Michelle O. in MO Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I was looking at possible rentals in the Southern California area today and found a lot of ads for large homes at very cheap prices. The pictures of these homes were regenerated over and over and in different locations. The contact phone was an 800 number. Are these scams? What is this?? Craigslist is flooded with them and I'm annoyed that I can't seem to find rentals by owners. Someone please enlighten me. Thanks, Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 There are rental scams on Craig's List...or have been in the past. Someone pretending to be the owner of a property for rent. Only it turned out that they weren't in any way associated with the property--unfortunately after deposits had cahnged hands. ALWAYS set up a time to tour the property. Not a complete gaurantee, but helpful. On the other hand, I'm a realtor and I sometimes advertise myself and listings on Craig's List. Have you given thought to using a realtor for finding a lease property? It wouldn't cost you anything...the seller pays the commissions in those cases. (Any landlord I've listed has been a stellar person to work with....I guess not everyone is.) Much luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 (edited) I was looking at possible rentals in the Southern California area today and found a lot of ads for large homes at very cheap prices. The pictures of these homes were regenerated over and over and in different locations. The contact phone was an 800 number. Are these scams? What is this?? Craigslist is flooded with them and I'm annoyed that I can't seem to find rentals by owners. Someone please enlighten me. Thanks, Michelle It's more likely then not that they are scams. We inquired about one here that seemed to good to be true, and it was. We got an email back explaining that they were "missionaries" traveling amongst other places to Nigeria. There was also a form asking for all kinds of personal info. We knew then it was without a doubt a scam. ETA: there are many very hosest people who advertise on Craigslist, but generally I'd say that if the rental/purchase price is significantly lower then the average for your area it is a scam. Edited April 22, 2012 by akmommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Anything too good to be true, is a scam, on the Craiglist housing. You'll see things like - ads with photos but the photos are not of the actual house, just random photos they've taken from other ads (or stock photos). You can tell ,because often it's just not a style of house that is common for that area. For example, housing in some areas, in general, say Arizona, tend to have the same style. So to see that style for an ad in the Midwest just seems odd. Then the other "odd details" start adding up. -Houses listed for rent, but they are actually for sale. That happened to me. Found a great looking house for rent, was doing some research, found it on Trulia for sale. Contacted the real estate agent who said the house was NOT for rent, and never had been. Ad was a scam, appears people go through the For Sale sections and take that information to craiglists and try to get $$$ that way. -Often on those "too good to be true", you'll get replies from people who say they live in other countries, whether they are missionaries, or moved for a job, etc...various stories. They'll want personal info and then "approve" you, just send the deposit, and then they'll send the key. Uh, yeah, okay! -Weird wording. I can't think of them off the top of my head, but I've read several where the description uses weird wording. Say they were describing the math bath, and they would use "vanity in the adult main bedroom". Stuff like that, but then add it to together with the other "odd things" and it's starts to be just odd :). There are legit ads though, and I've rented from Craigslist and met real agents, etc. So it can be done, you just have to be aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I was looking at possible rentals in the Southern California area today and found a lot of ads for large homes at very cheap prices. The pictures of these homes were regenerated over and over and in different locations. The contact phone was an 800 number. Are these scams? What is this?? Craigslist is flooded with them and I'm annoyed that I can't seem to find rentals by owners. Someone please enlighten me. Thanks, Michelle Yes, scams. Don't answer unless it sounds like a real person. Anything that does not have an actual location, like Gulf Road area near X Community Center, instead of "Florida", and has very generic information like 3 bedroom, 2 bath, and especially if there is a LINK without personal identifying information in the CL ad, is generally not a real ad. Those links go to "Rent to Own" services that do nothing but take your money. For your $200, they will sell you a list of homes for sale or rent, as if you could not find these yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Those links go to "Rent to Own" services that do nothing but take your money. For your $200, they will sell you a list of homes for sale or rent, as if you could not find these yourself. Yes. That's exactly what they turned out to be. I called the number and was told that for $129 they would give me access to a website with over 200,000 listings of homes that were in foreclosure. It would then be up to me to negotiate with the owner/bank on a sale price. When I asked the person about the ad, he said he had nothing to do with it and didn't know anything about it. :glare: A previous poster mentioned getting an email from missionaries....got that today too. Yep....this is gonna be fun. Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I would look for ads placed either by real estate offices or property management companies. They would then also have websites for their businesses with several rentals lusted. This is how our house gets rented. Good luck! There are tons if scams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 One time we were searching for a long term rental in Honolulu and found a place with a great price and looked very nice. We were looking at the photos and saw a RADIATOR in several of them. A radiator in HAWAII?!?! Scam! Then we searched for the person's name on the 'net and found the same ad in San Francisco and someplace else too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eight_gregorys Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 There are a lot of scams on the Southern California craigslist. Most rentals are done through management companies, but I've seen the occasional by owner listings as well. Where in SoCal are you looking? We live about 40 miles north of LA. I'd be happy to send you some links if you are looking in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 There are a lot of scams on the Southern California craigslist. Most rentals are done through management companies, but I've seen the occasional by owner listings as well. Where in SoCal are you looking? We live about 40 miles north of LA. I'd be happy to send you some links if you are looking in that area. Thank you! We've got some flexibility so that would be very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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