Rent scams

[oregonwoodsmoke]

OP, get out the phone book (which is on-line) and look up rental management companies. Contact them. If they are listed in the phone book, they are very unlikely to be scammers.

You can check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there have been complaints against them.

That won;t guarantee you a lovely place to live, but at least it will save you from ending money to a trickster that doesn't even have an apartment available.

[Lacerta]

Originally Posted by SoLastYear

Hi there!

I'm moving to US (NYC) in September and I'm worried about scams (on Craigslist etc) since I'm currently in Europe and I'll have to find something online for my wife and myself, probably for longer period since I'm opening a business there.

And what about credit check? I will be having a decent amount of money (some in cash some on a bank acc) but I don't have a credit history in US. Could I use data from my bank in Europe...?

Any advice?

Thank you in advance!

I have to agree with Mr Rational here. If I received an email inquiring about our rentals that said what you've said here, it would immediately be deleted as a scam, as what you've said here is EXACTLY what scammers say. They are all coming from Europe with their families, bringing in a large amount of cash and looking to rent something long term. Even if you aren't a scammer, you will LOOK like a scammer to landlords. So fair warning about that.

I fully agree that you should hire a real estate agent/rental agent in this case, or you will have a very difficult time even getting landlords to talk to you.

[spankys bbq]

Lacerta is exactly right. I get emails on a daily basis about people who are moving from Europe and Africa, have a bunch of cash, etc. I click the delete button without even reading any further. A real estate agent is definitely going to be your best bet.

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think I read an article recently stating that the average rent in NYC is now at or just above $3000 USD per month.

[Kim in FL]

If the OP really had a business plan...he wouldn't be posting here online asking rental questions. He would've been back and forth and already had a place secured. He's also already have his documents secured and not 'working on it'.

You can't just show up in a country and decide to open a business...it just doesn't work that way.