Suspicious rental company

My fiance and I applied and were accepted to rent a house in Hutchinson, KS. We gave the company a down payment, signing that we understood we can’t get it back if we pull out. We planned to sign the lease later this week. I asked if my uncle could look over the lease before we sign, but the company refused to give us a copy before the signing date. They say they will go over it with us, and that they had their attorney draw it up, so it’s legal. When I pressed them, they said though they would not give us a copy to take with us, or email it to me to forward to my Uncle, they would email it directly to him. Don't we have the right to look over a copy of the lease and ask for modifications to protect our rights more before we sign?
This is not the first red flag we’ve had with this company. Another apartment we saw that they manage was in awful repair, with unsafe locks, no lighting in the stairwell, smelly, etc. The house we want to rent is lacking two elements on the stove, the carpet is massively stained, and the kitchen counter has huge, open cracks. The peeling paint on the cabinets and shutters we can live with. It is otherwise clean and bug-free, and the rent and location is good. We were told we can make improvements, but we won’t be reimbursed. Is this a bad deal, or am I just overreacting?

[OHlandlord]

Often a LL doesn't want to share his lease with you, not because he doesn't want you to have the opportunity to carefully look it over, but because this is how companies steal leases from other LLs. They send someone to rent a unit and get a copy of the unsigned lease. Attorneys cost $100s if not $1000s to draw one of these up, so they kind of become the intellectual property of that company. No company wants to give it away to another. (The deposit you paid is probably much cheaper than an attorney would charge to draw one up.) So LLs protect their leases from theft by not giving out blank copies.

They did offer to email it directly to your uncle to look over. That was a fair option, I'd have them do that. They will send it in a read only format where no one could print it. You can then look it over. I don't know what luck you will have in negotiating or modifying. Other than some simple things like LL entry, making improvements (which they said you could do), or when the rent is due, big companies like this rarely negotiate. You have a much easier time negotiating with a small or private LL. Companies don't want to change the lease. What do you think will be in the lease that you would want changed? Are you looking for some specific right? Have you read your rights under your state's LL -Tenant law?

Personally, I don't think I'd want to rent from this company. Not because of their protection of the lease document. But because it doesn't seem that they do any repairs or periodic updates. The other unit you saw was in terrible shape. This one doesn't sound much better. Seeing 2 units and having them both in disrepair tells me that they won't make repairs when you need them. Be warned, you may have a really bad time to get needed items fixed when you rent from them. Always send all repair requests in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep a copy to prove you asked it to be fixed to protect yourself.

However, if you wish to rent this place, and they agree in writing to allow you to make improvements, you need to protect yourself. Make sure a move-in inspection is done (get a copy of it) and take dated photographs of the entire place before you move in. This will prove the condition at move in so they can't charge you with those problems when you move out. Make sure you are premitted to do improvements in writing. The stove elements are easy to fix. If electric, these just snap in and you can get a couple from a used appliance dealer for just a few bucks. The carpet can be cleaned (make sure you take photos of the stained carpet at move in.) Or you can put a large throw rug over it. The cabinets can be scraped, sanded, & painted to look better. (Wear goggles and a mask to do this as old paint often has lead in it!) You can caulk the cracks in the countertop to make a temporary repair. Good luck.