one cracked plastic fruit bin.
I decided to sign the paper admitting that my usage of the fruit bins may have exacerbated the crack that was already present upon my move.
The owner submitted false statements to flatio in an attempt to destroy my character. However, I delivered fresh expensive pastries and frozen yogurt to his staff on mother's day and fathers day since I felt sympathy for them.
This owner could not get away with this if flatio stands more by their clients like their competitors over at Airbnb.