i looked at a duplex with the main reason behind it to find a house with 2 buses running to 2 different schools to get my girls to and from school. i told the landlord this, he gave me the impression there shouldnt be a problem, didnt confirm 100%, just pushed me in the right direction. asked if he would hold the house for 1 month w/a deposit he said no but to fill out an app anyway…so thursday night i did that…friday evening he emails me and says we have the duplex and would need to pay half months rent for 9/15 move in date…but to sign the lease and bring a deposit of $900 and meet him that sunday…well i went ahead and did as he requested..found out the following week when the bus barn was open that neither bus ran thru that neighborhood..i emailed him and told him we were misinformed and needed to void the lease and get a full refund of my money..in his lease it states the lease is not in effect until the landlord gives the tenant a signed copy of all involved…he had not done this yet so i figured i was still within my legal rights to void the lease…he says he is now out all of this money in a matter of 3 days and would refund $400 and if he rented by the 15th would give me another $200…can he legally do this? several people–landlords, attorneys, friends, etc are saying he is being dirty and just trying to intimidate me…i dont want to waste my time with small claims court if he actually can do this…can someone please help me?