by Andy12
Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:50 pm
I have got two offers for renting a room.
From [email protected] (CHEONG SOW LIN, Singapore, female, 53)
and [email protected] (Jenny Gordon, UK, female, 28)
Similarities that in total looked very fishy:
1. Room available immediately. Tenant was contacting me myself and was always insisting on reply ASAP. They often reminded me that I can move in right away.
2. Owner is outside the country. Either visiting sick mom or having a new work assignment - both were in UK.
3. There no one at apartment now, just empty. While there several rooms available for renting - different prices and options. Isn't it suspicious that an owner left very nice apartment without letting at least one room to someone whom he met personally?
4. Tenant is full of willingness to accept all my requests: shorten period to one month, lower a deposit amount, accepting my boyfriend to stay, stop charging me while I will be outside of the country.
5. Offer looks very attractive: nice photos, central location, quite low price - payment only for the 1st month + deposit for another month were required.
6. And there is no one in the town who can show a room before you pay her. Not even her lawyer has it. The keys are supposed to be get from DHL office after presentation them with reference number, which I can get only after payment. In another case it letter of authorization was proposed to be given, which I should show to residence management and after that get the keys from them.
7. Contract they sent to me looked strange: it had simple pictures of seal, picture of signs of a tenant and a lower "in the presence" of whom this contract was concluded. I was asked to put my sign here also - I suppose a picture - and send it back. I googled for name of lower company - The Property Concierge Singapore, but didn't found relevant. The same was with searching for lawyer's name. If they were real, I was gonna call them and check whether she really own the place, did she presented proof of ownership and most probably I would visited the personally.
8. When I asked another tenant to send me an unsigned authorization letter which supposed to be given the residence' management with contracts and so on, I received no reply. Here also I was gonna to go residence myself and check with its management whether she is really the owner and would they accept such letter as valid authorization.
9. To the first 'tenant' I sent a snapshot of my passport for her to prepare a contract, she sent a scan of 'her' passport also. But when I requested to send photo of her holding a passport - also no reply.
NEVER SEND MONEY TO PAY FOR A FLAT WHICH YOU HAVE NOT SEEN PERSONALLY
NEVER SEND MONEY TO PAY TO SOMEONE WHO YOU HAVE NOT MEET PERSONALLY
NEVER SEND ANY DOCUMENTS OR PERSONAL INFORMATION OF YOU - IT WILL BE USED AGAINST OTHERS TO RERESENT YOU AS AN OWNER. AT LEAST.
From [email protected] (CHEONG SOW LIN, Singapore, female, 53)
and [email protected] (Jenny Gordon, UK, female, 28)
Similarities that in total looked very fishy:
1. Room available immediately. Tenant was contacting me myself and was always insisting on reply ASAP. They often reminded me that I can move in right away.
2. Owner is outside the country. Either visiting sick mom or having a new work assignment - both were in UK.
3. There no one at apartment now, just empty. While there several rooms available for renting - different prices and options. Isn't it suspicious that an owner left very nice apartment without letting at least one room to someone whom he met personally?
4. Tenant is full of willingness to accept all my requests: shorten period to one month, lower a deposit amount, accepting my boyfriend to stay, stop charging me while I will be outside of the country.
5. Offer looks very attractive: nice photos, central location, quite low price - payment only for the 1st month + deposit for another month were required.
6. And there is no one in the town who can show a room before you pay her. Not even her lawyer has it. The keys are supposed to be get from DHL office after presentation them with reference number, which I can get only after payment. In another case it letter of authorization was proposed to be given, which I should show to residence management and after that get the keys from them.
7. Contract they sent to me looked strange: it had simple pictures of seal, picture of signs of a tenant and a lower "in the presence" of whom this contract was concluded. I was asked to put my sign here also - I suppose a picture - and send it back. I googled for name of lower company - The Property Concierge Singapore, but didn't found relevant. The same was with searching for lawyer's name. If they were real, I was gonna call them and check whether she really own the place, did she presented proof of ownership and most probably I would visited the personally.
8. When I asked another tenant to send me an unsigned authorization letter which supposed to be given the residence' management with contracts and so on, I received no reply. Here also I was gonna to go residence myself and check with its management whether she is really the owner and would they accept such letter as valid authorization.
9. To the first 'tenant' I sent a snapshot of my passport for her to prepare a contract, she sent a scan of 'her' passport also. But when I requested to send photo of her holding a passport - also no reply.
NEVER SEND MONEY TO PAY FOR A FLAT WHICH YOU HAVE NOT SEEN PERSONALLY
NEVER SEND MONEY TO PAY TO SOMEONE WHO YOU HAVE NOT MEET PERSONALLY
NEVER SEND ANY DOCUMENTS OR PERSONAL INFORMATION OF YOU - IT WILL BE USED AGAINST OTHERS TO RERESENT YOU AS AN OWNER. AT LEAST.
