Pilsen rental scam? Can't talk to landlord? (Chicago: subletting, renters)

[crackerjack123]

I was on craigslist recently, and I was talking to someone who is offering a bedroom in a loft. The person is an artist and claimed I can't talk to the landlord for the following:

Does this sound legit?

oh.. ok
sorry that's not possible.
we have a company that has policy to not
share that information.

there is a non-profit company in affiliation
with the storefront and the arrangement needs to
be this way because of past
difficulty with gentrification
and how that impacts artists
being able to pay rent and survive
in neighborhoods that we've built
and renovated..

[jgardener]

I would immediately walk the other way and go find another place to live. It may not be a scam exactly, but they are clearly trying to conceal something from you. Maybe the landlord has a limit on the number of people who can live in the unit and the renters don't want him/her to know? Maybe the renters are asking for a larger portion of the rent from you to help subsidize their own rent and don't want you in contact with the landlord, so you can't find out the total rent? They also might be squatters or it could be that the roommate or roommates with their name(s) on the lease had already moved out and the people still there don't want to get evicted. Maybe the landlord might raise the rent or tack on a fee if there is an extra person living there? It might just be that the landlord is really difficult to deal with or most likely, their landlord is Podmajersky.

//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...on-pilsen.html

Podmajersky Inc - Pilsen - Chicago, IL

[crackerjack123]

Originally Posted by jgardener

I would immediately walk the other way and go find another place to live. It may not be a scam exactly, but they are clearly trying to conceal something from you. Maybe the landlord has a limit on the number of people who can live in the unit and the renters don't want him/her to know? Maybe the renters are asking for a larger portion of the rent from you to help subsidize their own rent and don't want you in contact with the landlord, so you can't find out the total rent? They also might be squatters or it could be that the roommate or roommates with their name(s) on the lease had already moved out and the people still there don't want to get evicted. Maybe the landlord might raise the rent or tack on a fee if there is an extra person living there? It might just be that the landlord is really difficult to deal with or most likely, their landlord is Podmajersky.

Thanks for the links. Possible it's this Podmajersky individual.

The rent is relatively affordable. 425 a month w/ utils included. Awesome deal. It's a two bedroom. It would appear that the person living in the loft has lived there for about 10 years. The loft is on 18th street near the corner of Jefferson St. and 18th St.. It's possible that the landlord is this Podmajersky person. She wanted me to electronically send her the security deposit, which I was not cool with. I want to see some form of paperwork.

Yes, the deal seems sketchy. But if she has a key to the place and can open the door, I'll have that much faith. Something seems fishy and off the books, and seeing as Chicago is not New York city with key purchases, I don't see the full reason for the person being sketchy. If the person purchased a 1br but turning it into a 2br without the landlord knowing, I could care less. It's affordable.

[Caldus]

If I saw that response I would walk away in a heartbeat. Sounds really fishy and scammy to me. Stay far away. There are certainly more than enough scammers these days. If they really are scamming then I really hope they get caught by the police or punished in some other way. I envy people who don't make an honest living and try to scam others all day long.

[MannheimMadman]

Let's say that this is all hush hush...what recourse do you have in a bad situation without a legally binding agreement on paper? What if the locks suddenly get changed on you, or something crazy like that?

[emathias]

Originally Posted by crackerjack123

I was on craigslist recently, and I was talking to someone who is offering a bedroom in a loft. The person is an artist and claimed I can't talk to the landlord for the following:

Does this sound legit?

If it's just a case of them not wanting the landlord to know for some reason then simply ask to see their lease and if their lease doesn't prohibit them from subletting, then demand a written subletter's lease. It's still a little risky, but at least then you'd have paperwork and proves you had an agreement and that you made a good-faith effort to not break any binding agreements.

[Dport7674]

Originally Posted by crackerjack123

She wanted me to electronically send her the security deposit, which I was not cool with.

Run away.