Private landlord.. Dodgy?

Pork89 · 20 December 2009 at 1:11AM

I found an ad on Gumtree earlier today for an AMAZING flat. Cheaper than what I pay at the moment, much bigger, much nicer and it overlooks a river!

I sent an email to the person who placed the ad asking if it was okay to view the property and got this back:

The rent is £480 per month including all bills and council tax. I moved in Milan,Italy because I got a new job. I work in a hospital. You can rent the flat as long as you need to stay even for 2 or 3 years. The first payment will be for 3 months £1440.In case you want it, let me know so we can arrange the transaction. For me is very hard to come in UK and if I will come i must be 100% sure that I will not come for nothing. As you can see in the photos everything it's new in the flat and the flat is fully furnished and also benefits from wood flooring. You have internet connection, phone, washing machine with dryer, cable TV and most important parking place.

Now, that's all fine. But I've never dealt with a completely private landlord before. The flat I'm in at the moment was a right pain to get (through an estate agent); had to provide proof of identity, get guarantor forms, sign tenancy agreements... All that malarke.

The flat truly is amazing and I'd love to move in, but I'm hoping she's not going to be ask for the money to be electronically transferred (without even mentioning a tenancy agreement) and then promising the send the keys.

Has anyone dealt with a situation like this before? Do I need to be wary? Should I still be signing tenancy agreements and whatnot?

As long as I'm completely secure and have no risk of losing my money and not gaining the flat then I'd be happy to rent with her. I'm not overly concerned about viewing the property as I walk past the block of flats every day and it's quite apparent how big and luxurious they are!

Many thanks people of MSE

bitsandpieces · 20 December 2009 at 1:22AM

Dodgy, dodgy, dodgy, dodgy, really really dodgy :eek:

I bet they're going to want you to hand over money without even seeing inside the flat - how do you know the 'landlord' isn't just some random teenager who wants an easy grand? No way I'd hand over my money in this kind of situation.

Did I mention it was dodgy?

Pork89 · 20 December 2009 at 1:26AM

Thanks for the reply bitsandpieces

You basically summed up why I'm worried!

But I'm thinking; if me and my girlfriend sign a tenancy agreement and THEN pay the money, surely we are covered as we have a legal right to occupy the flat for a defined period?

Also, I'm thinking of signing up for a credit card and paying the sum on that so I'll have more protection.

Thanks again!

bitsandpieces · 20 December 2009 at 1:33AM

Pork89 wrote: »

But I'm thinking; if me and my girlfriend sign a tenancy agreement and THEN pay the money, surely we are covered as we have a legal right to occupy the flat for a defined period?

I've got a luxury flat in Chelsea that I can rent to you for £50/week. PM me your e-mail and postal address and I can send you a signed tenancy agreement right away - you just need to sign it your part and send me the £1 deposit (I prefer Western Union or paypal, so I know the funds won't bounce). I can't show you inside the flat, but you can see it's lovely from the outside.

See the problem here? I can give you my 'real name' - but how do you know I'm not lying. If I don't own the flat, what good is a signed tenancy agreement from me. Even if I give you my bank account details or accept a cheque, I could be based half way across the world - good luck chasing me for your money.

If the Landlord's genuine, perhaps you could look at some kind of Escrow scheme (make sure it's a genuine one) so they get your money when you're in the flat. I've never known a genuine landlord to do business like this, though.

Triker · 20 December 2009 at 1:37AM

No No No don't touch it with a barge pole its a well known scam, one of my friends on the Flylady thread had this same situation and it was revealed as a scam, preying on people desperate to move.

Don't touch it, inform Trading Standards and warn your friends.

Triker · 20 December 2009 at 1:47AM

This is the post that one of the flyladies uncovered the scam for another.

Thread: Weekly Flylady Thread 3rd August 2009
View Single Post

05-08-2009, 11:58 PM #768 johanne
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Rosepink - Just read your last post.. and it rang an alarm bell of something i heard a while ago so after a quick bit of googling.... please read these first before doing anymore...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006...vercashsection

http://www.myfinances.co.uk/news/mor...m-$1306485.htm

I'm not saying it IS a scam.... but since hes asking you to prove you can afford it i just thought id point you in direction of these links first.. i hope to god im sooo wrong... i really do.... and i hope you have just struck on a good deal. I know you said your aware it could be a hoax etc.. so hope your not offended in me posting these.

Im just a cynical old bag lately... (at 23! :rotfl:)

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rosepink1984 wrote: »

Thanks Johanne, I really appreciate the links. The second one was ringing alarm bells as he has mentioned he is in Italy and finds it hard to get back and wants to be sure we have the funds before he comes over...we have been proceeding with caution throughout and will continue to do so. Thanks so much as now I know what to watch out for. Will report him to the police and Gumtree if there is anything dodgy. Thanks love! I still hope it will turn out to be genuine but throughout the whole thing I've been thinking it's too good to be true!

Johanne you are right, it is a scam. He's asked us to wire the deposit and first months rent to someone we trust and to send him the receipt as proof that we have the money, which is exactly what the article said would happen. I was expecting to be a con but am a bit disappointed it turned out to be one. Ah well, such is life.

DH says we should report him to watchdog - any other ideas of who to report him to? Got any suggestions anyone?

Pork89 · 20 December 2009 at 1:49AM

Here's the gumtree ad:
http://bristol.gumtree.com/bristol/15/51454215.html

And here's a separate ad from an estate agents:
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/details/3283930

Seems most likely now that it is indeed a scam. The estate agents are listing the property as £1250 pcm which sounds just about right for a property like this (in contrast to the £115 pw this was being offered as on Gumtree). Ah now I'm gutted. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is!

blckbrd · 20 December 2009 at 1:51AM

OP do a search on "MONEY GRAM SCAM" - the wording in the ad comes up in one of the gumtree forums.

Oh and don't sign up for a credit card. Not sure you're ready for the responsibility.

Pork89 · 20 December 2009 at 1:59AM

Thanks everyone for all your helpful comments. Case closed now I suppose. I'm going to give the estate agents that this property is legitimately listed by a call tomorrow and let them know about all of this.

And blckbrd I'm sure it's nothing I couldn't handle. I thoroughly intended just to use the CC for the rent payment, cut the card up and make sure a direct debit was set up to pay off the balance in full.

sp1987 · 20 December 2009 at 5:46AM

Surely reading the message itself told you it was a scam?

I often say I wonder how these scammers manage it with quite obvious tactics easy to spot from a mile off, but there is indeed an endless supply of people who think that somebody will give them a house for (after bills and CT removed) cheaper than even council housing must be in the area.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is.

ranger1066 · 20 December 2009 at 8:17AM

This is definately a scam, a few months ago we were looking for a new place to live, my OH placed an ad on gumtree stating we were looking for a place.

Within hours we recieved a message from a 'lawyer' who works in London, she said it was her late Mum's house etc.

She said the rent was £480 (for a 3 bedroom house) including all bills and the place was fully furnished and included photos. For a start down on the south coast a decent sized 1 bed flat is on average £480 a month, excluding bills.

The photos looked like they were from some sort of african palace, she also stated it was a terraced house, she said what road it was on (literally the road next to my work), the said road has no terrace houses on only detached houses and bungalows. It is also a rather expensive area where a 1 bed flat is about £550+ (unfurnished and exluding bills).

She also asked for £400 via western union to 'prove we were genuine' she then promised to return the money immediately. I immediately told her where to go.

Private landlord.. Dodgy?

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