Room for Rent and other rental scams
#283918 by Alex Mathew Mon Feb 08, 2016 7:01 pm
Just received this in Craigslist. SCAM! Very similar. from [email protected]

Thank you for getting back to me. If you are still interested me and my wife agreed to rent the apartment to you. I promise you that you will love the place. You seem to be a nice person and I can assure you we will not have any kind of problems in the place. Everything in the place is new and renovated but just in case repairs are needed I will cover the costs no worries.
Now I'm located in London, United Kingdom and I will stay here for the next 6 years. Obviously you will have to see the apartment before discussing further details because you cannot rent an apartment that you haven't seen. I am willing to send you the keys so you can visit it and see if it suits your needs.
The delivery for the keys (keys for the apartment and storage unit, key-card access for parking and apartment door.) and lease agreement (signed by me), will be made through a worldwide third party company called OwnersDirect (http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk) to make sure that we can trust each other.

You will only have to deposit to OwnersDirect a total of 1300CAD that will represent 1st month of rent from contract +damage deposit(refundable in the last month of rent from contract). You don't need to open an account with OwnersDirect because this transaction is a rental and the Landlord (Owner) must open the transaction.

Here is the procedure explained:


1 - To start the process all I need is your complete information(full name, shipping address and a cell phone number where you can be reached)
2 - I will go at OwnersDirect to deposit the keys and the lease agreement on your name as the intended receiver.
3 - OwnersDirect will check the package to see if everything is in order and also the legal papers that will come along with the keys and proof of ownership with their Real Estate Professional Department in London. They will also confirm with the building management that I'm the legal owner of the apartment I'm renting to you.
4 - OwnersDirect will send you a notification through email to let you know they have the keys and the papers in their custody. They will also send you all the payment information to complete the rental transaction.
5 - At this point you will have to make a money deposit on the OwnersDirect payments representative for the amount we agreed, the total amount you shall deposit for the first month of rent and damage deposit (1300CAD). The payment needs to be sent within 24 hours after you receive the transaction details or else they will charge me an additional fee.
6 - After you make the deposit you will have to send the payment details to OwnersDirect.
7 - OwnersDirect will verify the transfer and if everything is in order they will start the delivery through licensed shipping company such as DHL or UPS. The delivery will take 3 business days.
8 - After you receive the package, you will go and check the apartment and in 5 business days (inspection time) you must contact OwnersDirect to inform them if you keep the apt or not. So if you decide to move-in the apartment you will notify OwnersDirect so they can send the payment on my name. If you don`t like the apartment the pamyent will be full refunded to you. OwnersDirect can NOT release the funds without your approval. Also the inspection time of 5 days will start from the moment you will be at the building.

Using OwnersDirect involves three parties: me as owner, you as a potential tenant and OwnersDirect as a responsible third party authorized to handle this transaction. OwnersDirect works the same way as the escrow account on which you place the deposit when you rent an apartment, except that instead of a bank, we use OwnersDirect. Of course, nobody can take that money until you will sign the lease agreement.

You need to know everything about the process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us. If you have any other questions you can reach me any time at: 44 020 3239 5827 (if you are calling from Canada or United States you need to dial 011-44-20-3239-5827) or you can email me and I will respond ASAP.

Let me know if you have the funds available (1300CAD$) so we can move forward and e-mail me your full information I requested.

Thanks
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