by truste
Sat Aug 25, 2012 6:56 am
Hi!
I'm looking for a place to stay in NYC and need to move in ASAP as I'm starting grad school there, but my flight (from the West Coast) isn't arriving in NY until Monday, so I've been unable to physically view apartment listings. I have been looking at apartments-for-rent listing sites and emailing/calling many people. Today I received an email back which could be a scam, but I'm not sure. Thanks for the help, in advance!
- The biggest sign: the rent is cheap for the size/neighborhood. A 1BR very close to downtown Manhattan for less than $1500/mo. The apt is furnished with a fair amount of amenities--wifi, etc.
- The pictures look like stock photos--meaning they look nice, but like they could've been pulled from anywhere, or like they're photos of showrooms in that building, rather than that specific apt.
- I found this listing through a rental search site which I think compiles listings from other rental search sites, and through this convoluted jumble I can't seem to figure out if the person contacting me is an agent/broker, a current tenant looking for a roommate, a current tenant looking to sublet/transfer lease, etc.
- It seems like the listing has been up for almost two weeks, which makes me think--if the place is legit, why hasn't it been snapped up already at this price?
- The person emailed me with the email address [email protected]. I looked, but I can't seem to find out what homemail is.
- There is a listed phone number, but I didn't notice it until now, so I haven't tried calling yet and can't as it is late at night. I will try tomorrow morning.
Onto the email itself: It's well written gramatically--although the whole thing is in bold, is this a red flag? Includes simple description of the place, asks for preliminary info about me (age, gender, move in date, etc). He doesn't seem to be pushing me to act, beyond saying that I should have the apartment as long as someone else doesn't secure it first, which is what all agents/landlords I've dealt with tell you. He DOES add "I await your earliest response as soon as possible", which may seem a little eager, but it wasn't until I was looking for eagerness that I thought so.
I replied to the email with the required info (again, just very basic info) and asked if he's a tenant, agent, owner, etc. If he replies, I will ask to visit in person, but like I said before, I won't be able to do so until a few days later. I realize that there's not much to go on as of now, but if it is a rental scam, I was hoping you guys could help me catch it earlier rather than later in the process.
Finally, I refrained from providing any specific details, such as the apartment address, the exact email and name, the link to the listing, or the pictures because I don't know if it is a scam yet and want to protect the (potentially) innocent. If you think the specifics would be useful in helping me identify whether/not this is a scam, I will consider emailing it to you privately.
Again, thanks for all your help and input. I realize this is a really long post but I wanted to be a thorough as possible. I'll post updates if/when I get them.
I'm looking for a place to stay in NYC and need to move in ASAP as I'm starting grad school there, but my flight (from the West Coast) isn't arriving in NY until Monday, so I've been unable to physically view apartment listings. I have been looking at apartments-for-rent listing sites and emailing/calling many people. Today I received an email back which could be a scam, but I'm not sure. Thanks for the help, in advance!
- The biggest sign: the rent is cheap for the size/neighborhood. A 1BR very close to downtown Manhattan for less than $1500/mo. The apt is furnished with a fair amount of amenities--wifi, etc.
- The pictures look like stock photos--meaning they look nice, but like they could've been pulled from anywhere, or like they're photos of showrooms in that building, rather than that specific apt.
- I found this listing through a rental search site which I think compiles listings from other rental search sites, and through this convoluted jumble I can't seem to figure out if the person contacting me is an agent/broker, a current tenant looking for a roommate, a current tenant looking to sublet/transfer lease, etc.
- It seems like the listing has been up for almost two weeks, which makes me think--if the place is legit, why hasn't it been snapped up already at this price?
- The person emailed me with the email address [email protected]. I looked, but I can't seem to find out what homemail is.
- There is a listed phone number, but I didn't notice it until now, so I haven't tried calling yet and can't as it is late at night. I will try tomorrow morning.
Onto the email itself: It's well written gramatically--although the whole thing is in bold, is this a red flag? Includes simple description of the place, asks for preliminary info about me (age, gender, move in date, etc). He doesn't seem to be pushing me to act, beyond saying that I should have the apartment as long as someone else doesn't secure it first, which is what all agents/landlords I've dealt with tell you. He DOES add "I await your earliest response as soon as possible", which may seem a little eager, but it wasn't until I was looking for eagerness that I thought so.
I replied to the email with the required info (again, just very basic info) and asked if he's a tenant, agent, owner, etc. If he replies, I will ask to visit in person, but like I said before, I won't be able to do so until a few days later. I realize that there's not much to go on as of now, but if it is a rental scam, I was hoping you guys could help me catch it earlier rather than later in the process.
Finally, I refrained from providing any specific details, such as the apartment address, the exact email and name, the link to the listing, or the pictures because I don't know if it is a scam yet and want to protect the (potentially) innocent. If you think the specifics would be useful in helping me identify whether/not this is a scam, I will consider emailing it to you privately.
Again, thanks for all your help and input. I realize this is a really long post but I wanted to be a thorough as possible. I'll post updates if/when I get them.
