Benchmarq Realty

My husband and I attempted to rent from Mr. Mercuri. He both owns the property and was self representing it as the listing agent.nnAt the end of the application process, he pulled a bait and switch and changed both the price and availability of the property after approving us. We would never have applied under the new conditions and it also became clear that his primary reason for availability delay had to do with city permits. We asked if some concessions were possible and explained going month to month at our current place would rack up fees, but he told us we either wanted the property or we didn't, he had lots of interest and didn't need us, despite our perfect tennant record and credit scores. He gave us 48 hours to consider but when we attempted to contact him to discuss further, we were ghosted completely, a 180° turn from his behavior prior to this.nnWe feel Mr. Mercuri is dishonest at best and seems to be ok with scamming consumers out of application fees in bad faith. The posting for that property was updated as of July 16th and while pictures show it looking completed except for details--availability still listed for July 1st--he is facing major obstacles to actually signing a tennant until at least September, which he is not disclosing up front. We thought the public should be aware of this behavior before choosing to do any business with Benjamin Mercuri.