is gumtree safe to find houses/flat to rent?

minerva_windsong

I'd go to spareroom.co.uk or Rightmove before I went to Gumtree. Not that there's anything wrong with it per se, I'm just a bit wary of it myself and therefore it wouldn't be my first choice.

Do you have any friends (or friends of friends) who are living in London already? If so, would they be able to advertise for a room/flat for you where they work? And how essential is it that you and your friends who are moving to London live together - would you be happy to live reasonably near each other instead?

Matt_Hutchinson

Thanks for the plug for SpareRoom. We take the safety of our users very seriously - in addition to a complex system of scam detection filters we spend hours every week checking listings manually, which keeps almost all scam activity off the site. In the rare instance something slips through we have the ability to check who has been in contact with a fraudulent user and warn them.

The advice I'd give to anyone looking to find somewhere to live (and this applies to any form of rented accommodation, not just flatshares) is to follow these basic rules:

• If something seems too good a deal to be true it probably is
• Never pay anything up front without seeing the property (however plausible the reasons you're given)
• Don't use Western Union or Moneygram to send any money unless you know the person and trust them 100%
• Trust your gut instincts - if something seems suspect walk away. It's better to have to look for an extra week than to lose your deposit
• Always expect to sign a contract, if you're not asked to the temptation might be to think 'great!' but it's there to protect you as well as the landlord and means everything is in writing if you run into trouble later on
• Get a receipt for all money you pay
• If you think an advert on a website you're using may be dodgy contact the site and ask them to look at it. Any reputable site understands the integrity of its listings is a top priority so should be happy to help

Cheers
Matt