This could only happen here....

Many landlords in the city have managing agents that handle the day to day affairs of running their various buildings. One of their tasks is to alert brokers to the available apartments and to supply those brokers with keys so that they can gain access and show the apartments to potential tenants. Its a simple process perfected over the years into a fairly seamless procedure.

Some agents "accidentally" forget to return the keys which then throws the whole dance out of whack as other brokers can't gain access. To prevent this memory lapse from happening managing agents often ask the broker for a small deposit or their drivers license to hold and then return when the keys are returned.

Recently, one of our agents went to the office of a managing agent to pick up keys. She was asked to leave a $20 deposit and was told to be back before 6:00pm. She showed the apartment and returned to the building where the managing agent was located at 5:00pm where she found firemen surrounding the building and flames coming out of one of the offices upstairs. She pulled out her cell phone and called the managing agent intending to leave a message letting them know she had made it back in time but that due to the fire she could not get upstairs to their office. Much to her surprise they answered, apparently unaware of the fire. Our agent filled them in and urged them to leave the building asap.

Two days later she returned and went upstairs to hand in the key and was told.....(are you ready for this?).....that since she had not gotten back by 6pm that same day she had forfeited her $20.
She reminded them that had she not called them they might have been victims of the fire. Sorry, she was told, rules are rules.

Only in NYC my friends. Have a nice weekend, Happy Friday.