I work for one of the largest rental listings platforms in the country, and spend my work days stopping fraudulent listings from being posted, banning the ones that make it through, and consoling people who send these fuckers money in spite of all warnings not to.
Does the rent seem too good to be true? Look the address up on Zillow. What’s the rent “Zestimate”? Is the advertised rent more than $50 less than that? BEWARE.
Is the landlord’s contact information embedded in the photos? BEWARE.
Does the listing insist that you not visit the unit, lest you disturb the current tenants? VISIT THE UNIT! The owners are going to get hold of the listing platform to report the fraud.
Does the landlord start texting you instead of communicating through the message function of the listing site? NO.
Does the landlord ask for a “holding deposit” or any other payment through Zelle, Venmo, etc. before even seeing the unit? DON’T.
Does the landlord claim to be out of town and will mail you the keys? DON’T.
You’re out of state and have not met the landlord or toured the unit? NO. YOU DON’T HAVE A UNIT.
Please. For the love of all that is sacred and profane, if a listing is looking AMAZING to you, contact the listing platform and ask them to research it.
I don’t care how awesome the deal seems to be. Protect yourself. Please don’t be the woman who wired a “landlord” 8 thousand goddamned dollars, then drove from 3 goddamned states away with all of her wordly possessions, only to find the house occupied by the people who had it built 40 years ago. We can’t give you back your money, we didn’t process your payment.
Please be paranoid about rental listings. It’s in your best interests.
