I’m filling in for a fellow real estate agent while she is on vacation and fielded two strange inquiries today about a property she is helping sell. Two people sent emails asking whether this 4-bedroom, 3-bedroom home in Harrisonburg is indeed for rent for $500/mo, as advertised on Craigslist. It is not, and it is clearly a scam. Be alert – here’s how it works:
- An advertisement is placed on Craigslist, soliciting inquiries for a home on the market at a “too good to be true” rental rate.
- Someone responds, and receives an answer like this:
- HiThanks for your e.mail, it is in [address omitted], Harrisonburg VA 22802pet friendly! LOCATION! – Impeccably maintained This Fabulous Property Better!! Great Opportunity! Outside is Great, inside needs TLC. Great views! New heat pump 7/11. Great remodeled home in established family neighborhood. Convenient to EMU and on city bike trail! Open floorplan with hardwood floors on main level. Partially finished basement, sunroom with hot tub, storage galore! New waterproofing with French drains-warranty conveys. Fenced backyard, cedar closet in basement, new windows and off street parking. ! A must occupy! and its for Immediate Occupancy.
We wish for someone to occupy this space as i will like to bring to your notice that my husband who works with Schlumberger was recently transfered to England. We had to move some days ago with our 3 year old girl.
We wanted to sell the place initially but due to the sharp fall in the price of houses recently, our lawyer adviced us to seek the option of renting since we will even be away for a long time and since we might be moving to the place when we arrive in the next couple of years. We intend renting from here as we would send the keys and paperworks to you so you can take possession if we conclude.
Its a lovely place, so we will require you get back if you are really interested as we intend leasing this house to a responsible and neat person(s) who has the fear of God and will treat this house as his or her own.
Get back to me so i can know your plans as the place is absolutely clean and note that there’s a $500 security deposit plus a $500 months rent.
Best Regards
- A follow up email with some basic questions from the local person wondering if this is legit generated the following response:
- How is your day going? Like i said in my mail, we had to move in a hurry. We are a small happy family who look forward to having a good person occupy. For security reasons, we had the place locked and the keys are here with us. We shall send the keys to your address if you are serious about renting since we can’t do a showing as a result of our absence. You can drive by the place immediately at your earliest convenience. At this point, if you want to proceed, then call me eitherways on 011 44 70457 54507 or +44 70457 54507( don’t forget the plus sign), brief me about yourself and have a little chat. Then you are to also provide one or two references, your move in date, your full name, address and phone number for effective correspondence.Best regards
p.s:I suggest you get a calling card since it is evident that you dont have international call access from your service provider. Follow the instructions on the card and dial 011 44 70457 54507 also note that there is a 5-6 hr difference in timing as England is ahead in timing so you dont get to call in a bad time.
Still looking forward to renting to you
- When pressed again for wanting to speak to someone local who knows this “owner,” the person sent this response:
- Hello,We are positive that the distance will not cause some barrier what so ever as with the internet we can settle our business. Unfortunately We have been disappointed before, by some peoples we trust in the states. So the only person we trust in the state right now that you can meet, has informed us that he has traveled to the Dominican Republic for a professional course. Yes we hope to be in the states in a couple of months (three months to be precise to engage the service of a broker who will handle maintanace if need be)
