Submitted by No-Philosophy-6530 t3_11e6dug in washingtondc
I have found a apartment in my budget and near work, but if I search for those apartments online, the photos this person is sending me, are the exact same ones in the page of the apartments, plus the rent is below what the page says and not that much of deposit, it feels like a scam right?
It's a scam. Call the apartment building/manager itself and ask if they are renting. I checked into a similar situation once for a friend, and discovered that the scammer was trying to rent out some unknowing person's apartment - she had no idea!
Where did you connect with this person?
he contact me on facebook market
Critical evidence of a scam right here
That is a scam. Scammers "scrape" real photos from actual rental or sale listings and then post them on craigslist of FB marketplace at below normal rents. Do NOT give these people any money. We have a lot of people that move to the DC Metro from other areas and have to rent/purchase sight unseen so it's a common scam in this area. Word of caution - if it sounds too good to be true it is a scam. Another word of caution - if they say they are out of the area, or on a "mission", or they will mail you keys, or drive by and look in the window, or any other thing that is weird, it's a scam.
You may consider reaching out to a local Realtor to help you with your search.
thank you! yes my gut says that so better safe than loosing that money
Best of luck with your move and welcome to DC!
Probably
Yep
What is your budget? Take a month or two in coliving or a group home and find something when you are here. Spend any free time walking neighborhoods you feel safe in and look for for rent signs. Talk to people you meet.
maximum $1500 + utilities, I’m thinking booking airbnb or 4stay while I look for something
That’s worth it tbh. I rented out a room in an Airbnb and in 4 days you’ll have plenty of time to line up apartment tours and pick something
You can totally afford a coliving or Airbnb that’s a good plan!
Hecht Warehouse in Ivy City you can find a studio for 1500-1600 when available. You can use Warren as a referral 😁
Have you seen it in person?
no, I’m not at DC atm, so I told this person that I’ll wait to be there and look at the apartment in person and then he insisted on making the deposit and if I didn’t like it he will return it to me, I don’t know, my gut says its a scam and if not, something worse
Classic scam, don't even think about doing business with someone who wants a deposit before you sign a lease. You will never see that money again.
Definitely a scam. Do not give this person your money.
Did he ask for the deposit in gift cards?!
Don’t let people rush you. There are apartments all over the city. Rushing is a classic sign of a scam
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This is real simple, use a reputable realtor for apartments in this area. Stay away from ads online, and then you don't have to create an account to ask stupid questions on Reddit.
This is bs there really are good deals out there...but you have to go see the place in person ffs.
Even then, I’ve heard of scammers picking up the key for a self-tour, posing as the landlord, and turning around to accept applications. Hard to suss that out, even in person!
That seems like a much lower percentage. Scams are numbers and doing it all online is way easier, not to mention the very low numbers of places one could even accomplish that, but yea, people gonna peep.
True. Just pointing out that one needs to keep the shit-sniffer running 24/7, no matter how safe the circumstances seem. It is not uncommon for even the largest, most established property managers to accept multiple non-refundable app fees even though they really only consider one app!
Yea, application fees should really only cover a background check (which is pretty cheap).
yes! thats what I told this person that I’ll wait to make a decision once I look at it.
The safest best for someone that has to ask such a question on Reddit is a realtor. Plain and simple.
ekkidee t1_jacm0s0 wrote
My Spidey-sense is tingling.