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Well, all three links in the OP have been "flagged for removal"...
Oh, that reminds me. I forgot to mention that the only way we could get our home taken off craigslist as a fake rental was to ask several friends to go to the ad and flag it for removal. If CL gets enough flags (exact number criteria unknown), the ad will automatically be taken down.
This happened to us when we were selling our last home!
A scammer goes to the MLS, copies photos of your home for sale, takes a bit of the description, then goes to Craigslist and posts your home for rent at and outstanding price. You contact him regarding the rental and he replies that he and his wife are out of town, but you can begin the rental process by filling out attached paperwork. The paperwork asks for your full name, SSN, address, and all other important information. He also asks for one month's rent to hold the rental for you until he returns. We did not realize that this was happening on our home until a lady showed up at the door one night asking if she could see the rental. We were blown away. We had No idea that our house had been listed on Clist. Then, more and more people came by just to see if the house was legitimately for rent. I asked a couple of them to email me the correspondence they'd had with the scammer. They had all received the same email. Luckily, no one that came by had actually given the scammer any information. I would assume others did, though.
Something like this was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the thread, that they were looking for houses listed for sale.
This is my BIGGEST fear. I am still trying to figure out what the best way to go about finding a rental home. I definately do not want to rent an apartment just to find a house. I found a few nice communities in the Northwest not to far from Harrisburg, but I wandering if I should use a realty company, or trust a private owner. We were burned right in my local city. My gut told me something was wrong, but I didn't listen to it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anifani821
There have been real scams where folks thought they were signing a legit contract, sending money and getting a key for a rental, showed up with their U-Haul, only to find that the home was not the "Landlord's" to rent at all. Big scam.
I have no idea if this is happening in the Charlotte area, but I have seen national reports by legitimate news outlets about this happening in various places across the country.
Just be careful when doing business long distance.
Houses under $800 that are legit, won't even be in Mecklenburg county.
I'd be very skepical of any house listed under $900 inside the 485 ring. It's likely to be in poor condition, in a crime ridden neighborhood, or front a busy road. Even $900 is kind of marginal. I'd say it usually takes $1000 a month to get a nice condition house in a quiet and convenient area. $1400 a month to get into the school districts in the south end of the city.
This is my BIGGEST fear. I am still trying to figure out what the best way to go about finding a rental home. I definately do not want to rent an apartment just to find a house. I found a few nice communities in the Northwest not to far from Harrisburg, but I wandering if I should use a realty company, or trust a private owner. We were burned right in my local city. My gut told me something was wrong, but I didn't listen to it.
Just stay away from Craigslist when looking for a rental. Use Hotpads or Zillow then make sure you actually meet the owner in person when you're interested in something. You don't have to pay to list a house for rent on Craigslist, so that's where the scammers go to post bogus rentals.
Just stay away from Craigslist when looking for a rental. Use Hotpads or Zillow then make sure you actually meet the owner in person when you're interested in something. You don't have to pay to list a house for rent on Craigslist, so that's where the scammers go to post bogus rentals.
Actually Hotpads is just as bad as craigslist.
Diamondgirl, I would just use a realtor or make a visit and tour inside if using Hot Pads or Craigslist and check out property real estate lookup on charmeck.org. I got my last two rentals from craigslist and just ensured the person I spoke with is the actual owner. And if anyone says, "I am out of town/Tenant is still there etc, just drive by and look in the windows..." Run.
Thank you everyone who responded. My first instinct was that these add's were fake, but I figured I would ask; Phoenix does have some single family homes for rent at that price point, however they are usually not in very nice or safe neighborhoods.
I actually have gotten in contact with a local realtor who specializes in rental properties and I will definitely not be renting anything from craigslist at this point.
Stay away from anything on Sylvania or Plymouth Ave in Charlotte. NOT a good area of town. There are a couple of really nice houses in the neighborhood, but the neighborhood is not where you want to be if you want to keep your belongings.
As far as some criteria that equals scam for a few of you, don't be so sure. I recently put a house on CL and didn't list an address. I was putting out a feeler because the house was still occupied and would not be ready until November. We did list our business phone number so if anyone called they could get info and an address.
As far as flagging posts, people do that all the time to get other people's posts removed. Call it gaming the system for an advantage. I know people who do it and I don't agree with it, but there is nothing that can be done about it.
Price....under $900 can be had inside the loop. Not everyone is asking super top dollar for houses. We don't ask top dollar because we don't supply top-dollar finishes. The houses aren't bad at all, they just don't have stainless and granite and all of the other things some people see as a necessity.
I did have good luck using craigslist and I will tell you that I was lucky - But I cannot forget the other experiences that get filed in lessons learned book. Do your due diligence but its better to stay away from craigslist and hotpads - scams are abundant.
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