Craigslist Scams I Encountered When Looking For A Rental Plus Real Scam Emails

Comments

1. Robin Patton says

   August 5, 2015 at 3:17 pm

   Holey crap! I found a house for rent on craigslist and emailed the owner. we have been emailing back and forth. his house is for sale and it checked out with the county assessors (names matching). I provided him with my work info, several references, employer name, an current rental address. I decided to try to safe guard against being scammed. I have not sent any money. I found this site and my jaw dropped when I saw #3. His listing was almost word for word!! wow. He has no Idea yet that I am now on to him. I am worried now that he has mine and my references contact info. No bank account #s or social security numbers THANK GOD!! Do I need to report it to the police? Who else should I report it to? I hate people who scam!

   Reply

   • Deborah Annette Eubans says

     October 24, 2016 at 12:31 pm

     This JUST happened to me. What did you do?

     Reply

     • angelia mcghee says

       November 24, 2016 at 1:51 pm

       wow i got the same email but when they asked for money i new it was a scam

       Reply

     • T.F. says

       June 10, 2017 at 7:10 pm

       I recently have also been messaging back and forth with a scammer, no money was sent, specially after “the owner” called me and forgot he described himself as female in the emails lol. I have provided an email and the joke of the contract they sent me, maybe they should be included in this article to help others avoid these people.
       ——–
       “We will be away for Four years or more that is why We have made up Our mind to put up Our house for rent to whomever that will take good care of it. However, Our initial plan was to sell the house but it was not successful because the Realtor raised the price which made it difficult for Us to sell before leaving (Colton, CA) So you ignore the sign post because We have stop dealing and contacting the Realtor for too much fees We paid and the Realtor was trying to rip Us off.

       We have a cordial relationship with the neighborhood as it is a neighborhood where,everyone keep to themselves go about their business without interference from anybody and we expect that as you move in.

       We left behind some Facilities and electronics which include the rent, and a DVD player, air conditioning, alarm system. The kitchen is fully equipped with all necessary cooking utensils, a refrigerator-freezer, four-hob and oven, microwave,dishwasher and washing machine, My Computer Connected with Internet Access Also the keys to the House are right here with me, and the house documents. Which I can send to you after all necessary agreement has be accepted. Also I will like you to know that the rent charges is not really the issue ,but your absolute maintenance of my House is most important thing

       HOUSE DESCRIPTION:
       Property type: Single-Family Home
       Address:458 W L St, Colton, CA 92324
       Bedroom: 2
       bathroom: 1
       Monthly Rent: $800
       Security Deposit: $800 (Security Deposit is Refundable)
       Utilities included in monthly rent
       Pet: Accepted.

       SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE RENT

       APPLICATION FORM.

       RENTAL APPLICATION FORM

       FIRST NAME: __________________
       MIDDLE NAME: __________________
       LAST NAME: __________________
       PROFESSION: ________________
       PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
       PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
       THE BEST NUMBER TO CONTACT YOU ON__________?
       ATTACH ID CARD
       MARITAL STATUS: _________
       KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________?
       PRESENT ADDRESS: ___________________________
       CITY: _______________
       STATE: ______________
       CURRENT RENT: _______?
       HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
       HOW SOON DO HAVE THE DEPOSIT AND RENT ?
       HOW SOON DO YOU INTEND MAKING THE PAYMENT?
       WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________?

       *PETS*
       IF YOU HAVE A PET,
       NAME OF PET: ______________
       KIND OF PETS: _____________
       WEIGHT: ___________________
       HABITS
       DO YOU SMOKE? ______________
       DO YOU DRINK? ______________
       DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT? ____

       I CERTIFY that answers given here in are true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I authorize investigation of all statements contained in this application for tenet screening as may be necessary in arriving at a tenant decision. I understand that the landlord may terminate any rental agreement entered into for any misrepresentation made above. you can bring in your stuffs and items, only inform me about your move in.

       Please make sure this questions are fill correctly because the best way you answer with your comment will impress me the more to accept your applications.I know you would want to see the house before making any kind of rental payment , which is understandable.We can make arrangement for the keys and documentation including an Authorization letter to be shipped to you, this will give you the opportunity to view house.

       Please get back to me today with a reply, You can contact me:+1(702) 751-4326

       Best Regard

       Lawson May & FAMILY”
       __________________________________________

       “LEGAL RENTAL AGREEMENT FORM
       Residential Lease

       • PARTIES.
       APPROVED

       Landlord Name: Lawson May
       ADDRESS: 458 W L St, Colton, CA 92324
       Tenant Name: —
       ADDRESS: —

       • to tenant as long as the premises is left in good conduct, landlord must have receive the total payment of $800 before the tenant receive the keys and the documentations of the house.
       APPROVED

       LATE CHARGE. Tenants shall pay a late charge of 5% of any rental amount not received by Landlord at the above address by 5:00 pm
       TERM. The term of this tenancy shall run from MOVE IN DATE till tenant decides to move out from the house, this lease is year to year lease tenancy.

       • RENT. Tenants shall pay a sum of $800 for security deposit which shall be refunded back
       • .m. on the fourth day after the date the rent is due. (If rent is due on the first, a late fee will be assessed if rent is received by 5 p.m. on the fifth.

       • SECURITY DEPOSIT. Landlord has acknowledged that he is going to receive the sum of $800 refundable security deposit. Landlord may, as allowed by law, deduct from the security deposit the amount of damages incurred by him due to Tenants’ breach of this lease. Tenants are not entitled to have the security deposit applied to late or unpaid rent, after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession (including return of all keys), Landlord shall return the unused portion of the security deposit.

       • MOVE-IN CONDITION. Landlord shall provide the first Tenant to take possession of the premises with a “Move-In/Move-Out Condition Report” form. That Tenant shall complete the form and return it to Landlord within five days. Unless Landlord objects within five days of his receipt of the completed form, the report shall be deemed conclusive evidence that the premises are as described in the report.

       Landlord shall deliver the premises and all common areas to the Tenants in a clean, safe, and habitable condition, free of pests and visible mole, with all smoke detectors installed in the premises in proper working condition.

       • POSSESSION. Landlord shall be ready to deliver possession of the premises to Tenants at the start date of the tenancy. Landlord shall be responsible for having hold-over tenants evicted. Rent shall abate until Landlord is able to put Tenants into possession but he shall not be responsible for any other damages to Tenants unless Landlord’s failure was will full, in which case Tenants’ remedies shall be in accordance with law.

       APPROVED
       If Landlord is unable to deliver possession due to circumstances beyond his control, he shall have ten (10) days to remedy the situation and put Tenants into possession. If he fails to do so, Tenants may immediately terminate the lease and recover all prepaid rent and deposits. If Landlord is unable to deliver possession due to his or his agent’s fault, Tenants may choose to both give the Landlord ten (10) days to remedy the situation as above or immediately terminate the lease and recover all prepaid rent and deposits.

       • SUBLEASES & ASSIGNMENTS. Tenants shall not sublease or assign this lease without the prior, written permission from the Landlord. Landlord shall not unreasonably deny permission to sublease or assign.

       • USE OF PREMISES. Tenants shall not permit any other persons to occupy the premises. For purposes of this agreement, “occupy” is defined as residing, living, or staying on the premises overnight for more than seven nights in a row or for more than fourteen nights in a twelve-month period.

       Tenants shall use the premises only as a residential dwelling. Tenants shall not use the premises or permit any guests to use the premises for any unlawful activities or to unreasonably interfere with the rights, comforts, or conveniences of their neighbours or other Tenants. Tenants shall not host any party or gathering of more than fifteen (20) people at any time.
       APPROVED

       • LANDLORD’S RULES. Tenants acknowledge receipt of Landlord’s Rules. Tenants shall comply with all written Rules provided to the Tenant. Landlord may, with reasonable written notice to Tenants, modify these rules as allowed by law.

       • LOCKS, KEYS, & PEEPHOLES. Even if no local ordinance requires it, Landlord shall provide locks and peepholes Tenants shall not change or add any locks on the premises without immediately providing duplicates of all keys to the Landlord. Landlord shall issue to each Tenant one set of keys to the premises and mailbox. Upon Tenants’ surrender of the premises to Landlord, each Tenant shall return to Landlord all keys issued to him as well as all copies. If Tenants fail to return all keys, Tenants shall pay the cost of making replacement copies or replacing the locks, at Landlord’s option.

       • RESERVATION OF RIGHTS. If rent is unpaid when due, and Tenants fail to pay rent within five days after written notice is served notifying the Tenants of the non-payment and of Landlord’s intention to terminate the lease if the rent is not paid within the five-day period (i.e. within five days of service of the “Five Day Pay-or-Quit Notice”), the landlord may terminate the lease and proceed to obtain possession of the premises in accordance with the law. Acceptance of rent after the five-day period shall not act as a waiver of Landlord’s rights and Landlord hereby reserves all rights to receive payment of rent after the five-day notice and proceed in court for possession of the premises and all other remedies allowed by law.

       • PROPERTY DAMAGE & MAINTENANCE. Tenants shall promptly notify Landlord of any defects in or damages to the plumbing, sanitary, electrical, gas, heating, or cooling systems as well as any leaks in the roof or evidence of structural damage. Tenants shall not repair these defects or damages without obtaining the prior, written permission of Landlord, which Landlord may reasonably refuse; however, Tenants shall take reasonable steps to prevent additional damage.

       APPROVED
       Tenants shall pay Landlord’s reasonable expenses for repairing damages caused by Tenants and their guests, reasonable wear and tear excepted. Landlord shall present a written, itemized bill with copies of receipts for material and outside labour before demanding payment. Landlord shall not consider payment as being late until fifteen (15) days after presentment of the bill.

       Tenants shall ensure the lawn is mowed at least once every two weeks during January through February and in no case shall Tenants allow grass and weeds to exceed six inches in height at any time during the year. Landlord shall be responsible for all other yard maintenance and for having the gutters cleaned.

       • DEATH. If a Tenant dies during the tenancy, any of the surviving Tenants or the executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate may terminate this lease by giving thirty (30) days written notice to Landlord and the other Tenants. Termination under this clause does not relieve the surviving Tenants or the estate of the deceased from their liability to pay all rent and charges owed through the date that Landlord is put in possession of the premises.

       • EXTENDED ABSENCES & ABANDONMENT. If all of the Tenants will be absent from the premises for a period in excess of ten (10) days, Tenants shall give Landlord advance, written notice of the absence. If Tenants fail to do so, Landlord may consider the premises abandoned and avail him of all lawful remedies.

       • MOVE-OUT INSPECTION. Tenants may request to be at a move-out inspection to be held within seventy-two (72) hours of Tenants’ delivery of possession to Landlord. If Tenants wish to be present at such an inspection, they shall give Landlord written notice two weeks in advance.

       • APPROVED
       • UTILITIES. Landlord shall maintain all the utility charges such as Heat, water, sewer, gas, and electrical utility service at the premises starting on or before the start of the tenancy and until possession of the premises is returned to Landlord. Tenants shall ensure that the heat is maintained at a temperature sufficient to prevent freezing of pipes during cold periods.

       • PETS. After providing written notice to Landlord and paying any pet deposit required herein, Tenants may keep one aquarium with fish up to 100 gallons and one cat. Tenants shall keep any other pets if he/she wishes to.

       • JOINTLY AND SEVERAL LIABILITY. All Tenants shall be jointly and severally liable for all Tenant obligations (rent, damages, and other). The Landlord may collect the entirety of any damages from any one or all Tenants, no matter which Tenant is actually responsible.

       • INCORPORATION & MODIFICATION. This Lease is the complete and entire agreement between the parties and all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, have been incorporated herein. It may only be modified or amended by executing another written document signed by all parties or their authorized agents.

       • SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this lease are severable, and if any part of the Lease is held illegal, invalid, or inapplicable to any person or circumstance, the remainder of this lease shall remain in effect.
       APPROVED

       • CONDITION. This lease is conditional on being signed by all parties named on page 1.

       We, the undersigned, hereby represent that we have read this entire lease and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions.

       Landlord: Lawson May Tenant:

       Tenant Signature
       Date: 06/10/2017

       APPROVED”

       Reply

       • JJ Malone says

         June 13, 2017 at 4:17 pm

         Received a similar email today with the same phone # (702) 751-4326 for an ad for a townhouse in Hugo, MN. The poster for that one goes by Michael Hagglund with an email address of plsz.own@aol.com.

         Reply

         • Kai Carter says

           July 17, 2017 at 11:09 am

           Yes, I just had the same scam saying they’re in Turkey for a mission for 4 years the email is almost identical to the one that is above and that the same phone number. I just called them out on it though cuz I said why would I need to send money to Turkey if you are only visiting you should still have financial institutions in the states and I just asked him who’s the name of the person to showing as the realtor was to them. I noticed slip-ups in the email the email wasn’t making much sense words weren’t used in the proper context, and he would slip up and call himself Laura but then refer to his wife either he’s a lesbian or you just called yourself a man.

           Reply

   • Nan says

     August 28, 2017 at 1:43 am

     I gave out my name and add. Is that bad but no money HELP

     Reply

   • Khang dang says

     October 21, 2017 at 4:18 am

     Lol, same thing’s happening to me
     A guy who’s reting me an apartment has everything was mentioned.
     Big red flag.
     Be aware guys!!!

     Reply

2. James says

   August 5, 2015 at 6:57 pm

   My wife and I are looking for an apt in St. Louis. While searching we came across a listing on Craigslist advertising, 1000 soft 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath, washer/dryer, Internet/ cable included and a 2 car detached garage for $600 per month. 1st of all I drive around St. Louis all day for my job and the area described is all big commercial. When I emailed and asked for a more accurate address, I got back a “canned” response not mentioning an address just that they needed us to fill out a background check ourselves @ $30.00 each on a site they provided the link for, before they show the property. Didn’t receive any more response.
   Two days later we see the same ad listed, but br a different email. We got back the same form letter requesting background check. I sent I didn’t have a problem doing the background check but after we looked at the apt. Haven’t heard anything back.
   I drove past the area just to make sure I didn’t miss something, but no. There wasn’t any housing within a 4 block area of the intersection they advertised and not anywhere $ they were wanting.
   Make sure to do some digging before you commit to anything. In this case knowing the area set the “bells off” in my head and saved us from a potential ID scam.

   Reply

3. Kylie says

   August 16, 2015 at 2:09 pm

   I was wondering if anyone here could help me tell if this is a rental scam. I found an insanely cheap 2 bedroom in Manhattan on Craigslist. I replied to the post and the email I received back was from someone with a different name and email address than was listed on the post:
   “Hi Kylie,

   Great to speak with you. The unit is here still to rent. We thought we had the unit leased to someone that we gave a walk-through to today, but now it seems that they can’t get out of their current lease, so we need to keep searching. You were the second one to contact me.

   I am sure you want the address of the place, but my husband doesn’t want me to advertise the address as a measure of safety. Last time we did that without verifying people, it was broken into and ripped up. As you can imagine, we want to avoid that! That is why we require you to confirm you recieved your updated credit report before we setup a tour.You will be responsible for cable, internet, and phone, if you decide to have these services. For the FIRST time, we are allowing pets at this property. The rental term is 12 month lease, but can be switched into a 6-month term if preferred. We require one month notice before moving out, as a courtesy.

   When you want to come look at the place, then please visit the link below and grab your credit report. All of our tenants use this site because it is widely trusted. Just fill out the form and indicate that you want the report. We aren’t interested in specifics of your score, it’s more of a formality to ensure you have rental history. You can get your report by CLICKING HERE

   Do not send me the report over mail, bring it to the tour. We’ll waive your security deposit if your score is above 560+.

   Please let me know when you grab your report. I can then schedule you for a showing of the place.

   Thanks again,
   Sherry Wright”

   It doesn’t have a lot of the factors I’ve seen people mention, but there are a few red flags.
   Help!

   Reply

   • Kylie says

     August 16, 2015 at 2:15 pm

     ….Nevermind…I just read the same email in an earlier comment….
     Thanks!

     Reply

4. Andrew says

   August 25, 2015 at 2:47 pm

   Question – Could capitalization in your craigslist search identify scams? For instance, I searched my city, both words lower case, and 12 legitimate-looking postings came up. But with I capitalized the words, 12 more appeared. 12 that were much cheaper & nicer than the others. None of them gave their addresses and only a few showed pictures. When I messaged one of the location, they responded by asking me to fill out a credit check which I absolutely did not. This whole capitalization thing has me curious. Do you know anything about it?

   Reply

   • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

     August 25, 2015 at 7:35 pm

     Hey Andrew! Sorry, I do not know. You would think that proper capitalization would mean legitimate posting, not fakes ones. Interesting!

     Reply

5. Dolce says

   September 30, 2015 at 12:49 pm

   How can I tell if an apartment listed in Rome, Italy on craigslist is a scam or legit? I am hoping to move to Rome and I need a really cheap apt.

   Reply

6. Dolce says

   September 30, 2015 at 1:23 pm

   I am interested in an apt.in Rome, Italy I saw on Craigslist. The landlady is asking me to send her a depost to airbnb. That sounds legit to me. Is it?

   Reply

   • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

     September 30, 2015 at 1:58 pm

     Is the Airbnb account verified?

     Reply

7. Alex Acevez says

   October 19, 2015 at 10:27 pm

   Receiver’s Name: Amy DupontReceiver’s Address: 1701 Micanopy Ave, Miami, FL 33133 heres the name and address of scammer wantedaware
   other to send 500$ for a house in walnut ca. Please be aware

   Reply

8. tina says

   November 15, 2015 at 9:06 pm

   This is a very helpful post. However, I’m running into another curious issue looking for a place to rent on craigslist. Since a week ago, I’ve sent off around 10-15 inquiries to the places I was interested in, hoping to schedule a viewing/tour and not one has responded to my emails. Since then, i sent off another 5 and still no response. I’ve even seen some being reposted the next day. I checked if something was wrong with my own email system and it was working fine, nothing in the spam folder either. All the leads had only email contacts so I had no numbers to call. In the past, I’ve had success in finding a place on craigslist and I’ve never encountered this type of issue. Do you think this could be a scam too?

   Reply

   • laylaa says

     October 29, 2017 at 2:06 pm

     You should check your spam folder to see if it went there. But usually it is a scam. They want your email to direct you to other rental sites. They usually use a fake listing with a really good price.

     Reply

9. JC says

   December 11, 2015 at 11:43 am

   Hi I was wondering what you should do if you “sort of fell” for a scam.
   Trying to get an apartment, I got a reply from a person that send images and asked questions. I answered the questions vaguely and told I could show ID when I meet you.
   After sending that, I did some research and realized that this could be a scam. I also found the real landlord and said he never advertised the apartment for that price (the scammer took the 1 in front off the number and got the apartment price)

   I was wondering if I gave them really vague information, would I still be open to identity theft?

   Reply

   • Nan says

     August 28, 2017 at 2:13 am

     Did any thing ever happen i gave my name and home address

     Reply

10. Crystal says

    January 20, 2016 at 10:40 am

    Thanks so much for this information!!! These tips are definitely helpful. I’m currently in the process of looking for a new rental place, and the scams on Craigslist are TOO numerous to count! In fact, I would venture that about 70% of the ads on Craigslist are either some type of ad, OR a scam. I’ve been actively looking for over 3 months and I keep running into the same thing, so now I’ve sort of figured out which ads on Craigslist are scams, and which are legit.

    Of course, it’s always good to do your due diligence and be VERY cautious even if an ad seems legit, but I’ve started to learn how to spot these scams a mile away.

    Some *RED FLAGS* that let me know that a Craigslist ad MAY be a scam/false/fraudulent:
    -The EMAIL address is from hotmail, gmail, aol, etc. Not always a “red flag”, but USUALLY I notice that if the email address is not a Craigslist/encrypted email address, then it’s typically a SCAM. Don’t ask me why!

    -There is not a phone number listed. Usually a LEGIT ad/landlord will provide you with their phone number because they’re actually honestly looking for a tenant and they aren’t doing anything shady. Still, it’s good to be cautious.

    -There isn’t ANY contact info listed. You don’t know how many times I see this smh.

    -There is NOT an address to the rental property. HUGE red flag!!!

    -The rental price/amenities/inclusions sound WAAAAY too good to be true! Maybe the rental is priced FAR below market value, or the landlord promises to pay for all utilities, w/d in the unit, the house looks immaculate, and you know that the rentals in your area go for much higher prices, etc. Those are all red flags. Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t some really good LEGIT deals on Craigslist. I’ve seen some that were definitely legit and priced far below market value. But as always, proceed with caution.

    -The landlord wants you to provide you with your personal information before you meet them or see the property. DON’T do it!

    -You’re asked to give/wire money before seeing the property.

    -The scammer emails you back with some LONG drawn-out story about how they are “out of town” or living in another state and won’t be able to show you the house/rental, but you can drive by or peek through windows, etc… Ummm…..sorry, but talk about suspicious? Besides, I’ve noticed that whenever an email is super LONG and drawn out, that means there is something fishy going on. A legit person trying to rent their place out would rather CALL you or have you call THEM. These long emails (which can just be copied and pasted to respond to other unsuspecting people who are looking to rent) are usually a BIG sign this ad is not legit.

    Hope that helped!

    Reply

11. Ashley says

    February 4, 2016 at 1:03 am

    We have just received an email back, while looking for a house in the Bay Area. We knew after the long explanation they blurted out, that we needed to do some research. The email we received was similar to one of the above. This is a copy and paste of the exact email fyi.
    ********************************
    Hi,

    We are pleased that you have an interest in our Apartment, our lovely home is still available for lease and we want responsible adults/family that are neat and also believe that they have what it takes to take care of our Apartment as if it were theirs. My wife and I initially had it up for sale but had a change of mind in leasing it out ourselves because the agent that was in charge of our rental property was asking too much of an agent fee and also making it difficult for people who cannot afford the rent, stay away from renting my Apartment.

    The reason why our Apartment is up for lease is because I got transferred from my place of work to PRETORIA,SOUTH AFRICA and I will be away with my family for at least 4 to 5 years because of the love I have for them, I have decided not to sell our Apartment and also assuring them that we only have few years to spend here and will be willing to lease it out to person/family who is willing to assure us of taking absolute care of our home and pay their rent on time. I will start by telling you more about me and my family. We have two children ages 8 and 11. They are pretty shy and they are the sweetest little babies in the world. They love to read, color and play at the park. They also love to do homework and are very interested in school and learning new things. They are very helpful little girls and are always offering to help mummy out with chores.. I work at Topeka Foundry & Ironworks CO here in SOUTH AFRICA and got married to a lovely wife who is a member of First United Methodist Church. We will be very pleased if we can find the right tenant to rent our home, a person who is a clean freak and does not tolerate anything that has to do with dirt… If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute care for the property. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the Apartment because we won’t be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just had a feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the Apartment and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the Apartment if you can promise me that you will surely take very good care of the Apartment for us as if it were your own. I have my furniture in the Apartment, if you which to move in with your furnished items there is a storage room where you can move my furniture’s. we also would like to know more about you and your family, your renting experience and how long and when you plan moving into our home.. RENTAL FEE IS INCLUSIVE WITH UTILITIES LIKE CABLE, HEAT/AIR, WATER, GAS, HYDRO, SECURITY AND INTERNET E.T.C…

    Please if you are ready now to occupy the Apartment kindly provide the information below for record purpose

    RENTAL APPLICATION FORM
    Full Name__________________________
    ________________________ Phone ( ) ________________________
    Date of Birth_________________________
    ________
    Other Phone ( ) ___________________
    Current Address_______________________
    ________Apt#________ City__________________ State______ Zip________
    Reasons for Leaving_______________________
    _____Rent $__________Phone ( ) ____________________________
    Are you married_______________________
    _____
    How many people will be living in the Apartment_____________________
    _______
    Do you have a pet___________________________
    _
    Do you have a car____________________________
    Occupation____________________________
    Move In Date____________________________
    First & Last Month Deposit is required prior moving in?
    Reference Details_________________________
    Pictures of all the Occupant that will stay in my Apartment..

    MONTHLY RENT: $880
    PROPERTY ADDRESS: 225 Pennsylvania Ave,Fairfield, CA 94533

    PLEASE TAKE NOTE: YOU CAN ONLY DRIVE BY AND SEE MY APARTMENT FROM THE OUTSIDE AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN RENTING IT GET THE APPLICATION FORM FILLED OUT AND SEND IT BACK TO ME. I WOULD HAVE REALLY LOVE TO SHIP THE KEYS TO SOMEONE IN STATE BUT I DON’T HAVE ANYBODY THERE RIGHT NOW AND I DON’T WANT TO MAKE USE OF ANY THIRD PARTY THAT IS WHY AM HANDLING MY PROPERTY MYSELF..

    I can be reachable here any time at ( +27623601884) ….. ( If i didn’t answer call, text is best since I’m super busy at the moment )

    Sincerely,
    Mr. & Mrs. Weindorf.

    Reply

    • Allie says

      March 15, 2016 at 1:37 am

      Hahaha this is the email I received.
      Same email DIFFERENT address
      Hi,

      We are pleased that you have an interest in our Apartment, our lovely home is still available for lease and we want responsible adults/family that are neat and also believe that they have what it takes to take care of our Apartment as if it were theirs. My wife and I initially had it up for sale but had a change of mind in leasing it out ourselves because the agent that was in charge of our rental property was asking too much of an agent fee and also making it difficult for people who cannot afford the rent, stay away from renting my Apartment.

      The reason why our Apartment is up for lease is because I got transferred from my place of work to PRETORIA,SOUTH AFRICA and I will be away with my family for at least 4 to 5 years because of the love I have for them, I have decided not to sell our Apartment and also assuring them that we only have few years to spend here and will be willing to lease it out to person/family who is willing to assure us of taking absolute care of our home and pay their rent on time. I will start by telling you more about me and my family. We have two children ages 8 and 11. They are pretty shy and they are the sweetest little babies in the world. They love to read, color and play at the park. They also love to do homework and are very interested in school and learning new things. They are very helpful little girls and are always offering to help mummy out with chores.. I work at Topeka Foundry & Ironworks CO here in SOUTH AFRICA and got married to a lovely wife who is a member of First United Methodist Church. We will be very pleased if we can find the right tenant to rent our home, a person who is a clean freak and does not tolerate anything that has to do with dirt… If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute care for the property. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the Apartment because we won’t be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just had a feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the Apartment and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the Apartment if you can promise me that you will surely take very good care of the Apartment for us as if it were your own. I have my furniture in the Apartment, if you which to move in with your furnished items there is a storage room where you can move my furniture’s. we also would like to know more about you and your family, your renting experience and how long and when you plan moving into our home.. RENTAL FEE IS INCLUSIVE WITH UTILITIES LIKE CABLE, HEAT/AIR, WATER, GAS, HYDRO, SECURITY AND INTERNET E.T.C…

      Please if you are ready now to occupy the Apartment kindly provide the information below for record purpose

      RENTAL APPLICATION FORM
      Full Name__________________________
      ________________________ Phone ( ) ________________________
      Date of Birth_________________________
      ________
      Other Phone ( ) ___________________
      Current Address_______________________
      ________Apt#________ City__________________ State______ Zip________
      Reasons for Leaving_______________________
      _____Rent $__________Phone ( ) ____________________________
      Are you married_______________________
      _____
      How many people will be living in the Apartment_____________________
      _______
      Do you have a pet___________________________
      _
      Do you have a car____________________________
      Occupation____________________________
      Move In Date____________________________
      First & Last Month Deposit is required prior moving in?
      Reference Details_________________________
      Pictures of all the Occupant that will stay in my Apartment..

      MONTHLY RENT: $880
      PROPERTY ADDRESS: 2012 Powell St,San Francisco, CA 94133

      PLEASE TAKE NOTE: YOU CAN ONLY DRIVE BY AND SEE MY APARTMENT FROM THE OUTSIDE AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN RENTING IT GET THE APPLICATION FORM FILLED OUT AND SEND IT BACK TO ME. I WOULD HAVE REALLY LOVE TO SHIP THE KEYS TO SOMEONE IN STATE BUT I DON’T HAVE ANYBODY THERE RIGHT NOW AND I DON’T WANT TO MAKE USE OF ANY THIRD PARTY THAT IS WHY AM HANDLING MY PROPERTY MYSELF..

      I can be reachable here any time at +27623705326 ….. ( If i didn’t answer call, text is best since I’m super busy at the moment )

      Sincerely,
      Mr. & Mrs. Tonnette.

      Reply

      • Amy says

        November 28, 2016 at 5:06 pm

        I have had one close to the same wording except they said to ignore the For Sale sign in the yard because they were going to sell the house but decided to rent it, and the agent hadn’t gone by to pick up the sign. I thought that was clever.

        I have had more scams from Craig’s list than I can count. There are roughly 4-5 versions of a story. I fell for the first one and gave him lots of info, but thankfully, not my date of birth or social security number. They stated they were missionaries with a group that I knew about, so I thought it was real.

        I have also found that not all scammers are looking for money. Some of them are collecting email addresses and/or phone numbers to sell to telemarketing firms. I now don’t even give out either of these by saying they can reach me through the CL email relay to set up an appointment to view the rental. They don’t typically respond to that!

        There is great info on the CL site if you look at the bottom of the page of listings. They have articles about how to spot scams, what to do or not do, examples of known scams, and how you report them to CL. There is a box tagged as ‘prohibited’ right next to the ‘reply’ button. If you find out that an offer is a scam, or even if they are trying to sell you something other than that category, you check the prohibited box. When enough people check that box, than CL investigates and will take the ad down. I found out all about that by going to the CL forums and just reading through what other people have experienced. It just really kills me that so many people just want to steal from people who are just desperately trying to make ends meet. I have sent back a few nasty emails to the ones that I have found to be scams. Maybe a few will grow a conscience.

        Reply

12. Dejah Kelley says

    February 8, 2016 at 6:06 pm

    I am so glad I read this. I just recently had an experience similar to this. It felt wrong from the jump but I was so eager to move into a bigger home. I am so relieved that I saw this before I did anything that would have jeopardized my family because we did not have $2000 to waste.

    Reply

13. Meghan says

    March 4, 2016 at 10:35 am

    I once had a ‘too good to be true’ rental scam. The listing sounded and looked amazing online, but when I asked to see the apartment they said I needed to send them money and they would send me the keys. Nice try.

    Reply

14. Smarter than the SCAMMER says

    March 10, 2016 at 12:36 pm

    Glad I came across this post, Was looking for a home to rent on CL and he wants all of my information, He is conveniently in another state and can not show the inside of the property but assures me that is is all newly updated..Once I send him the application back (with all of my information on it) and the deposit of 1st and last months rent totaling @2000 he will Fed Ex me the keys… LOL Yea right.. that’s not happening.. That is HORRIBLE to try and SCAM someone out of their money.

    Reply

15. Careful buyer says

    April 9, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    This just happened to me and my fiance from a Craigslist ad. We were contacted by the “mother” of the “landlord”, who actually showed the house to us and didn’t know a single thing about the place and claiming her “daughter” had been out of the country in Bermuda, giving us a number to contact. We, fortunately, didn’t give out any personal information, thinking it was inappropriate for the landlord to ask for banking information on a “rental application”. Once she found out my fiance was law enforcement, she discontinued any contact with us, except to inform us that the unit was “rented,” even though ensuring us the day before that we were the only interested renters. Now that we look back on this experience, we can recall a lot of things that didn’t add up. We are better prepared now that we know what can go wrong with rental scams. Buyers beware and always stick to your gut instinct if you feel you are being hassled!

    Reply

16. Wow says

    April 16, 2016 at 6:26 am

    Wow, thank you so much for this article. I’ve just received a reply, and since I’ve just graduated high school and this is the first time moving by myself, I almost got fooled! The “landlord” claimed he’s in China as a missionary and he’d send me the keys later on after I fill out the form and give him a copy of my photo ID. Since I’m Christian too, I thought it was reasonable and I didn’t realise how ridiculous his offer (and his grammar for someone who has an English surname) was until I read this. I was just about to send the email, but I just decided to google craigslist scams just to be safe, and thank God I did. Thank you so much for this.
    Plus in the ad, he said the apartment is only 32 square metres and the apartment in the pictures he’d shown me looked like 4 times than that.

    Reply

    • Wow says

      April 16, 2016 at 6:36 am

      Just to add, with a little bit of google image search, I realised that the picture he’d sent me belonged to an apartment in California. I live in New Zealand.

      Reply

17. Rebecca says

    April 17, 2016 at 1:30 pm

    I was almost either scammed or stripped of my identity with a Craig’s Lister for $900 room in Pacifica with a lady who didn’t give me her apartment number, last name, property management company name, landlord owner info. a move in date or even a mention of copy of keys.

    When I requested the following:
    1. Scheduled meeting with the landlord
    2. Leasing Agreement and paperwork

    She flipped out on me and said:

    “You know what I have all the authorities to rent the room but my landlord is busy person she only asked for social security to look the record ! You know what you ask a lot forget the room is no anymore on rent you can look other place thanks”

    She is either a rental scam, identity thief or renting out the room without the landlord’s permission. All in all just bad, bad, bad…. Be careful out there! After this, I am not using Craig’s List anymore Room.me seems like a better option they have RentPal that protects both parties.

    Reply

    • Amy says

      November 28, 2016 at 5:23 pm

      I don’t know about room.me, but I have had at least 10 requests where they asked me to fill out an application via a provided link. When you click on the link, it routes through a few different addresses and then lands you at roomster.com. I researched this site, and they are almost 100% scams. Some of the people that just wanted to get my email address or phone number were doing this to sell to roomster.com or to receive a referral bonus. Don’t trust that site either. A local ministry group in the suburbs of north Atlanta told me that they only legitimate one they know is OK is roommate.com. The only thing that bothers me about them is that you have to pay to actually read replies to any inquiries you send out. I do personally know someone that has found good roommates through that site a couple of times. You fill out a profile and they match – kinda like a dating site, I guess. Anyways, it looks like I am going to have to give in and pay for that one since i have verification that it is legit. I really hope these people aren’t wrong about that…. I never thought it would be so difficult to find a room rental since I am disabled, work part-time with variable income, and have a dog that doesn’t get along with other dogs or any other pet, I guess. I have been homeless for almost 4 months because i can’t find anything I can afford. Good luck to all seekers – just be careful with your info.

      Reply

18. Stranger says

    June 3, 2016 at 10:25 pm

    I was just showed a room in a house. She lives there, her kids live there, they know her name or at least the name she gave me, her daughter opened the door, she had a kid in a playpen. Her mother, who I had contacted on the phone and gave me the address to go see the room, showed me the two rooms. One looked like utter crap but the other one looked semi decent Nothing was in room and no one lived in it. She wanted deposit and I foolishly gave it to her. 30 days later I call and say I am ready to move in. She starts by asking me why i didn’t call her back she said she called numerous times, left voicemails. That is a lie. She kept saying ‘why didn’t you call me?’ said she was in California and that the room wouldn’t be available till July. Then said someone is on the other line and hung up. I have tried reaching her and she will not answer. Obviously I do not want to move there at all at this point, and I don’t think she is in California Is there anything I can do? Tell the police? Anything? I believe it is a scam and it’s weird she showed me the place. Any and all help will be appreciated.

    Reply

19. Phids says

    June 13, 2016 at 10:20 pm

    I have been finding a lot of enticing rental properties on CL, and I replied to a lot of them to see if I could get a response and see if they were legit or not. After I did so, I realized I could just copy and past the rental description into Google to do a search. Sure enough, most of the ads seem to have been taken off listings for homes for sale.

    Reply

    • Amy says

      November 28, 2016 at 5:27 pm

      What part of the rental description are you copying? There is typically a title/header, but then the ad itself can sometimes be lengthy and they rarely give an address. So much of the time, they list the city as one thing and then the map shows a totally different area.

      Reply

      • Phids says

        November 28, 2016 at 7:53 pm

        Just copy and past a sentence or two from the body of the listing and that should be enough to find duplicates.

        Reply

20. Grace Hansen says

    August 27, 2016 at 10:45 pm

    Thank you for posting this! I got almost an identical email while looking for apartments in Asheville, NC. The crazy thing is, I think the scammer was even using the legal name of the actual property owner because I found a voter record for the name and address but nothing else added up.

    Here’s the message I got:
    “Thanks for showing interest , the property is available for rent to own and move-in ASAP, due to my job factor am in CA
    I am currently working as a counselor for the United States Aid for International Development (US-AID).at the moment and am gonna be here for about 3 years or more my name is MARY KATHERINE BACKUS the owner of the property located at — ———————- which as just been recently renovated, the neighborhood is lovely and am sure you gonna like it there, the property is about 1,345sqft with 3beds,1bath,I wanted to sell it out but due to some factor about the realtor I was working with before I decided not to sell it again, the agents are not truthful about handling things and I am looking to handle things myself now the best way I can . Am looking for someone that will take care of the property as if it was there own, someone that will be very neat, take good care of the property for me and make payment of rent with no delay pet are allowed as long as they are not destructive the rent is $700 and security down-payment is $1000. Thanks will be looking forward for your reply

    MARY KATHERINE BACKUS”

    Reply

    • Adriena Lewis says

      January 6, 2017 at 10:50 pm

      I got this same email word for word but different name. They actually had me sign the lease before I sent a paymemt and kept in contact with me. I sent the payment and no key. I’m out of 1200 dollars wish I would have found this sooner. The house is actually pencil a sell right now.

      Reply

21. Tenaya says

    October 22, 2016 at 1:01 am

    Haha she tried to get me the email I got back:

    Thank you very much for your interest regarding our home for rent. I will Like to let you know that our home is still available for rent and you can drive by or take a walk to View it for yourself. Like to also let you know that right Now we are actually out of town on a church visit to Birmingham, Alabama it came up as an urgent call so we had to go for it and our visit here will last about seven(7) good weeks because it is a church program as we are launching a new branch here and I and my Husband happen to be two of the leading members of the church. We Like you also understand that we are not into agents because last time my husband employed realtor agent they put price of our house above what we told them to rent for us just to make selfish gains so we decided this time we wont employ them to rent out for us and because we really need a tenant in our home and not just the money but someone who can take good care of our home like his own home to rent to as soon as possible. I will also Like to let you know that we are people of God and peaceful people we do not allow smoking or disturbing of neighbors like partying and so we hope you understand that pets are allowed as long as they are not destructive,. We have had a bad tenant once before who damaged things in our home and refused to pay up rents while we where away on Church visit to Canada only to come back he had run away with keys and document because I promise to deal with him by calling the cops.. This is the physical address to our 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with 1,282 sqft: 146 Guilford Frg, Universal City, TX 78148 and you pay utilities which is already included in the price of the month rent which is compulsory. We hope you are aware of the price of the month rent $650 which is already on site? the security deposit is $350 plus fee for rental application form which equals $390.
    Please note that you are paying 40 dollars to fill the rental application form and which you can make during the payment of security deposit upon been selected as our new tenant in our home.
    Get back to us for a request for Application form so we can send it to you.
    Thank you and God bless you.

    contact: 205 289 0989

    Mrs. Tracey Hil

    Reply

22. Bruno says

    November 9, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    Same thing is happening to me here in a Berlin…
    I’m catching them really easy.
    I spotted the ones with huge spelling mistakes plus wanting money through Western Union.
    To which I replied I have paid my rentals and deposits all my life by bank transfer and that’s how I intended to keep doing. No more replies…
    Then there’s all the people that are out of Berlin, with the keys, can’t show the property beforehand but are wanting to rent it… well hang on a minute… how do we do then if you’re in Africa (yes the priest missionary thing), or in Finland, or in Edinburgh or wherever… do I just do a Star Trek trick and teleport myself inside and outside of the flats?
    Now I just caught two, that are sending me pictures and addresses
    And I’m checking all addresses on Google Maps satellite view and street views.
    Plus check it also on Google Earth
    Plus I’m passing all picture through 8 different engines to reverse search any image.
    Call me paranoid, I don’t care… fact is I caught two more
    One is telling me the entrance is independent, ground floor, etc… lovely cozy house pics… but not one time said his/hers name, but already asked huge list of my details
    Google Maps street view shows me a huge all glass building, full of companies and offices. So I asked where was the ground floor entrance to my flat, I was confused…
    (About 12 screenshots attached to my emails to them… I bet I won’t get any rep,y back!)
    Another sends me pics of a flat that in one picture there is abig window and the view shows tall red brick building across the street… look up the address on Google Maps and use steeet view… and it shows me a quiet street with chalet type houses.
    No fall red brick building in sight… so I use the reverse image engine apps and turns out they are sending me pictures of an hotel in a Berlin.
    It’s unbelievable this… thank god I have not given any detail to anyone and thank god as well that my gut feeling started to think there was something wrong…
    I strongly advise to look as well on Google reverse image search engine. And see if it’s what they announce.
    What’s worst, I don’t understand how Craigslist doesn’t check these vendors?
    I’m telling… in Berlin there are hundreds and hundreds of ads for rentals this type… what a shame!
    All I want and need is to find a nice flat and instead I am wasting my time and efforts the last 48h
    Great article and blog by the way
    Thoroughly enjoyed it!
    Thanks
    B

    Reply

23. 0Esmeray says

    November 21, 2016 at 11:09 am

    hi all just off the phone on Skype i got crazy angry

    I was searching for a room in Paris, off course as you guess come across very nice and affordable one
    the owner asked me to send deposit 500 Euros first and then he was going to send me keys from Manchester
    when I asked why youre there
    He answered for job he moved to Manchester
    Today he told me okey im sending the keys
    “sent ” the key (ı really donnow what he sent)
    there was an email in my spam box which says it is sent by Benin DHL
    when i saw Benin which should be Manchester, I woke up that this is scam …
    so my question how he was going to make sham by this
    ????

    Reply

    • Max says

      January 4, 2018 at 5:39 pm

      I imagine he sent you an old key that opens nothing that you could ever find and you would send him 500 Euros for it before getting to Paris and realizing you didn’t actually have a key to an apartment.

      Reply

24. Tom R. says

    January 17, 2017 at 3:10 am

    A real person named Florien Rotardier is a real scammer and is playing his scams for all over France, through rental websites, using other persons (male and female) names. I was victim of him while trying to rent an appartment there and I didn’t have time to see that it was a scam before already sending him “caution” money on his Western Union account.
    If you search on Google, there’s a possible picture of the scammer online…be aware, this s**t just took me 300 Euros!

    Reply

25. Jalle says

    February 16, 2017 at 2:31 am

    I ran into the same problem here when trying to find appt in Berlin.
    This whole Craiglist is completely useless !!
    Can someone just shut it down ??!?

    Reply

26. Fart says

    March 4, 2017 at 12:40 pm

    One thing I have noticed more recently is that they reply via email ask you to give them your email address so they can send you details (as if they can’t send them via the Craig’s list anonimous reply), or they reply asking you to go to another site like Roomster so they can scam you there. It’s too bad that Craigslist is becoming what economists call a lost lead. Neither legitimate landlords or legitimate renters can find each other in the sea of scams that exist in some major cities where Craig’s list has sites.

    Reply

27. Jessie L. says

    May 4, 2017 at 10:07 am

    Just got this e-mail in reply to an inquiry in Boulder. Note the terrible punctuation for someone who works for “UNDP.”

    Thanks for your interest and inquiries about my house. Yes the house is still available for rent and we are looking for a responsible person/family to occupy and maintain the house now that we are not around.I work with the united nations development program(UNDP)Edinburgh Scotland and i just got a transfer that is bringing me down to West Africa .Myself and my Family just travelled to West Africa for the programm.My transfer would be for a period between 2-3 years, so i would definitely be renting my house to whom ever that will take good care of it.

    Also how long do you intend to stay? How soon do you intend to move in?FEATURES:Laundry, Electric Range, Electric Heat, Master Bedroom, Playground, Car Park.AMENITIES: Air Conditioning, Patio/Party Deck, Cable TV, Ceiling Fans, 24 hours Internet service, Dishwasher, Fire pit, Garbage Disposal, Microwave, security alarm, Pets Friendly, Refrigerator, Washer / Dryer.

    DETAILS ABOUT THE HOUSE
    Number of bedrooms:3
    Number of bathrooms:2
    Rental price: $750 per month and security Deposit is $650 (Security Deposit is Refundable)

    Utilities included in monthly rent Pets Welcome
    House address:3020 13th St,Boulder, CO 80304

    SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE RENT APPLICATION FORM BELOW
    RENT QUESTIONNAIRE

    1)Your Full Name?
    2)Your Full Address?
    3)Phone Number?
    4)Are you married ?
    5)Age & Email Address ?
    6)How many people will be living in the house?
    7)Do you have a pet?
    8)Do you have a car?
    9)Occupation?
    10)When will you like to move in?
    11)How long are you willing to stay in the property?
    12)Picture of the occupant If Available?
    13)When are you ready to Move In?
    14)How Many Months are you willing to rent?
    15) How many months rent can you pay upfront? Minimum ( 1month +
    SECURITY DEPOSIT) or (2months + SECURITY DEPOSIT)(or you have only the refundable security deposit to move in first?)so which option do you prefer ???

    Looking forward to hearing from you with all this details so that I can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Awaiting your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you. We may not see, yet we are only putting everything into Gods hand, kindly do not let us down in your taking care of our property and God bless you more as you do this Amen.contact details:+2348090800960

    Best Regards…

    Reply

    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      May 4, 2017 at 12:48 pm

      Thank you for sharing! This helps everyone.

      Reply

28. J says

    May 5, 2017 at 11:33 pm

    wrote:
    Thank for your email regarding my rental home. The home is still available for rent, located at 137 Temple Wood Ct, Las Vegas, NV 89148 I’m looking for a responsible tenant and neat person or family who can treat my property as his or her own. We request first month rent $1000 and $1000 security deposit fee before move in, also you can go by the home and check it out, and if you like the home then you can write me back or call me for more details I can be reached at (786) 463-3745

    A bit about me…I have recently moved to Miami FL to pursue an exciting opportunity I have been given with my job. I work for the Walgreen Co. (Walgreens), with whom I have been employed for almost 17 years. I will be taking the role of District Operations Trainer for the Cleveland District, which stretches all the way through to some other state. It will be a challenge, but one I am very excited about. I support training on new computer system upgrades and on operational process enhancements. I serve as a resource for both Store and Pharmacy Managers to answer and train them on any operations process or change in our company systems. I also do soft skills training on points like basic leadership topics and customer service.

    I just want you to get notice that the keys are here with me in Miami FL you can only view the home from the outside for now! If you drive by the home you may see a sign there, you have nothing to worry about it belongs to my previous agent so you have absolutely nothing to worry about and you don’t have to call them because they do not have access to the premises anymore!

    I did not entrust the place in the care of any agent or anyone because I want to deal directly with the tenant myself because of the last experience I had with my tenant.
    I tried to look for an agent that I could believe and trust to give the document & the keys before I left but could not find any as a matter of urgency. And I don’t want the place to be misused in my absence that is why I took the keys and documents along with me and renting this place will give you access to the rest of the property and you won’ t have no one to share anything with.

    So I hope you will promise to take very good care of the property when you move in which is my main concern and I’ll love a tenant to landlord relationship between us this is why I want to handle this all by myself, whereby you and I can ask questions, get things done and build a good rental relationship, I want a scenario whereby my tenant and I can communicate as family and not strangers, hope you get my points?
    Here is an question you need to answer for us to know you more better and use it to fill the original application form with us here in other to proceed on sending the keys and document to you, I’ll like to know few things about you and your family such as below

    PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
    Full Name__________________________________________________ Home Phone ( ) ________________________
    Date of Birth_________________________________
    Cell Phone ( ) ___________________
    Current Address_______________________________Apt#________ City__________________ State______ Zip________
    Reasons for Leaving____________________________Rent $__________Phone ( ) ____________________________
    Are you married____________________________
    How many people will be living in the house____________________________
    Do you have a pet____________________________
    Do you have a car____________________________
    Occupation____________________________
    Move In Date________________________How Long Did You Want To Stay________________________

    Please have this in mind that you are talking to a very nice and good family, if you find any of our question inconvenience please don’t be offended but answer it because we want and like to know the kind of family that will be living in our house from day one so nothing from them will be strange to us again.

    Thank you and Stay Blessed.
    (786) 463-3745

    Reply

29. J says

    May 5, 2017 at 11:35 pm

    ajan.bandan@aol.com> wrote:
    Okay locate any wells fargo bank around you and make a cash deposit to my fiance account, her name Barbara Fields account # 1313955682, as soon as you make the cash deposit snapshot the wells fargo deposit slip and send it to me!

    Reply

    • J says

      May 5, 2017 at 11:36 pm

      A copy what my scammer sent me today. I’m so pissed off that he’s going to do this to someone else!

      Reply

    • J says

      May 5, 2017 at 11:38 pm

      My husband sent this reply: Ok great, I’ll go ahead and get that ready for you. I’ll just need to confirm that you are the owner of the home.
      I’ll need you to put my name on the list with security at Rhodes Ranch so I can go check out the place, and I’ll need you to send me a copy of your ID.
      My wife is a police officer and she can use your ID to confirm everything is in order.
      Once we’ve done that I’ll deposit the funds in your account.
      Thank you again, talk to you soon.

      Reply

30. Chris says

    May 6, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    WOW! I was looking into temporary living in Aurora, and the email and form seems very similar to the one’s posted earlier on this forum. I think I’m going to pass on this.

    https://denver.craigslist.org/sub/6117971138.html

    ———————

    Hello Chris,

    Thanks for your interest in the unit. However, if you are still interested, kindly find below the quote rate for the unit and also attached is the application form.

    This is a 2 Bedroom + 2 Bathroom unit which sleeps with ease and convenience 6-8 people located in 11985 E Cornell Cir, Aurora, CO. The price of the rent is $1600 MONTHLY, which also covers for the utilities in the unit. You are to make a down payment of the rental fee of the first month plus a Security fee of $500 and $100 for cleaning which enables you reserve and secure the unit for your move-in date. The advance payment is required before arrival.

    NOTE:- Security fee will be REFUNDED back to you. The Security fee is not applied towards rental fee, however it is fully REFUNDABLE on the day of your departure, provided the safety of all the amenities in the unit are met.

    Amenities include:- Fully furnished living room, Central air conditioning, Wi-Fi internet access , Parking space available, High quality Linens, dishes, Flat Screen TV with Cable and DVD player, Fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, ice maker etc.

    QUOTATION
    1 MONTH = $1600
    SECURITY FEE = $500
    CLEANING = $100
    TOTAL AMOUNT = $2200

    What is required of you to hold the unit is to make an advance payment of the first month rental fee ($1600) plus the Security fee of $500 which will be refunded back to you on your departure date, and $100 for cleaning.

    Kindly fill the Application Form attached and get back to me with the filled out Application Form. I will review your application then give you a call afterwards. So we can proceed to the Agreement Rental Booking form to fill your reservation.

    I will be looking forward to read back from you soon.

    Thanks,

    Reply

31. DONNA SHOVE says

    May 21, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    Hello, How are you Doing today, I hope fine, I am so glad you are Interested in my House, My Initial plan was to sell the House but I changed my Mind and Decided to rent it out, The Sale sign board will be removed from the House as soon as i get a tenant, The house is available for rent, so you are free to decide on how long you intend occupying it. Rent already includes utilities. You can go by the house and let me know what you think. The address of my house is 3907 E Liberty Ave, Spokane, WA 99217
    I am a Very Busy Man and I have been transferred here for a contract.I’m spending 2 – 3 years here and am planning to buy another house over here. I want you to know that you will not be able to view the inside of the house as the keys are with me here in California. If you like the house we can now move forward on how to get keys sent across to you. I’m ready to accept either monthly or upfront mode of payment, depending on the one you are most Comfortable with. Utilities include: power, water, washer/dryer,sewer and trash.Your monthly rent already covers utilities so you do not have to pay extra charges for that. Pet are allowed as long as they are not destructive. The monthly rent is $770 while security deposit is $750.MORELLI, F JOHN
    (734) 535-8914. Text only as I’m very busy and I can only call you back upon request

    Reply

32. Donna M. Shove says

    May 21, 2017 at 3:03 pm

    On May 21, 2017 7:33 AM, “Matthew Godwin” wrote:
    Hello,

    Thanks for your interest and inquiries about my house. Yes the house is still available for rent and we are looking for a responsible person/family to occupy and maintain the house now that we are not around. Myself and Wife just travelled to West Africa for a program called SERVING IN MISSION (SIM), you can view the link for more info: (http://www.sim.org/index.php/content/our-purpose).

    We will be away for 2 to 3 years or more that is why I have made up my mind to put up my house for rent to whom ever that will take good care of it. However, my initial plan was to sell the house but it was not successful because the Realtor raised the price which made it difficult for me to sell before leaving the States so never mind if you see the for sale sign in front of the house, It has already been taken off the market as for sale so there is no need to contact any Realtor.

    Also how long do you intend to stay? How soon do you intend to move in?

    FEATURES : Laundry, Electric Range, Electric Heat, Master Bedroom, Playground, Car Park.
    AMENITIES: Air Conditioning, Patio/Party Deck, Cable TV, Ceiling Fans, 24 hours Internet service, Dishwasher, Fireplace, Garbage Disposal, Microwave, security alarm, Pets Friendly, Refrigerator, Washer / Dryer.

    Rental Price: $720 per month and security Deposit is $720(Security Deposit is Refundable) Utilities included in monthly rent
    Pets are Welcome.
    Below is the address to the house:
    (3917 N Cincinnati St, Spokane, WA 99207)

    Get back to me so i can forward you the rent questionnaire i would want you to fill out.

    Regards.
    Mr & Mrs Matthew Godwin

    these are two responses to rental inquires that i received today in Spokañe, Wa.

    and thîs îs ône of my replies

    “So let me guess. We just send you the $ and you will send us the keys right?
    I probably won’t contact the realtor but I sure will contact the police since it is illegal to place ads to rent something that does not belong to you.”

    Reply

33. Becky Davis says

    June 29, 2017 at 2:04 pm

    We *are* trying to rent rooms in our home, and *are* in another state. We got two text messages (unfortunately 4 days apart), claiming to be the parent of a student who was studying abroad, and asking us to email the student. The student is always a foreigner (German, Chinese), with one US parent, who will be paying their bills. They ask to see photos, know more about us, tell us a bit about them, etc. They want to know our info, so they can wire the money to us, even though we tell them we are NOT ready to rent to them yet, as we insist on speaking with them and their parent, doing some background checks, etc. However, it’s already too late. They now have the legitimate names, phones, out-of-state & local addresses, plus all our home photos to duplicate our listing and scam others. We got sucked in by the first “student” and only realized we were duped when the second “student” replied to our email with a too similar story. What a waste of time to have to search Craigslist for jerks who are trying to scam others for our rental listing.

    Reply

34. Ben says

    July 13, 2017 at 2:34 pm

    Had this happen to me several times. BE AWARE 🙂

    Common things I find with these scammers:
    1. Email name does not match their signature name (email is Matthew, signature is Mathew. Email is Stephen, signature is Steven).
    2. They don’t speak proper English
    3. They insist they are living in a different country.
    4. They insist on you dropping a security deposit before even viewing.
    5. They never leave a phone number in their email signature.
    6. They steal realtors/brokers identities. For example:

    “The building is managed by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Send an email to jeffrey.gibson@sothebysagents.com quoting #75B4872-17 as your tenancy application number. He would proceed from there.”

    However, after doing some digging, I find out Jeffrey’s REAL email is Jeffrey.Gibson@sothebyshomes.com. There’s no such thing as an email domain of @sothebysagents.com.

    Here’s some more common wording from these scammers:

    After going through all the tenancy applications we’ve received, yours and two other prospective tenants have shortlisted. However, I’m giving you an advantage over the two others to secure the unit ahead of them. I trust you will take good care of the unit during your stay. I assure you that from my own part, you will get the best of service and comfort during your stay. Owing to the high quality standard of service & comfort we render to our tenants during their stay in the apartment, our units are usually never vacant. 80% of old tenants do renew their lease while most new prospective tenants tend to secure units weeks before they become vacant. The unit is currently occupied which makes it unavailable for viewing now. The current tenant (who is relocating to another city to start a new job) lease would run out on the July 15th. This means that the unit will be available for viewing and move in from July 17th after repair works. Because of the high demand, rush and high competitiveness of the real estate market in this city, I’m giving you the opportunity to put a hold on the unit so it can be taken the market now and have it reserved in your name pending your arrival. To put a hold on the unit, you will be required to fill out the apartment lease reservation form with the real estate agencey responsible for the management of the apartment complex and make a down payment of only the first month rent and the security deposit. By doing this, you now have a hold on the unit pending your final decision of either move in or instant refund when you eventually arrive. If upon arrival you find that the unit is not in the same state as you had hoped and you decide not to continue with the lease, all your initial down payment will be fully refunded to you. This clause will be clearly stated in the lease booking contract of the apartment which is binding by the state’s rental laws. If you are fine with these my terms and would like to place a hold on the unit so as not to lose it, do let me know so I can provide you with the contact email address of the building managemnt to run you through the process by sending you the appropriate forms for you to fill out. Thanks once again for your time and understanding on this regard and I look forward to hearing from you soonest.

    OR THIS ONE:

    Good morning and thanks for your interest in my home, my fiancee and i are looking to lease my unit which is still very much available. I am a Geologist and my work can be quite tedious because it involves mineral researches, I’m an easy going person and also very friendly. I like music and have deep interests in traveling. I respect every religion and also love to hang around with people and i am definitely not a trouble maker and very helpful in nature. I just moved to Worland, Wyoming now due to my new research and also to be close to my fiancee as we are about getting married in few weeks time. The unit is located in a safe and secured neighborhood which i think is the most important thing for one to know before relocating. You are free to drive or walk by so you can tour the exterior of the building if you wish. Unit Address (711 E Denny Way, Seattle, WA 98122) Rent: $1550 Damage Deposit: $550. Only well behaved pets are welcomed, utilities included (Heat, Water, Electricity and Internet/Cable). The minimum lease term is 2 months, and a maximum of 1 years with also possibility of extension. I and my fiancee decided to handle the rental process ourselves due to our past experience with estate agents and tenant because all they care about is their own commission instead of taking time to verify applicants application and do a proper background check before leasing to such individual, the last tenant that rented from us through an estate agent destroyed most of our valuable home appliances. I know how much i spent to replace the things that was destroyed in the home, a whole lot of people have contacted me regarding the home but not just sure of who to accept due to the horrible experience we had with the last tenant. All we want is a very responsible, trustworthy and caring person that will take care of the home like his/her own and if you can assure me that the unit will be in good hands, i would be happy to let you rent from me for as long as you wish.

    Fill out the rental application form below and send it back to me as soon as you can if you are really interested in renting my unit. As i will be happy to give you a call once this is done, because it is always best we speak over the phone..

    *****RENTAL APPLICATION FORM****
    (Private and Confidential)

    FIRST NAME:
    MIDDLE NAME:
    LAST NAME:
    (CELL)PHONE:
    (OFFICE)PHONE:
    BEST TIME TO CALL:
    EMAIL:
    KIDS : (YES/NO), HOW MANY :
    PRESENT ADDRESS:
    CITY:
    STATE:
    ZIP CODE:
    WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN:
    HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING:
    HOW MANY MONTH RENT ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY UPFRONT:
    HOW SOON CAN YOU MAKE THE DEPOSIT FEES:
    DO YOU HAVE PET :
    KIND OF PETS:
    HABITS:
    DO YOU SMOKE :
    DO YOU DRINK :
    DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT:
    REFERENCE……..
    NAME:
    ADDRESS:

    Please make sure this questions are fill correctly because the best way you answer with your filled details will impress me the more to accept your application.

    N:B: However, my initial plan was to sale out the unit which i tried but sometimes the agents inflates the price and it takes longer to sell. I am telling you this just in case if you find the unit on another website, that is the old advert. Because of this reason and more we need a rental agreement with a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money but want it to be clean and for you to take care of it as if it were yours. We would be looking forward to receiving your email as soon as possible.

    Good evening and thanks for your mail and also with the warm response. I was in well receipt of your filled rental application form and i must confess that we both did find it very very satisfactory and believe you to be the best occupant for our home. Myself and my fiancee are very exited and willing to let you move into our home as soon as possible as we have concluded on accepting you to move in as soon as you are ready. So as we shall be renting our unit to you, please we want you to take very good care of the unit because i had spend a lot of money on the property so we might be glad when coming by sometime end of this year to see how neat you’ve been keeping the place. Hope everything about this process is fine with you? However, if you are ready to rent our home now that will not be a problem but i will advice you due to you are a responsible and reliable person, a refundable security deposit will be made before moving in and also i would like to send the following document to you via FedEx Courier Service to the address you’ve provided to me in the rental application form and the tracking number will be sent to you so that you can possible occupy our home immediately. Once again, we are giving you this based on trust and please do not disappoint us as we promise that you would love our home as i believe you must have seen how well organized and maintained it is from the pictures compared to the 100% comfort you would be deriving from it been an occupant. The package containing the (Keys, Documentations, Payment Receipt) will be delivered withing 24 hours to you as soon as you are ready to move in to the unit.

    NB: I want you to know that we would be sending you the package via FedEx courier company as soon as you make the payments for the refundable deposit which is $550. Let me know If i could forward you the Information on how and where to send the money through any local Money Transfer outlet nearest to you, so i can get all the package sent to you immediately for your move in. Attached here is the soft copy of the tenancy lease and agreement form for your review as the hard copy comes along with the keys and documents which i would be posting over to your current home address..

    These are a few examples. If the apartment is too good to be true, it probably is! Trust your gut and don’t give out personal info (:

    Reply

    • Hams says

      August 27, 2017 at 5:52 pm

      This guy had 3 postings on padmapper. I didn’t give out much information thankfully, but it seemed legit, but I got the same exact e-mail you got about being on the application shortlist. Just wrote to him and told him I know he’s a scammer and that I’ve reported him

      Reply

35. Lafter says

    July 23, 2017 at 10:38 pm

    I was looking to see if the nightmare landlords we just got burned big time, young couple places ad for nice farm rural pole barn on 5 acres, with farm acres shared, cute little 2bd 1 bth, huge barn auto door, chicken pen, various fruit trees, garden, well, for 600$ a month, the thing is, we were in dire need to move right away escaping toxic black mold from previous landlord(slumlord). we had to wait 3 months, held up temporarily in tiny apt, that also had mold and leaked out every wall window and crack when raining, waiting for them to supposedly close on their new located home in Kentucky, I meet the wife, we attempt twice to get lease to print, her printer wouldn’t work so she sends it via my email. 2 days later, I call her husband to tell him where he wanted his rent sent too, we had already began moving our belongings into barn garage, since he was out of town, and claimed he had no account yet set up in kentucky to give it to his parents, we called them over, handed the rent plus security as per agreed, but, nobody has a receipt, so I found my checkbook cancelled the check wrote amount in cash, but they were very weird about signing it, finally got the mother, to grudgingly sign, that was when all my alarms went off about them, within 3 days, their ”friend” neighbor was over on our rented property spraying herbicide all around the future chicken pen, the well from where we’d be drinking, when I saw him he had already drenched those areas, I sent text to wife of landlord in knetucky asking for her to call asap, she blew me off, right then and there I sent her my 30 day notice due to them breaching no reciept offered for full payment of rent and deposit, plus neighbor being uninvited and certainly without notice spraying toxic chemicals around my rented space and food areas, then landlord asks us to allow his parents back again after all day of mowing, moving and no dinner yet, at 8pm so they could explain the lease, that went down like insane madness, the mother walked in my door, insulting, scolding telling me how things are going to be, I have no say so about the neighbor, or them having full reign whenever they wanted? her husband the father got so angry from me saying oh no you won’t, he pounded his fist so hard on the kitchen counter he literally bounced my dishes in dishwasher out of the racks and splattered my scent wax all over the counter, while his wife, the landlords mother was out accosting my husband with her phone having her son, our landlord telling us to leave!! insane? oh yes, $1200.00 later, within 3 days we had been poisoned, harassed, intimidated, bossed, bullied, and almost ripped off, not to mention they put in rental photos a really nice wood burner, with plenty of wood, within a week the dad was over trying to take it due to some insurance nonsense, I looked it up, and they were lying about that too, had I let that man take it? I think they’d had tried to blame us for the loss, that is what pissed em off the most, because they have not stopped banging on our front door, we had to change the locks due to me being home all week alone, while my husband drives a big truck all week OTR. so the message is clear, the kids get used to get the money making all these extravagant promises, leave for kentucky, leaving the unsuspecting new renters stuck with drunk crazy neighbors who have no respect for the living, and even came over and dumped their yard waste in our yard and claimed our landlords from kentucky said he could, we moved here for the no neighbor concept, no poison, can have chickens and pets the wood stave a plus because of the harsh winters, if you see an ad for Calamus Iowa, pole barn 2bd 1 bath, wood burner stove, acres to mow, as care taker? run, 1200.00 maybe a good deal, but the baggage they don’t tell you that you end up with, ain’t worth it, I have tried calling all forms of legal help and nothing but crickets in return for help. we are now out 1200bux, in one month having to move again because as soon as they got our money, they began trying to evict us, within 3 days of receipt. we are legally in the right and they legally cannot evict us, but hey, as southern blood says, we just won’t be staying where we ain’t welcome, the physical address is, 1721 265th street Calamus Iowa, trust me, unless you like being babysat, poisoned, ruled around, you may want to report it, they seem to take it down asa they get a bite, because the very next day after we looked at the place, it was gone!!

    Reply

36. Rich says

    July 29, 2017 at 8:05 pm

    This is the scam email I just fell for on Craig’s list:
    From Readyhouse69@gmail.com

    Hello,
    Sorry for not replying on time i want you to know it is still available for rent , I own the house, I intend to give the place out to someone or family who actually knows what it takes to care for one’s property, I do not have any Realtor or Management company responsible for the house that is why i am the one handling the process myself and from the address below you can go check out the house, I am from a Christian Family, Though i am passionate about this issues around homelessness and helping those experiencing it find sustainable solutions. I actually do volunteer work for a Faith Based Organization called heart support that aids in suicide awareness and provides free help for depression, addiction, and recovery. I have experience with suicide prevention activism as well; I was on the Farmington, Michigan suicide prevention task force, “S.A.F.E.” (Suicide Awareness For Everyone), for two years before moving to Missouri. I have also done lots of volunteer work, for example, I volunteered at a shelter called Our Fathers House. There I cared for the children as the parents attended classes and went on job hunts. I also have done some charity work in the past for Live out loud charity. It is a charity for suicide prevention charity around the world. I wanted to sell this House before leaving the state since i am presently in MISSOURI through impacting people’s life positively, So you should discard any for sale sign with number at the front of the house because it is no longer for sale and that is why i am taking out my time in looking for whom i can rent it to myself, It is vacant now i need a tenant to take up that responsibility of looking after the house in my absent like his or her own, Also i will be away for 4-6 years or more and this is why am actually renting it out so if you are still interested and will take good care of the house then i will be ready to rent the house for as long as you would want and will accept you as my tenant.

    The house address is: 1812 N Grovedale Ave, Jackson, MI 49203
    House details in summary: 3 beds 1.5 baths, Monthly rent of $700, Security Deposit of $600… PETS ARE WELCOME! All UTILITIES such as Air Conditioner Dishwasher Walk-in Closet Refrigerator, Water, Vaulted Ceilings Washer/Dryer Cable, Internet etc are all included in the rent. Get back to me if you are interested so i can forward you the RENT QUESTIONNAIRE.

    Owner’s name: Mr. John Worsham

    Fill out the questionnaire below so we can proceed further to the next step ASAP.

    1)Your Full Name?
    2)Your Full Address?
    3)Cell Phone: Home Phone: & Work Phone?
    4)Are you married?
    5)Age & Email Address?
    6)How many people will be living in the house?
    7)Do you have a pet?
    8)Do you have a car?
    9)Occupation?
    10)When will you like to move in?
    11)How long are you willing to stay in the property?
    12)References, Current Landlord Info, Job History and Income?
    13)Do you smoke or drink?
    14)Reasons why you want to rent my house?
    15) How many months rent can you pay upfront?
    16) Best time to call you?
    17 Additional Information about yourself?
    18) How Soon can you secure the house?
    19) How much do you have at hand now, if you are told to secure the house today?
    20) What else will you do in making my house better?.

    I Look forward hearing back from you with the questionnaire filled.

    Reply

37. Raymond says

    August 11, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    “We will be away for Four years or more that is why We have made up Our mind to put up Our house for rent to whomever that will take good care of it. However, Our initial plan was to sell the house but it was not successful because the Realtor raised the price which made it difficult for Us to sell before leaving (Colton, CA) So you ignore the sign post because We have stop dealing and contacting the Realtor for too much fees We paid and the Realtor was trying to rip Us off.

    We have a cordial relationship with the neighborhood as it is a neighborhood where,everyone keep to themselves go about their business without interference from anybody and we expect that as you move in.

    We left behind some Facilities and electronics which include the rent, and a DVD player, air conditioning, alarm system. The kitchen is fully equipped with all necessary cooking utensils, a refrigerator-freezer, four-hob and oven, microwave,dishwasher and washing machine, My Computer Connected with Internet Access Also the keys to the House are right here with me, and the house documents. Which I can send to you after all necessary agreement has be accepted. Also I will like you to know that the rent charges is not really the issue ,but your absolute maintenance of my House is most important thing

    HOUSE DESCRIPTION:
    Property type: Single-Family Home
    Address:458 W L St, Colton, CA 92324
    Bedroom: 2
    bathroom: 1
    Monthly Rent: $800
    Security Deposit: $800 (Security Deposit is Refundable)
    Utilities included in monthly rent
    Pet: Accepted.

    SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE RENT

    APPLICATION FORM.

    RENTAL APPLICATION FORM

    FIRST NAME: __________________
    MIDDLE NAME: __________________
    LAST NAME: __________________
    PROFESSION: ________________
    PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
    PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
    THE BEST NUMBER TO CONTACT YOU ON__________?
    ATTACH ID CARD
    MARITAL STATUS: _________
    KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________?
    PRESENT ADDRESS: ___________________________
    CITY: _______________
    STATE: ______________
    CURRENT RENT: _______?
    HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
    HOW SOON DO HAVE THE DEPOSIT AND RENT ?
    HOW SOON DO YOU INTEND MAKING THE PAYMENT?
    WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________?

    *PETS*
    IF YOU HAVE A PET,
    NAME OF PET: ______________
    KIND OF PETS: _____________
    WEIGHT: ___________________
    HABITS
    DO YOU SMOKE? ______________
    DO YOU DRINK? ______________
    DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT? ____

    I CERTIFY that answers given here in are true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I authorize investigation of all statements contained in this application for tenet screening as may be necessary in arriving at a tenant decision. I understand that the landlord may terminate any rental agreement entered into for any misrepresentation made above. you can bring in your stuffs and items, only inform me about your move in.

    Please make sure this questions are fill correctly because the best way you answer with your comment will impress me the more to accept your applications.I know you would want to see the house before making any kind of rental payment , which is understandable.We can make arrangement for the keys and documentation including an Authorization letter to be shipped to you, this will give you the opportunity to view house.

    Please get back to me today with a reply, You can contact me:+1(702) 751-4326

    Best Regard

    Lawson May & FAMILY”
    __________________________________________

    “LEGAL RENTAL AGREEMENT FORM
    Residential Lease

    • PARTIES.
    APPROVED

    Landlord Name: Lawson May
    ADDRESS: 458 W L St, Colton, CA 92324
    Tenant Name: —
    ADDRESS: —

    • to tenant as long as the premises is left in good conduct, landlord must have receive the total payment of $800 before the tenant receive the keys and the documentations of the house.
    APPROVED

    LATE CHARGE. Tenants shall pay a late charge of 5% of any rental amount not received by Landlord at the above address by 5:00 pm
    TERM. The term of this tenancy shall run from MOVE IN DATE till tenant decides to move out from the house, this lease is year to year lease tenancy.

    • RENT. Tenants shall pay a sum of $800 for security deposit which shall be refunded back
    • .m. on the fourth day after the date the rent is due. (If rent is due on the first, a late fee will be assessed if rent is received by 5 p.m. on the fifth.

    • SECURITY DEPOSIT. Landlord has acknowledged that he is going to receive the sum of $800 refundable security deposit. Landlord may, as allowed by law, deduct from the security deposit the amount of damages incurred by him due to Tenants’ breach of this lease. Tenants are not entitled to have the security deposit applied to late or unpaid rent, after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession (including return of all keys), Landlord shall return the unused portion of the security deposit.

    • MOVE-IN CONDITION. Landlord shall provide the first Tenant to take possession of the premises with a “Move-In/Move-Out Condition Report” form. That Tenant shall complete the form and return it to Landlord within five days. Unless Landlord objects within five days of his receipt of the completed form, the report shall be deemed conclusive evidence that the premises are as described in the report.

    Landlord shall deliver the premises and all common areas to the Tenants in a clean, safe, and habitable condition, free of pests and visible mole, with all smoke detectors installed in the premises in proper working condition.

    • POSSESSION. Landlord shall be ready to deliver possession of the premises to Tenants at the start date of the tenancy. Landlord shall be responsible for having hold-over tenants evicted. Rent shall abate until Landlord is able to put Tenants into possession but he shall not be responsible for any other damages to Tenants unless Landlord’s failure was will full, in which case Tenants’ remedies shall be in accordance with law.

    APPROVED
    If Landlord is unable to deliver possession due to circumstances beyond his control, he shall have ten (10) days to remedy the situation and put Tenants into possession. If he fails to do so, Tenants may immediately terminate the lease and recover all prepaid rent and deposits. If Landlord is unable to deliver possession due to his or his agent’s fault, Tenants may choose to both give the Landlord ten (10) days to remedy the situation as above or immediately terminate the lease and recover all prepaid rent and deposits.

    • SUBLEASES & ASSIGNMENTS. Tenants shall not sublease or assign this lease without the prior, written permission from the Landlord. Landlord shall not unreasonably deny permission to sublease or assign.

    • USE OF PREMISES. Tenants shall not permit any other persons to occupy the premises. For purposes of this agreement, “occupy” is defined as residing, living, or staying on the premises overnight for more than seven nights in a row or for more than fourteen nights in a twelve-month period.

    Tenants shall use the premises only as a residential dwelling. Tenants shall not use the premises or permit any guests to use the premises for any unlawful activities or to unreasonably interfere with the rights, comforts, or conveniences of their neighbours or other Tenants. Tenants shall not host any party or gathering of more than fifteen (20) people at any time.
    APPROVED

    • LANDLORD’S RULES. Tenants acknowledge receipt of Landlord’s Rules. Tenants shall comply with all written Rules provided to the Tenant. Landlord may, with reasonable written notice to Tenants, modify these rules as allowed by law.

    • LOCKS, KEYS, & PEEPHOLES. Even if no local ordinance requires it, Landlord shall provide locks and peepholes Tenants shall not change or add any locks on the premises without immediately providing duplicates of all keys to the Landlord. Landlord shall issue to each Tenant one set of keys to the premises and mailbox. Upon Tenants’ surrender of the premises to Landlord, each Tenant shall return to Landlord all keys issued to him as well as all copies. If Tenants fail to return all keys, Tenants shall pay the cost of making replacement copies or replacing the locks, at Landlord’s option.

    • RESERVATION OF RIGHTS. If rent is unpaid when due, and Tenants fail to pay rent within five days after written notice is served notifying the Tenants of the non-payment and of Landlord’s intention to terminate the lease if the rent is not paid within the five-day period (i.e. within five days of service of the “Five Day Pay-or-Quit Notice”), the landlord may terminate the lease and proceed to obtain possession of the premises in accordance with the law. Acceptance of rent after the five-day period shall not act as a waiver of Landlord’s rights and Landlord hereby reserves all rights to receive payment of rent after the five-day notice and proceed in court for possession of the premises and all other remedies allowed by law.

    • PROPERTY DAMAGE & MAINTENANCE. Tenants shall promptly notify Landlord of any defects in or damages to the plumbing, sanitary, electrical, gas, heating, or cooling systems as well as any leaks in the roof or evidence of structural damage. Tenants shall not repair these defects or damages without obtaining the prior, written permission of Landlord, which Landlord may reasonably refuse; however, Tenants shall take reasonable steps to prevent additional damage.

    APPROVED
    Tenants shall pay Landlord’s reasonable expenses for repairing damages caused by Tenants and their guests, reasonable wear and tear excepted. Landlord shall present a written, itemized bill with copies of receipts for material and outside labour before demanding payment. Landlord shall not consider payment as being late until fifteen (15) days after presentment of the bill.

    Tenants shall ensure the lawn is mowed at least once every two weeks during January through February and in no case shall Tenants allow grass and weeds to exceed six inches in height at any time during the year. Landlord shall be responsible for all other yard maintenance and for having the gutters cleaned.

    • DEATH. If a Tenant dies during the tenancy, any of the surviving Tenants or the executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate may terminate this lease by giving thirty (30) days written notice to Landlord and the other Tenants. Termination under this clause does not relieve the surviving Tenants or the estate of the deceased from their liability to pay all rent and charges owed through the date that Landlord is put in possession of the premises.

    • EXTENDED ABSENCES & ABANDONMENT. If all of the Tenants will be absent from the premises for a period in excess of ten (10) days, Tenants shall give Landlord advance, written notice of the absence. If Tenants fail to do so, Landlord may consider the premises abandoned and avail him of all lawful remedies.

    • MOVE-OUT INSPECTION. Tenants may request to be at a move-out inspection to be held within seventy-two (72) hours of Tenants’ delivery of possession to Landlord. If Tenants wish to be present at such an inspection, they shall give Landlord written notice two weeks in advance.

    • APPROVED
    • UTILITIES. Landlord shall maintain all the utility charges such as Heat, water, sewer, gas, and electrical utility service at the premises starting on or before the start of the tenancy and until possession of the premises is returned to Landlord. Tenants shall ensure that the heat is maintained at a temperature sufficient to prevent freezing of pipes during cold periods.

    • PETS. After providing written notice to Landlord and paying any pet deposit required herein, Tenants may keep one aquarium with fish up to 100 gallons and one cat. Tenants shall keep any other pets if he/she wishes to.

    • JOINTLY AND SEVERAL LIABILITY. All Tenants shall be jointly and severally liable for all Tenant obligations (rent, damages, and other). The Landlord may collect the entirety of any damages from any one or all Tenants, no matter which Tenant is actually responsible.

    • INCORPORATION & MODIFICATION. This Lease is the complete and entire agreement between the parties and all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, have been incorporated herein. It may only be modified or amended by executing another written document signed by all parties or their authorized agents.

    • SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this lease are severable, and if any part of the Lease is held illegal, invalid, or inapplicable to any person or circumstance, the remainder of this lease shall remain in effect.
    APPROVED

    • CONDITION. This lease is conditional on being signed by all parties named on page 1.

    We, the undersigned, hereby represent that we have read this entire lease and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions.

    Landlord: Lawson May Tenant:

    Tenant Signature
    Date: 06/10/2017

    APPROVED”

    Reply

38. S. Desbonne says

    October 11, 2017 at 7:25 am

    I recently encountered a Craigslist scammer who claimed to be living in Indiana for two years, so renting out a room.
    He made it sound too good to be true by claiming that he was renting a room, but the entire house would be mine because he was away for two years.
    The scammer sent me the address and said I could drive by and look. I did a search for the address on Zillow, and found that the house was listed for rent by a legitimate managing firm.
    I downloaded photos of the interior, and sent them to the scammer along with the interior photos he had sent me…I congratulated the scammer on the wonderful job he had done renovating the kitchen, which was totally different from the photo he sent.
    Never heard from him again…

    Reply

    • Michelle says

      October 31, 2017 at 8:47 am

      I knew this was too good to be true. Here is the email i received a couple days ago:Notice the name at the bottom says Roy Thomas, yet when i checked city records, the house is under the name of a female with a different last name.

      Thanks for the interest in my House, my house is still available for rent and is located at (712 47th Way S, Birmingham, AL 35222). quite and safe. I only need someone that can take good care of the house in my absence because right now am not around i just secured a contract in ( Georgia ) here in United States, Am here with the house keys and documents, I tried to look for management before i left but i couldn’t get anyone on time but the one i got we had a deal and later my wife advised me against it, I reason with her and accept her advise. so i contacted the agent back and let her understand that i am no longer interested in her handling the property anymore then we decided to have the house for rent out by ourselves. We would have given the agent this job, but the truth of the matter is that agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant might not be able to reason with her. If you notice, you will discover that the price we are offering is below the standard price this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute perfect care of the house. So if you have a good reference you can email me back to secure and occupy my house in my absence.

      NB: You can go to check the neighborhood and get back to me for further discussion, any sign post will be remove once i get any responsible tenant so you ignore the sign post because i have stopped dealing and contacting the Realtor for too much fees i paid and the Realtor was trying to rip me off. It is available for a long term lease as we would be here for probably 5 years or more and we are also intending to buy a new house here in ( Georgia ). (Security deposit required) which is $500. I would need your References, Pets Acceptable. The rent fee is $500 per month including the utilities, Get back to me as soon as possible because i need a tenant urgently and i can also forward the application form to you if you are interested.

      General house description:
      Beautiful 2 Bd. 1 Ba. Quiet Cul-di-sac.Main Level: Spacious Family Room. Dining Room with Built-in Hutch. Open Kitchen with Lots of Cabinet Space. 1 Full Bath. Oversize Master Bedroom with Large Walk-in Closet. Basement. Main level laundry (washer & dryer included).

      Best Regards

      Roy Thomas

      Reply

39. i hate missionnaires says

    November 2, 2017 at 7:21 am

    u guys my scammer is so sickening omg i can’t believe i almost fell for it. he’s scamming in Victoria, BC. Canada… a missionary i thought, but no, actually a therapist… I’m sick to my stomach, see for ur self….

    “Hello ,

    Thanks for your email and interest in the property. I personally own the property and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer that made me and my wife to leave the property and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own. So for now, We are here in United State, our new house and also with the keys and documents of the house, we try to look for an agent that we can give this documents before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our property to be used any how in our present that is why we took it along with us. I and my wife came over to United State I WORK WITH ABUSED CHILDREN AND SEXUALLY ABUSED CHILDREN.I,M A THERAPIST, so i hope you will promise us to take very good care of the house. kindly get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting home. The rent fee is included all the utilities . I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP so that i can forward you an application form to fill out and discuss on how to get the property for rent.

    God bless you ”

    sickening.

    and then asked for money transfer with a address that lead to no where hahahahaha

    wow….

    i just can’t believe it

    Reply

40. Don Scotten says

    December 5, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    I recently submitted an online application for a house for rent. I was notified yesterday (approximately 2 weeks after submitting the app), that I was approved and that I would receive an email Docusign with the documents that I could sign online. A nice 3 bedroom home for only $500/month. Landlord pays all utilities. And…only $500 down, but that must be paid using a “MoneyPak” card that I could purchase. Once purchased, I was to notify the property agent (Susan Johnson) with the PIN. Needless to say, I didn’t fall for it.

    Reply

41. Augustus says

    December 15, 2017 at 12:35 am

    Example of a scam in Victoria, BC, Canada:

    Hello,

    Thank you very much for taking your time to email me. l want you to know that the property you are writing me about is still available for move in but before we proceed any further l want you to know that the kind of tenant l am looking forward to have,clean,quiet,respectful and responsible someone that will treat the house with care and respect. l don’t need the partying type but if you can assure me of the safety of the house if i decided to accept you as my new tenant l will be happy to let you rent from me for as long as you wish.I want you to know am on the missionary assignment here with me and my family to United state .
    The house is located in a safe and secured neighborhood which i think it is the most important thing for one to know before relocating. You are free to drive or walk by so you can tour the exterior of the building if you wish. Me and my wife decided to handle the rental process ourselves due to our past experience with estate agents and tenant because all they care about is their own commission instead of taking time to verify applicants application and do a proper background check, the last tenant that rented from us through an estate agent destroyed most of our valuable home appliances. I know how much me and my wife spent to replace the things that was destroyed in the house,a whole lot of people have contacted me regarding the house but not just sure of who to accept due to the horrible experience we had with the last tenant so i am really taking my time to look for a very responsible person
    that we can trust in as a tenant, all i want is a very responsible person that will take care of the house like his/her own and if you can assure me of the house will be in good hands, i will be happy to let you rent from me for as long as you wish.

    Fill the rental application form below and send it back to me as soon as you can if you are really interested in renting the house.

    *****RENTAL APPLICATION FORM****
    ( Private and Confidential )
    Fill below information correctly…
    FIRST NAME:__________
    MIDDLE NAME:__________
    LAST NAME:__________
    (CELL)PHONE__________
    KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
    PRESENT ADDRESS: _____________________
    CITY: _______________
    STATE:______________
    ZIP CODE: ____________
    WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
    HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
    WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
    HOW MANY MONTH RENT ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY UPFRONT_________
    HOW SOON CAN YOU MAKE THE DEPOSIT FEES_________
    DO YOU HAVE PET _________
    HABITS
    DO YOU SMOKE ______________
    DO YOU DRINK ______________
    DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT _________
    PICTURES OF OCCUPANT _____________
    REFERENCE
    NAME_____________
    ADDRESS_____________

    Applicant represents that all information given on this application is true and correct. Applicant hereby authorizes verification of all references and facts. l look forward to hearing from you once you have filled the rental application so that we can proceed with the rental process.

    Thanks And God Bless You

    Reply

    • Mark says

      December 22, 2017 at 8:53 am

      Just got the same “missionary in the US” one here in Burnaby. And one in Richmond. Another one where the renter is claiming she is in the Philippines and renting out a place in Surrey. The common thread with all three is a suggestion I drive by the place to see the exterior of the house before continuing. I mean, what? Clear sign they don’t actually have the place to show/rent. Is mixed in with a lot of other info though, so could see how some people would fall for it.

      So aggravating, wasting my time! And probably will scam some people. How can they be stopped?!

      Reply

42. Rick Waller says

    December 17, 2017 at 12:31 am

    I replied to a CL ad and eventually rented a small “room” for $800/mo in West LA. For a normal-sized or larger room, this is a fair market price for the area. Since the deposit was half the rent, I made due with the square footage, at least until other red flags showed up. The room itself seems to have been built as an addition later than the original building, as it has 3 exterior walls and the solo interior wall shared with the other bedroom (wait for it)… with a DOOR in between, as if the room was built up from a balcony. A few months later when I learned the couple living in the other room were only paying $1100, it was clear that this situation was an “unbalanced split of rent” scam. 40% of the total for 20% of the space, and the lazy bum wife nesting in the living room for 16 hours of CNN every day, week, after month. I wish I could warn the next guy so somebody else doesn’t get hustled.

    Reply

    • Lowflyin Lolana says

      January 9, 2018 at 2:12 am

      What a drag! Yeah 800 dollars/mo sounds about right. I’m in Long Beach and my rent just got jacked 300.00. You can’t find anything in LA County for a decent price unless it’s something rigged up like that. That’s how property owners are making their nut. It’s really sad.
      What’s frustrating is that rental companies want you to make three times the rent. My rent is going to take up at least 40 percent of my income now….and I know that’s true for a lot of people. My income has been the same for the last 20 years, and I’m a unionized professional, college educated, bla bla.
      But the economy is booming, they say…

      Reply

43. Peter says

    April 14, 2018 at 1:15 pm

    Hi i understand what you’re trying to say but i can assure you that you’re safe with me. I’m a man of God and i don’t think i can do anything to harm you so please put your mind at rest . Here are couple pictures to make it clear to you.

    Pablo

    On Sat, Apr 14, 2018 at 11:50 AM, Peter wrote:
    THanks for your response. Due to the high number of scammers on Craigslist pretending to be owners I wont be sending money to anyone out of state. I will require to meet the owner in person and see identification prior to any money being exchanged.

    From: Angela Turner
    Sent: Friday, April 13, 2018 8:05 PM
    To:
    Subject: Re: Hello I’m Pablo

    Thanks for your interest in my apartment .The apartment is available for long term & short term lease is also acceptable. The building is in a great location situated in the quiet and safe area and offers secure access. internet, cable, laundry in-suite, storage facilities, heat, water, electric and parking are included in the rent

    I tried to look for an agent that I could give the document & the keys before I left but could not find any as a matter of urgency. And I don’t want home misused in my absence that is why I took the keys and documents along with me. So I hope you will promise me to take very good care of the apartment always.

    I have the keys and the apartment documents here with me and I will be shipping it to you through DHL courier service after processing your application form. Attached are the interior pictures and if you like it and willing to proceed with the rental. I will like you to fill the form below and email it back to me asap for processing.

    RENTAL APPLICATION FORM

    FIRST NAME:__________
    MIDDLE NAME:__________
    LAST NAME:__________
    (CELL)PHONE__________
    (HOME)PHONE__________
    KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________

    PRESENT ADDRESS: _____________________
    CITY: _______________
    STATE:______________
    ZIP CODE: ____________
    WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
    HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
    HOW MANY MONTH RENT ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY UPFRONT_________

    DO YOU HAVE PET _________
    KIND OF PETS: _____________

    HABITS
    DO YOU SMOKE ______________
    DO YOU DRINK ______________
    DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT _________

    REFERENCE
    NAME_____________
    ADDRESS_____________

    Payment will be through walmart to walmart and the keys will be shipped to immediately payment has been confirmed.

    Once i receive the filled copy of the rental application form, I will make an arrangement on how to get the apartment keys and documents shipped to you through DHL courier service without any further delay.

    I await your swift response.
    My # (323)-510-7132

    Regards
    Pablo

    On Fri, Apr 13, 2018 at 8:38 PM, wrote:
    Hello Pablo,

    I’m a little confused, the address you gave me is for a house. But you mention an apartment?

    I am clean, have no pets…

    I’m looking to Stay 30 days and Possibly much longer if the location works out. I’m looking for a place ASAP

    Thanks

    Peter

    From: Angela Turner
    Sent: Friday, April 13, 2018 7:20 PMTo:
    Subject: Hello I’m Pablo

    Thanks for showing interest in my place.I’m Pablo. The apartment will be available for as long as you are willing to rent. my wife is disabled and I currently relocated back to our other house with my family in Virginia that’s why the apartment is vacant. Moreover, are you very clean,kind and easygoing? because my wife and I spent a lot on our property, so we want someone who can take care of the apartment,i am looking to rent this unit out,long and short term is allowed.

    1416 62ND St, Sacramento, CA 95819

    The room is Available for immediate move in. Its a Modern 1 bedroom & 1 bathroom and a large living room apartment, you will have access to the rest of the amenities in the apartment which includes dish washer with in-suite laundry room and plenty of storage space and parking space . Professional and mature neighbors ensure peaceful living arrangements.well behaved pets are allowed

    I will like you to drive by to the building today to view the exterior of the building for you to know where the apartment is located,i am not available to meet with you for viewing as i am out of the state,when you check out the exterior,kindly get back to me so that I can forward you the full interior pictures and application form then we can proceed to how the keys will be delivered to you…

    Thanks for taking your time in writing me and hope to hear back from you.
    Regards
    Pablo

    Reply

44. Melissa says

    May 10, 2018 at 3:15 am

    Hello,
    I think I Might be getting Scammed. The man who is supposedly renting his home told me to deposit the deposit into a wells fargo account which is his attorney account. We went to the house to look at it and it had a lock box he had me read the numbers on it to him and he sent me the code. I told him I want something in my hands before I give money. He said he will have his attorney draw up the contract before the deposit is made. Are Scammers able to find out lock box codes by the numbers on it? I need to move like ASAP I don’t know how to know if this is a scam or not. Any help?

    Reply

45. Jim H. White says

    May 14, 2018 at 8:17 am

    I almost fell for a scam from a guy who said he was Edward Joseph McGourty and gave me an address here in Ottawa ON Canada. I was warned through this article and found a phone number for the rental superintendent for the site and he was very helpful. No such person has ever lived there.

    The scammer has way too much information about me but at least I sent no money.

    Reply

    • José Quintero says

      May 17, 2018 at 8:27 pm

      The same thing happened to me. Fortunately we sent no money to him.

      Reply