I am looking 4 a place 2 rent & I found a house on the trulia rental app (on my husband's iPhone). The...?

[justlookin4friendsonly]

thing is, the landlord 1st put it up 4 sale as he says he's in Florida. He said in an e-mail that his wife convinced him 2 rent it. (The # he called me on said Texas, tho, I don't kno if that mite be cuz it's a cell?). I went 2 see the exterior 2day & the 4 sale sign is still up. I spoke 2 the landlord & he said he wanted me 2 e-mail him my address for him 2 mail me a rental application. Then if I send him a deposit of $800 (the rent is $1,300 including All utilities, for a 3 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms & it's 2 blocks from my child's school, $1,300 all included for that big a house is Cheap whea I live, tho.) He will take it off the market & mail me the keys by FedEx. I hesitated when I heard about mailing the keys by FedEx, I don't kno if this is a scam & I don't want sum1 getting & using my Social Security number, etc. & getting $800 & Not sending me the keys. And I don't even kno if there's security but before I could e-mail the landlord he sent me anotha e-mail saying he has 2 rent himself rite now cuz of sum problem with a real estate agent & that (if we were living there) he could come every 3 months 2 make sure the house is clean & neat & he would want me 2 take absolute care of the utilities which is why all utilities are included & also 2 maintain a proper relationship (as landlord/tenant). He said if he sees how good I'm taking care of his home he can extend our stay thea. I'm just thinking if he can come every 3 months afta I move in, Why can't he come Now 2 meet me, show me the house & handle the paperwork? His e-mails had a little broken English & so did his speech on the fone. I'm wondering if this is Too gud 2 be true, I Don't want to get scammed wen I Don't have 2 much money. He said in his last e-mail that I don't need 2 contact the real estate agency again, which I Neva have. Do you think this is a scam?

[acermill]

Forget this situation. It sounds like a scam. That being said, your English is no better than is the broken English of this 'landlord'.

[Frankie]

Sounds like a scam. They often pull that scam on vacant houses for sale. You definitely should contact the realtor listed on the sign to see if they are in fact the owner or not and verifying the information they told you. Telling you not to contact them is a major red flag. If he isn't the owner, you better put a stop payment on any payment you made right away. Then contact the police.

[teeny-tinycrow882]

Easy scam to run.
The person does not own the property. Never has. Never will.
You pay rent, you get a fake key, you try it, guess what.

Never dare get a place without doing a full walk through first.
You can even ask the owner for his ID.

Daily people fall for this scam on the internet.
Probably 1,000 times a day.

[rtfm]

Was his English any worse than yours?

If you really want to rent an apartment in the future, please keep in mind that most landlords will toss your application in the trash if you write the way you have here.

And as others have already pointed out, this is an obvious scam.

[A Hunch]

YES.
Remember the ONLY time text talk is appropriate is when you are 1. texting 2. instant messaging 3. tweeting.
You are writing a business note asking for professional advice = write like an adult!

[Sandra V]

Hi: This sound like a scam. First of all this person could be trying to rent a house that is not even his.
The fact that he is calling from a texas number is questionable, and how do you really know he is the land lord? You wrote that you went to see the exterior of the house, it appears to me that you did not see the inside of the house, and if he is the landlord, he suppose to meet you and show you the inside of the apartment. This situation have all the trappings of a scam. Beware of people who want you to pay them by FedEx these kind of scams are all over the internet. I am a landlord and I have never heard of anyone renting an apartment first without meeting the tenant and letting the tenant see the apartment. The reason he told you not to contact the real estate because it is possible that this person is trying to rent a house that is not his. I suggest you contact the real estate company and do not email this person your information or send him any money. You were right this sound to good to be true (this is a scam).

[Landlord]

This is the key scam. Very common. Call the real estate agent on the for sale sign if you are unsure. But I am 100% sure it is a scam. This is not the owner, he is not going to rent anything to you.

[Kittysue]

This is a scam if you have never seen the INTERIOR of the house

If a landlord was out of state they would NEVER rent to someone on craiglist. They would have a real estate agent handling the property

Since you have the address, file a police report so they can inform the real owners of the property that someone is using their address as part of a scam

There was a news report a few months ago where on the first of the month 10 different people all showed up at a property to move in. All had sent deposits and were promised keys that never were sent and they showed up at the property including one person with a locksmith. It turns out the real owners were not renting the home and had no idea why scammers had used their address to con people