So, I’ve started looking for a new place, and I found a listing on Craigslist for an $800 two-bedroom apartment in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. Now, a studio apartment for that price, in that neighborhood, would be a bargain - I should have known this was a scam. But, I’m a sucker, so I emailed the guy. For your enjoyment and mockery, I attach his response below:
How common are scams like this? For real estate, I mean?
I work in a property management office and we get quite a few scam responses to our ads (obvious stilted language, people from overseas, offers to pay a year’s rent in advance, too much information about them, and questions that are answered in the ad). I haven’t seen so much the scam run from a ‘landlord’ perspective, but I’m not the least bit surprised. In Vancouver, I read about a scam a few years ago where the same good-priced rental was “rented” to multiple people, who all gave security deposits and rent, and then about seven sets of people showed up on the same day to move in… devastating for them.