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Hey all got a question. I have a family member in New York City that wants to a rent an apartment with a friend and thus rent a small 2 bedroom apartment. The location is in Manhattan. The thing is they told me the realtor was going to meet them up but when they called, they said they were busy. This was twice. However, they told me they did give them the pin number or what not to open the door to the building. That apartment however, is basically open the whole time so anyone that is interested could sort of look inside it etc. They told me that they paid a small security deposit so they could lock the place. It was a bit under 700 dollars and they said they did it in a money order and it was to x company etc. They already paid this. They said now the realtor wants their information for a credit check and want them to submit the information to the closingdocs. I checked online and apparently its a tool for the landlord to check someones credit before they approve or deny someone.
They said they only giving them a few days to submit that information in... otherwise... they would keep the deposit. First off, is this normal? They said that after they submit the information, if they approve of it, then they have to pay the first month deposit and security etc which is a good amount of money. If its denied, they get back that small deposit. The thing here is they told me they spoke to this person on the phone and earlier they barely answered phone calls. But after they paid the small deposit, they do answer the phone call. They said if they are approved, they would have to pay by money order or check and to bring it to the actual office. I googled the name of the company and its definitely seems real as its on yelp reviews. The problem though is very bad reviews about this company... said its one of the worst and they don't fix issues etc.
So based on this, is there a chance this is a scam or not possible? They paid by money order and the money order is the name of that company. It isn't to a person. So based on that, does that mean its legit? The website looks legit but again, it could be fake and the person on the phone could be not that person on the site. Because i recall money order is as good as cash. But if you write it to x company, well that person can't take the money right? They told me they have to submit the financial information tomorrow to that realtor... otherwise they take that small deposit. The thing is they require social security number and all the income financial information... but is that normal? I believe it is but not sure 100 percent because could it be identify fraud? However, the thing is... i mean you have to see that realtor in person right before you pay them or submit information... do you all agree on this? I'm shocked that they paid a money order to that person/company without actually meeting them in person. hey also said if they are approved, they have to pay the deposit and rent and bring it to that company's office at x location. So if that location is that company name, then its legit right? Again with me if i did this, i definitely would need to meet his agent.
Your family member handed over $700 in money order to some rando? How long have they been living in NYC? How do they have any money NOT stolen from them? They shouldn't be allowed to wander around unsupervised.
How do they even know that the realtor has a connection to the actual owner of the building? Anyone can make up a company.
We been in New York City for a long time. The thing is one of our family members want to move to their own apartment. So they checked online and looked for apartments. That realtor didn't even respond much at all until they paid the deposit to hold the apartment.
The thing is, is it even normal to not the realtor at all? I never heard of anything like this.
This is what they tell me. They had them buy a money order and it was for x company. They called to meet up the realtor... the realtor mentioned they were busy and said go to this office and slip the money order under the door etc. They said that place is that company because it does have the name of it at that location so we are positive that is legit. So now they have to fill in the information at www.closingdocs.com. There is also a fee for this. They said if they are approved, then they pay deposit and 1st month. After this, they would go to that apartment building and get the keys from the super. So they do not meet the realtor at all. Have anyone heard of anything like this? The other thing they said was if application is not approved, they get back their deposit. But the thing is this. When i googled yelp and this person, i saw lot of negative reviews where they said this realtor doesn't even contact them back after they gave them the deposits.
So this is what i want to know. If they write a check for the security deposit and 1st month which is a lot of money for them, and the check goes out to x company. I will just make up a name and let say its called Joe Reality Management. If you write the check to joe reality management, only joe reality management can cash it right? Thus only the legit real company? I thought what if someone's company was like joe reality management company. Could they just add the last word company and now cash it themselves? You say anyone can make up a company... but doesn't that company have to be that name though in order to cash it?
The other thing that is concerning is reading the yelp reviews, lot of ppl say this company is very bad.
Also someone mentioned how they don't even response to you after you pay the deposits. Can someone explain why would any realtor do this? They take your money and don't reply back? Couldn't you just go to their office and demand to talk to them etc?
Does anyone here think its possible though this is a scam where that realtor is not even that person? That person did not meet them one time. First time they said they can't make it but here is the number to buzz in to get in building. The next time they said they were busy.
We been in NYC for a long time. They wrote a money order and was told to go to the office and drop the money order at that location. But because the office was closed that day, they slipped the money order in. After that, when you visit the website, it does say that apartment is in contract.
The thing is the name of that company is a real company name if you check it out on yelp. But reviews are horrible but its about not fixing things etc, i didn't read any scam.
But could they cash in the check though? Because it was paid to x company. And that x company if you google it is a legit company though horrible reviews. I read it was one of the worst in New York City. I know if you give someone a blank money order, well they could just cash it. But if you type in x company, then doesn't it have to be that company in order to cash it or not? Example let say company is called
We been in New York City for a long time. The thing is one of our family members want to move to their own apartment. So they checked online and looked for apartments. That realtor didn't even respond much at all until they paid the deposit to hold the apartment.
The thing is, is it even normal to not the realtor at all? I never heard of anything like this.
This is what they tell me. They had them buy a money order and it was for x company. They called to meet up the realtor... the realtor mentioned they were busy and said go to this office and slip the money order under the door etc. They said that place is that company because it does have the name of it at that location so we are positive that is legit. So now they have to fill in the information at www.closingdocs.com. There is also a fee for this. They said if they are approved, then they pay deposit and 1st month. After this, they would go to that apartment building and get the keys from the super. So they do not meet the realtor at all. Have anyone heard of anything like this? The other thing they said was if application is not approved, they get back their deposit. But the thing is this. When i googled yelp and this person, i saw lot of negative reviews where they said this realtor doesn't even contact them back after they gave them the deposits.
So this is what i want to know. If they write a check for the security deposit and 1st month which is a lot of money for them, and the check goes out to x company. I will just make up a name and let say its called Joe Reality Management. If you write the check to joe reality management, only joe reality management can cash it right? Thus only the legit real company? I thought what if someone's company was like joe reality management company. Could they just add the last word company and now cash it themselves? You say anyone can make up a company... but doesn't that company have to be that name though in order to cash it?
The other thing that is concerning is reading the yelp reviews, lot of ppl say this company is very bad.
Also someone mentioned how they don't even response to you after you pay the deposits. Can someone explain why would any realtor do this? They take your money and don't reply back? Couldn't you just go to their office and demand to talk to them etc?
Does anyone here think its possible though this is a scam where that realtor is not even that person? That person did not meet them one time. First time they said they can't make it but here is the number to buzz in to get in building. The next time they said they were busy.
This happens more often in the UK. It's harder to do here. But any person can setup an S-corp or an LLC it's not that complicated. And say they are licensed to do real estate when they are really not. So they can setup Joe corporation and cash the check. As to whether they can get caught or not it depends on how much effort they put into keeping these scams low volume and low dollar amounts.
There are City, State and Federal thresholds to pursue. Often the city does nothing. I am not sure when the NY State AG would get involved if the total amount robbed and reported exceeds maybe $100k. It probably becomes a federal issue at $500k-$1M and it would have to be traceable from the same group. If the guys are smart they will shut down Joe corp after 5 days setup another under a new fake S.S. # etc.
There are many ways to do this scam most of it revolves around non-U.S. citizens with Social Security numbers generated and no intention of staying here long term. There are a lot of foreigners running real estate rackets plenty of room to use cloak and dagger techniques in this market.
Ask a lot of questions. Scammers don't like questions. If they are too busy to answer questions they won't be getting any of my money. Always research a company before you give $$$.
Hi there would like a response on this as i found out more information.
So they went to the apartment building to ask the people in that building to take a look to see if anyone there know of that realtor. They met a person who said they know about that realtor. Then they met the super who works there... the super told them yes that person does do the rentals here. Also they asked why that person never responds or takes a while to respond and the super told them that realtor is very busy and that is the reason. They also asked another person in the building who they paid the rent to and that person said yes that is the person they write the check to every month for the rent. Also the super gave them the phone number they have for that realtor and it was the same one they used to contact the realtor.
So based on this information, does this mean its pretty much close to 100% legit then? Because one assumption i had was maybe that person is very busy and the super mentioned that was the reason.
But could they cash in the check though? Because it was paid to x company. And that x company if you google it is a legit company though horrible reviews. I read it was one of the worst in New York City. I know if you give someone a blank money order, well they could just cash it. But if you type in x company, then doesn't it have to be that company in order to cash it or not? Example let say company is called
There is a substance available that allows you to erase the payee and the amounts on a check. People steal mail from the mailbox and then write the checks out to themselves.
Hi there would like a response on this as i found out more information.
So they went to the apartment building to ask the people in that building to take a look to see if anyone there know of that realtor. They met a person who said they know about that realtor. Then they met the super who works there... the super told them yes that person does do the rentals here. Also they asked why that person never responds or takes a while to respond and the super told them that realtor is very busy and that is the reason. They also asked another person in the building who they paid the rent to and that person said yes that is the person they write the check to every month for the rent. Also the super gave them the phone number they have for that realtor and it was the same one they used to contact the realtor.
So based on this information, does this mean its pretty much close to 100% legit then? Because one assumption i had was maybe that person is very busy and the super mentioned that was the reason.
Does the realtor have a web presence? Is he/she an independent realtor or the exclusive realtor for this property? Did you try to call the company that the checks are written to and ask them whether you need to go through a realtor or not?
No way would I ever give someone $700 before getting a credit check done. Unfortunately, there are so many scams out there. In this case, you don't know if the super is in on it or getting kickbacks.
Hopefully it's legit but I would get third-party notification. Call the company that the checks are written to, look up the property ownership information in ACRIS (just search for that word and it will come up), do everything and anything you can to get external verification from multiple sources.
I learned the hard way that you don't necessarily need a realtor. It's a lot of work without one, though, and I feel like the realtor who found my last apartment had an inside track to the apartment I ended up getting. BUT I could have rented directly through the management company...if I knew then what I know now.
I also met a realtor at a property...they had me pay an application fee/credit check fee. They were acting weird, though, so I wrote down the phone number of the property management company that was listed on the building. I called the next day and gave the name of the people I had spoken to and they were like, "we have no idea who that is". So I was out $25, but that was it. The funniest thing is that they kept calling me, saying they could come to my job to have me sign the lease "to make it easier for me".
Does the realtor have a web presence? Is he/she an independent realtor or the exclusive realtor for this property? Did you try to call the company that the checks are written to and ask them whether you need to go through a realtor or not?
No way would I ever give someone $700 before getting a credit check done. Unfortunately, there are so many scams out there. In this case, you don't know if the super is in on it or getting kickbacks.
Hopefully it's legit but I would get third-party notification. Call the company that the checks are written to, look up the property ownership information in ACRIS (just search for that word and it will come up), do everything and anything you can to get external verification from multiple sources.
I learned the hard way that you don't necessarily need a realtor. It's a lot of work without one, though, and I feel like the realtor who found my last apartment had an inside track to the apartment I ended up getting. BUT I could have rented directly through the management company...if I knew then what I know now.
I also met a realtor at a property...they had me pay an application fee/credit check fee. They were acting weird, though, so I wrote down the phone number of the property management company that was listed on the building. I called the next day and gave the name of the people I had spoken to and they were like, "we have no idea who that is". So I was out $25, but that was it. The funniest thing is that they kept calling me, saying they could come to my job to have me sign the lease "to make it easier for me".
Yes they have a web presence. I believe its from a company that has lot of realtors. They did not call that company.
Well they found apartment by looking online and then finding the information. They did read that this realtor didn't respond much etc but the apartment looked good etc.
I find it very hard to believe the super would be in it on it. Remember they went there just to check it out and then asked the super questions. The super gave them the phone number of that realtor just to see if it matches the one he has and it was the same. Also they saw a person in the building and spoke to them and that person has been living in that building for many many years and said yes that is the name of the person they write check to for the rent. So isn't that pretty much legit then?
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