A person contacted me in regards to a craigslist posting I had made in search for a rental home; they claimed they had one available, provided an address and an amount which was wasnt clear as to what it was (rent, rent + deposit?). I asked them to clarify, stating that if the amount was the monthly rent, i could not afford it and thanked them anyways. In broken English, they responded that it was rent + deposit; that the monthly rent was about 1/3 of the total they had thrown out there. I was immediately confused. The first amount was way too high for my area; the second was way too low, and the way they were speaking was totally unfamiliar to me. Red flags 1 and 2. I was immediately skeptical so i began prodding.
I asked when it would be available, when i could look at it, and what the application process was. They stated it was available now, that I could drive by and that they would “hold it for me” for a month (!) until my current lease was up; no application. Red flags 3, 4 &5. That is unheard of. Hoping I was just being paranoid, I asked for photos and while waiting, I googled the number and the address that was provided.
First I found that the number was from Indiana; I live in Michigan. Red flag #6. Then I found that the house was for sale. #7. That is was immaculent and beautifully finished. #8 &9. And I noticed the house was for sale for an amount that the rent payment he claimed id be making was clearly less than the amount that the monthly mortgage payment would be. This was a scam. Or was this person super out of touch about the rental market? I had to keep asking questions.
I then asked for photos. Every photo they gave me was clearly downloaded from the reality sites. He then text “Let me know if you love it”. What landlord says that?! My hope was gone. I asked directly, “is this house for sale”? And, in broken, nonsensical English, i was told that he changed his mind, deciding to rent and not sell after speaking with his wife. That he wanted to rent to the right person who would love it like their own (howd he knkw i was so great?) and asked to be informed if I still wanted it asap so he could get it going for me. What a jackass. Not a very smart conman i had here. Just for shits and giggles I wanted to see what he’d say if I demanded to see it. The response I got was priceless:
“You can only drive by and take a look from out side and see how it looks like as matter of fact am currently in California so you have to wait for the keys before you can have access to the interior and the keys is gonna deliver to you door step via fedex shipping company to the address you gonna provide to me”.
I laughed and told him to fuck off.
Beware this number. I jumped the gun and never got a name like i should have but if you get contacted by this person -BLOCK THEM IMMEDITAELY! At least he was a stupid conman and I could see he was full of shit right away…