I just wanted to give other consumers looking to rent, buy or go on vacation using this companies services. First he asks for money up front, not for security or rent. The money seemingly disappears then. He also charges to have a lease written up. That is the expense of the company, not the potential customer. If you decide not to go with this company after signing this agreement, none of the money comes back to you regardless of whether or not he actually had the lease prepared.
On top of that, this company charges for a background check. You never hear the results, or see the report. If you ask for a copy of either the lease or the background check with a time stamped reciept, they are never produced by the owner, nor his attorney.
His properties are over-priced, they do not include any utilities and there are additional, hidden fees the owner fails to include in the rental price. He forces you to pay for a home warrenty for his property, which is his responsibility as well as a central station alarm.
Be sure to ask why he requires an alarm system on every property he owns, including in rural areas. You will find the owner avoids this question at all costs. He also will not give a final sales figure for his "rent-to-own" system.
He will try to highlight that the money you put into a property is "transferable" to any of his other properties if you feel like opting for another one of his properties. Be weary, though, as he has an extremely limitted selection of properties, meaning there is almost no real portability. It is fluff added to the top to make things seem better than they really are.
His attorney is very disorganized, and will also try to scheme you out of money. Be sure to ask his attorney for the results of both the investigations the Pennsylvania Bar Assosciation launched against him for his unethical behavior.
If you find yourself locked in a courtroom with the owner and his attorney, don't fear losing the case. They are both very disorganized, and will present an extremely weak case. Make sure you highlight the flaws in their contracts. Take a person or two with you to all meetings, showings and signings so you have witnesses in court to attest to any false or misleading statements the owner or his attorney make, and you will easily win the case.
If you still intend on doing business with this company, I wish you the best of luck. It seems the business has many enemies, which is the reason behind alarm systems on every property. He will also split the property any way possible to squeeze some extra cash out of it, so if there is a detached garage, it is not icluded in the rental price.
My advice is find a legitimate landlord to rent from for a few months, or even years if you need to rebuild your credit. Put the difference between Russell Rentals prices (include $598 for an application and $65 extra a month for the warranty and security) into a bank account. Make the rest of your payments on time, and buy a property through a traditional real estate agent and lender.
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