Is this Craiglist ad legit or a scam? Please help me decide.
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Go See It. He sounds like he might be legit and just not know what he's doing. A money order might be the only way he sees to make sure that he gets paid, while a cashiers check is just as safe.
If you are going to be living there, the owner (or leasing agent/ prop manager) is going to want you to be on the lease. If he isn't letting you talk to them, that sounds shady.
If you are going to be living there, the owner (or leasing agent/ prop manager) is going to want you to be on the lease. If he isn't letting you talk to them, that sounds shady.
Given the absurdly high rents in the area, that sounds like whats going on. You see LOTS of situations like that advertised on CL in LA. People will put two in the bedroom and one in part of the living room of a one bedroom apt because its about all they can afford.
So he is willing to let me come see the place and accept a check in person. I also asked for the real estate companies number but he is not comfortabe giving it out but he is willing to let me call a "tenant"
for reference. There's too many unanswered questions here and I honestly don't feel comfortable going to see the place now since he seems so sketchy. I'm definitely leaning towards scam now
He doesn't want to give you access to his LL (the property management co) because he's not allowed to sublet a room, according to the terms of his lease. So go drive and see the place, don't give a deposit, and pay him by the week, because there's no way you can have a legal lease on the place.
So he is willing to let me come see the place and accept a check in person. I also asked for the real estate companies number but he is not comfortabe giving it out but he is willing to let me call a "tenant"
for reference. There's too many unanswered questions here and I honestly don't feel comfortable going to see the place now since he seems so sketchy. I'm definitely leaning towards scam now
He may be reluctant to give out the RE company info because he is not really the tenant (i.e., he's a friend crashing on somebody's couch who's trying to make money running a scam pretending the apt is his). I wouldn't give this guy any money. There is a service (westsiderentals.com) you can subscribe to for a modest amount that has LEGITIMATE listings -- my daughter lives in LA and used them.
In Florida you can check a drivers license but all you can see if it is a valid one or if it is suspended but you can't verify who it belongs to.
Having said this, the OP may end up with a legitimate owner but a slumlord like I described since all the ones I described started out as slumlords or owners who dealt with bad deals and than hired us to clean up the mess and when it is solved and good for some years their slummyness (that's a word we made up.lol) comes to the surface.
Saving money on rent can be an expensive one...so be warned and careful.
I don't think anyone is disputing who owns the building, or who manages its, it is about the legitimacy of sub renting a room.
OP, did you check the B&H real estate management company I linked? Their phone number is listed there.
Called a few times, couldn't get them to answer the phone unfortunately.
Quote:
Originally Posted by parentologist
He doesn't want to give you access to his LL (the property management co) because he's not allowed to sublet a room, according to the terms of his lease. So go drive and see the place, don't give a deposit, and pay him by the week, because there's no way you can have a legal lease on the place.
Thanks for the advice! I think I'm going to take a roadtrip tomorrow and check out a few other places. We'll see what happens.
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