An honest mistake on the part of one apartment hunter led to a one-year ban from the property he was trying to rent. It can happy to anyone.
TikTok user Sheppard (@realtorshep) is an apartment locator based in Denver. He posted a video on May 16 in which he describes how he messed up recently during the search for his own apartment. In the caption, he warns, “Dont do this when applying for a apartment.”
What did Sheppard mess up on? “So basically what I did was, when I was filling out the application, I didn’t double check what I was putting into the application,” he says. The problem with that is Sheppard chose to pay the application fee using his bank account and the account number he typed turned out to be incorrect.
“I received a notification a couple of days later that says the fee wasn’t allowed to come out,” Sheppard says. He was approved for the apartment until they discovered his application fee was declined. “They were like, ‘Oops, so sorry, your application fee came back declined so we can’t move forward,’” he says. “I requested if I could just pay an NSF fee, if I could bring a cashier’s check. It was an accident. I put the wrong account number.”
The apartment complex was apparently not understanding. “They said that I cannot apply to one of their properties for over a year,” Sheppard says. “Do y’all not know how sad I was when I seen that? Y’all, I really, really wanted to move into this apartment. I’m so hot right now. I’m banned for a full year because of a mistake. Hopefully, they see this video and they change their mind. That’s a crazy policy to have.”
He continues, “Don’t make that mistake. Double check y’alls number. I just found out that if you put a bank account in it’ll process the application regardless if you just put a bank account in.”
‘Call corporate’
The video has amassed more than 260,000 views as of Friday morning. In the comments, users weighed in on the situation and offered advice.
One user wrote, “You’re better off. Sounds like they woulda be a hassle to deal with in the future.”
A second user suggested, “Call corporate where I work, we typically give the applicant a chance to pay by cashiers check.”
A third user said, “Yeah I accidentally paid rent twice on the website so it overdrafted my account and I was banned from online payments for 2 years.”
Sheppard wrote in the comments that he found a “better” apartment and was able to move in the next week.
@realtorshep Dont do this when applying for a apartment 😂😂 – #apartment #denverapartmentlocator #apartmenttips #apartmenthacks ♬ original sound – Sheppard | Luxury Rentals
This Apartments.com blog notes that incorrect or incomplete information on your rental application can be a reason you’re rejected from an apartment. “When filling out a rental application, be sure to provide accurate information and fill out the form to the best of your ability. Incomplete, inaccurate, or missing information could cause your application to be rejected. If you are applying online, be sure to review the application before clicking “submit.” Make sure all required information is included,” the article states.
The Daily Dot reached out to Sheppard via TikTok direct message for comment.
