by Michelle
Tue Feb 02, 2016 5:44 am
From: Hannah Johnson <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 4:30 AM
Subject: Modern apartment for rent in Friedrichshain
To: Michelle Banks
Good evening,
I received your email of interest for my apartment located on: Grünberger 77, 10245 Friedrichshain, Berlin.
The apartment is fully furnished, equipped and renovated. I have the option of sending all my furniture into storage if you want to bring your own.
I am the owner of the apartment. My daughter lived there during her studies in Berlin, but now she's back home permanently (in England), so I'm renting the place for unlimited time.
The rent for 1 month is 500 € ( for the entire apartment ) including all utilities ( water, gas, electricity-heating, WIFI ).
The security deposit is 1000 € and you get it back when you decide to leave the apartment ( you will have to give me at least 1 month notice ).
I want to rent the apartment in legal condition, so I want to sign a contract from a notarial office or a real estate agency, also you can be registered on the apartment's address without any problem.
This is the second time when I try to rent my apartment, I had a "deal" with a "nice couple" before, who said that they will definitely rent the apartment and convinced me to come over to Berlin. So I got a plane ticket and they didn't show up. I lost money and precious time on their promise.
So don't get me wrong and don't take it personally, but now I don't want to buy another plane ticket to come and fall for it once more.
To come again you will have to show me a proof of your seriousness in renting my apartment, I do not need any advance payment sent to me until you see the apartment, documentation and decide to rent it.
But I will need to have some kind of warranty, of course. We can set up an appointment to see the apartment this weekend.
Kindly let me know if you are really interested in renting my apartment so that we can proceed further.
Sincerely,
Hannah
This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union, MoneyGram, pre-paid credit card or bank transfer with a promise that you can have the keys to a property that does not belong to him.
Sounds safe. It's not!
At other times, he will ask for proof that you are able to pay the deposit and rent due to a string of time wasters.
This proof is in the form of a Western Union or MoneyGram payment to a lawyer,a friend or family member.
In either case, if payment is made and you give this person the details, they will collect the money.
You will not hear from them again.
All the details such as names, addresses, pictures etc. that the scammer uses in order to back up his story, are stolen from elsewhere.
If you are reading this because you are looking for property to rent, and you are in contact with this thief you are probably searching Craigslist, Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment before viewing, then it will also be a scam. Please forward the mail to me at the address in my signature line and I will investigate and list them if necessary.
