Rental season is in full swing here in New York, so are rental scams. Today I want to share with you Rental Scam 1 and Scam 2. Unlike Thing 1 and Thing 2 of Cat in the hat fame, these scams are not fun. And they can quickly part you from your money.
Rental Scams
Rental Scam 1: The phony listing.
I wrote–in a previous article (Stripped and Re-listed)–about how someone stripped one of my ads then re-listed it. At that time a prospective tenant spotted the ad and informed me of it. The owner and I took measures to have the ad removed. The listing service took steps to block that person blocked from placing ads.
In the latest version of a listing scam, I received a call from someone claiming that he got my number from an ad. The ad stated that I had a rental in Queens. He gave me the address but couldn’t remember where he saw the ad. The address turned out to be real–as they usually are. But I was not able to locate the ad in the more popular real estate listing sites.
There are two possibilities here. One, the caller lied or two, he was mistaken about the rental address. Nonetheless, he had my name and phone number from the ad. I advised him that I had no such listing. I advised him to contact the Dept of State and report the fraudulent listing.
Rental Scam 2: Fraudulent Rental Application Fees
In another rental scam–within days of the previous one above–an older Hispanic woman showed up at my home. She was accompanied by her daughter. She stated that a person claiming to be a broker told her that there was an apartment to rent in my home. He told her that he would show it to her at 12 noon that day. He also requested a rental application fee.
Fortunately, for this person her son was not comfortable with this arrangement. He told her to check out the rental before putting down any money. Good for him.
I explained to her that no such rental existed. And that she had done the right thing by questioning the availability of the rental.
I told her how to use the Dept of State website, to verify agents and brokers.
Summary
In both these cases, the prospective tenants and possible victims did the simplest due diligence possible; they checked it out first.
The first person was actually lucky. Had the con artist placing the ad done a good job of listing the property they would not have used my contact information. Instead, they would have replaced it with his or her own.
In the second incident, that person followed the prudent advice given. She checked out the rental in person before putting any money down.
That said; when it comes to renting an apartment take care. People have a tendency to take buying a property seriously. This is not the case in apartment rentals. This is what allows a con artist to get over on their victims. Remember in real estate it is truly Caveat Emptor (Let the Buyer Beware)
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and nothing stated here is legal advice. This article applies to the five boroughs of New York. All information deemed accurate but not guaranteed. Always check the real estate laws in your part of the country.
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