Sunday, January 25, 2009

Rental Scams--- BEWARE!

Obviously, much of the focus of my blogs has to do with transactional Real Estate, often referred to as purchases and sales. This particular entry is "off topic" to the extent that it has to do with rentals; more specifically, a new rental scam that I found after a close family member of mine reported to me that he found an apartment in midtown Manhattan in a doorman building for $850 per month.

It's axiomatic that if it seems "too good to be true" it probably is. A rental in midtown for $850? Impossible! Correct!

As we looked into this particular possibility, my "skepticism antenna" went into high alert. I assumed it was some sort of a come-on, but it became much more.
 
Upon my relative's expressing preliminary interest in the apartment to the owner of the apartment via an online ad reply, the "landlord", who stated that they lived in the UK, replied that they were interested in finding tenants who would be the right fit for their precious condo.
Of course, they needed an "application fee" which, because they were in the UK, needeed to be wired to them.  This would have given them access to a bank account.

Next, it was revealed, that of course after the lucky tenant was selected, a routine credit check would have to be done. This would give them access to social security numbers.

Need I say more? Perfect...almost. I'm sure some have fallen prey to this scam; as a matter of fact, after some "googling" I discovered that these "UK" landlords were more likely from Nigeria where many of the internet scams seem to originate.

I also ran across a simpler type of rental scam where a Manhattan women was recently arrested and accused of offering apartments for $538-$823 per month for one and two bedroom apartments.  Her game was allegedly confined to  $5.00 application fees. Yet, when more than 1000 application fees came in,  she was busted.

Too good to be true?  You bet!

CLIENT NEWS:

Milena Govich, who we all enjoyed as she co-starred in Law & Order (the mothership)  has now guest starred in another role a bit less serious in some ways:

The USA network series PSYCH which aired first Friday 1/23 at 10:00pm EST/9:00pm CST.  The
episode is called "Earth, Wind, and ...Wait for it" and it will be re-airing
throughout the week in case you missed it on Friday.  As always, check your
local listings, but for night owls in the NYC area it will re-air:


Sunday 1/25 @ 11:00pm
Tuesday 1/27 @ 1:00am

Additionally, starting on Saturday, you can watch the episode online at

 http://www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/video/fullep/

Wow!.  Be on the lookout for another one of these little reminders later this
spring when Milena, as the infamous "Candy", the good-hearted hooker, returns to RESCUE ME!