Rental Scam - [email protected]

[AlanJones]

From: Michael B - [email protected]
Subject: Re: $800 Trendy One Bedroom in Ballard

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in my apartment, it is still available. I
will try to give you as many details as I can regarding the apartment
in the following email.

The full address of the apartment is 5803 24th Ave NW, Seattle,
WA 98107. Everything is just like in the pictures, fully equipped with all
the appliances you need, very clean and well kept. The apartment can be
rented furnished or if you want you can use your furniture and deposit
mine in the storage unit. I work as an civil engineer and the company
I work for has developed projects all around the world. Now, I have
received an very good offer from them to move to the United Kingdom
department, offer that I have accepted.

The apartment is vacant so you can move-in anytime you want, also my
contract in UK is for the next 6 years, so for this period, I will not
return 100%.

The rent of 800$/month is for the whole apartment and includes all the
utilities: heat, water, electricity, parking, laundry in-suite, washer
and dryer also included, cable and internet. You will have full access
to all building amenities. Just in case repairs are needed there, I
will cover the costs, so no worries. The price I'm asking is below the
market because I want to find a responsible tenant to take good care
of the place.

I'm the owner of the apartment, it's already paid in full and there is
no mortgage on it. You have everything you need near-by (public
transportation, schools, groceries etc.). Also I love pets, so if you
have any pets, I won't have any problem, pets are allowed. Honestly
from point of view I'm sure that You'll love it for sure and rent it
on spot.

I would like to know how many people will live in the apartment and
also which rental contract do you prefer to start with - 6 months or 1
year with option of renewal?

Please let me know if you are really interested in the place so we can
discuss further.

Thank you and look forward hearing from you!
Michael

PS: I attached you all the pictures that I have with the apartment (as
you can see everything is in absolutely perfect condition).

[AlanJones]

From: Michael B - [email protected]

Hi again,

First of all, I want to start this email saying that this is not the traditional face to face transaction, this being the whole purpose for using FlipKey new service for long distance transactions, to protect the both of us 100%. Now for security and for your peace of mind I had attached an copy of my PASSPORT to build up some confidence. Also please know that you will receive official documents from FlipKey also, before making the deposit to them.

Regarding the process, you will have to deposit to FlipKey the first month rent + last month rent, an total of 1200$ (600+600) so they can proceed with the shipping, and you can receive the rental package (keys and documents) so you can go and inspect the apartment. Please know that I will pay for all the fees that FlipKey will take (transaction and shipping fees).

Below I will explain you step by step how the transaction with the FlipKey new service works, to avoid any misunderstanding please READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

1 - To start the process all I need are your contact details: full name, mailing address (street, number, city and postal code), cell phone number, move-in date and lease agreement preferred (e.g. 6 months or 1 year rental contract with option of renewal). The lease agreement will be a standard one from the government.
2 - I will go to the FlipKey Property Management office to start the transaction and I will give them the apartment keys and necessary documents.
3 - FlipKey Property Management will check the ownership documents and lease agreement. They will also confirm that I'm the legal owner of the apartment I'm renting to you.
4 - FlipKey will send you a notification (via email) with the transaction details to inform you that they have the keys and the documents in their custody. Also they will send you all the transaction details, steps etc.
5 - At this point you need to send the amount of 1200$(1st month rent from the rental contract + last month rent) to the the FlipKey payment representative (lawyer escrow account) provided to you in the notification. THE PAYMENT NEEDS TO BE SENT WITHIN 24 BUSINESS HOURS AFTER YOU WILL RECEIVE THE TRANSACTION DETAILS OR ELSE THEY WILL CHARGE ME AN ADDITIONAL FEE.
6 - As soon as the payment is completed you need to send the payment details to FlipKey . (an receipt proving that you sent them the deposit).
7 - FlipKey will verify the payment and if everything is in order they will start the shipping procedures using UPS Next Day Shipping Service.
8 - You will receive the package (keys and lease agreement) and you will have 5 business days (inspection time) to check the place.
9 - If you decide to rent the apartment you just need to sign the lease agreement that FlipKey sends, email it to them and they will release the funds to me. If after the 5 days inspection you don`t want to keep the apartment you will receive a full payment refund.

PLEASE NOTE that FlipKey Property Management can NOT release the funds without your approval. You will have 5 days to inspect the apartment and decide if you want to rent it or not, in this time you will have full control of the payment. They can release the payment to me as a landlord just after they will receive the lease agreement with your signature.
ALSO THEY WILL SEND YOU OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS (LEASE AGREEMENT AND INVOICE) BEFORE MAKING THE DEPOSIT TO THEM.

Like I said, I used this service last month when I rented my apartment in London UK, everything went great, I felt 100% protected with them, so I hope this will work again for you and me in this transaction.

I ALSO NEED TO BE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS CLEAR FOR YOU SO PLEASE READ CAREFULLY ALL THE STEPS OF THE TRANSACTION BECAUSE I CAN NOT CHANGE THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS. ALSO I WILL PAY FOR THE TRANSACTION AND DELIVERY FEES AND JUST IN CASE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND I WILL NOT RECEIVE A REFUND FROM THEM!

Let me know if you have the funds available (1200$) so we can move forward. If you do have the funds available and agree with the transaction steps, please e-mail me your full information (full name and address and cell number) so we can get the transaction started.

If you have any further questions regarding the transaction please let me know.

Waiting your reply!

Thanks
Michael