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Topic starter
I know it's been said before but it's worth saying again for the benefit of those moving down here, but in the last two weeks the scammers have been running rampant on the craigslist rental column. Just be careful! Even though you may not see the obvious scams just by reading the ad you'll quickly figure them out when the reply consists of a "rental application" and a long story about this person being transferred to somewhere else in the world and just wanting someone to take good care of their place which they love so much.
Obvious scams? First if the price of a luxury place is something like $600/month with all utilities and cable and internet included, it's probably a scam. Photographs of places showing ornate furniture and chandeliers are usually scam. "Hydro" and "heating" included are dead giveaways, plus of course "easy access to highways, schools, parks and the metro". Sometimes they'll even give a local address and tell you thqt you can drive by and take a look from the outside but if you google that address you'll find it's a genuine address but a real estate listing at 3X the price the scammer has advertised.
There are plenty of "real" ads on craigslist. Just be careful.
Posted : July 8, 2012 7:08 pm
i think i found one. it has heat and an elevator.
Posted : July 8, 2012 8:55 pm
another one that says heat and hydro included
Posted : July 8, 2012 8:56 pm
Topic starter
speedy, if you see obvious ones then flag them and they do get removed. I often see them for STX but don't often tag them as I'm not as familiar with that market as I am with the STT/STJ market. The more people who tag them the quicker they're removed and the less likelihood of someone being suckered in enough to send money! Sometimes when I'm not absolutely sure I send an email (via an anonymous email address) for information and the responses would be funny if they weren't solely designed to fleece people. Have fun!
Posted : July 8, 2012 9:07 pm
cool, will do. thanks
Posted : July 8, 2012 9:18 pm
interesting, i went back and only saw one
Posted : July 8, 2012 9:22 pm
Topic starter
I flagged a bunch today so the process is working!
Posted : July 8, 2012 9:23 pm
Actually our house was once listed by someone else as a scam. This was in Florida, but I was looking to move and searched for houses in our town and up pops my own house! Total shock. All I could do was report it.
Posted : July 8, 2012 10:10 pm