My attempts to rent an apartment were unsuccessful. But I learned a lot about how fake owners and agencies can scam people out of money. It turned out that there are many ways, and I will talk about some of them below. Although I am sure that in reality there are many more of them.
Since I already lived in a rented apartment and just wanted to find a better option, I had a lot of time to figure out the common tricks and the tricks of apartment rental agents. And there were not so few of them. Fake photographs, non-existent apartments and more serious money scams.
I was convinced of some of them myself, and I know about others from the words of people who were less fortunate and who gave their money to scammers.
Fake photographs
This is the first scam I have encountered. Not trusting the overly cool photos of affordable apartments, I decided to check them out on Google Image Search. And I was not mistaken.
< /p>Great apartment in the center of Kharkov
Just copy the link to the photo or save it to your computer. Go to Google Images and paste a link or upload a photo.
It turns out to be an apartment in the center of Barcelona
Most often, such apartments do not even require verification using Google. The price-quality ratio in them initially looks implausible.
The meaning of divorce. You call based on this ad, and either the apartment is already rented and they offer you another option, or they ask for a small amount of money to view the apartment in advance. Needless to say, you should immediately send these people to Barcelona, to their own apartment?
Nonexistent apartments
I had the most trouble with this trick. Notice boards are full of fairly high-quality apartments, but after calling the number provided, it turns out that the apartment has already been rented out. For a long time I could not understand what the essence of such deception was, until I accidentally went to the profile of one of the “owners” of the apartment.
Too many apartments for one owner
The meaning of divorce. After you are told that the apartment has already been rented out, two outcomes may follow: you are immediately offered another apartment, or your number is included in the database, and they call you the next day from another number to offer agency services.
Advance payment for viewing apartments
Never, remember, never give money for viewing apartments or for services before you have met the owner of the apartment and made a deal.
On the appointed day you can come and see the apartment for free. The same applies to agency services. What is the point of paying an agent for his services if you have not yet concluded a contract with the owner of the apartment?
The meaning of divorce. Scammers work on the principle of “little but often.” They ask for a small amount of money in advance and then disappear with it.
Reletting an apartment
A friend of mine who rents out an apartment for daily rent encountered this problem. Having rented out an apartment to a young guy for one day and coming for the key the next day, she found in the apartment an elderly couple who had moved from another city.
According to the elderly people, it turned out that they had found an apartment for long-term living on the website for a few days before and contacted the specified number. They were offered to view the apartment in one day and move in immediately. When they arrived, the young man showed them the apartment, took the money for the first and last month, gave them the keys and disappeared. Perhaps the most unpleasant divorce of all.
The meaning of divorce is obvious.
Contract with an agency
The last mistake that can be made when renting an apartment is concluding a contract not with the owners of the apartment. The agency you come to may not be real, which is what a lot of people have encountered. Having concluded a contract with the agency and received (or not received) the key, you end up with an amount of money that is equal to two months of rent, and the office where the agency was located is no longer open the next day.
The meaning of divorce. Rent an office for a couple of days, get money from several people and disappear.
Conclusion
Here are some tips to help you avoid getting into an unpleasant situation:
- Check the property thoroughly before calling the owner or agent. Don't forget about Google Images and your intuition. If you see that the apartment is too good for the money, most likely it's a scam. But you can call and see for yourself.
- Do not give any money before meeting the apartment owners. Paid viewing, advance payment to an agent and prepayment are all just trivial ways to scam you out of money.
- Conclude a contract only with the owner of the apartment. He must have a residence permit in his passport and proof of ownership.
- Type in Google the query “black list of landlords.” You will be shown a whole selection of sites with a list of unscrupulous landlords.
That's all. I hope you don't fall into the clutches of deceivers. And if you’ve already been there, tell us about your experience.
