by Siebe
Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:47 am
Dear ,
The viewing procedure using a rental agency called ( Lugene Properties Limited : http://www.lugene-properties.co.uk ) involves 3 parties : me as the home owner , you as the prospective tenant and the Lugene Properties Limited as a licensed third party responsible for good development of the transaction.
I have already signed a contract to use their services. They can take care about the viewing, keys delivery, payment, and they are offering assistance and protection for both, landlords and tenants. Hopefully this will be feasible for you.
If you decide to proceed with this rental transaction, I will have to contact the Lugene Properties Limited and provide them all the necessary information, so they can start the process right away (keys and legal documents). I will need your: Full Name and Address for that. You will receive a notification from them shortly after that, together with all the instructions to follow.
The rental company will ask a security deposit ( 1 month rent + rental guarantee : EUR 425 + EUR 425 ) . This will be a guarantee that they will not send an agent all the way to Belgium for nothing and you have the money available to rent the apartment . The deposit will be only a temporary guarantee and will not obligate you to rent the property.
The keys and rental contract will be delivered to your address. You will be given a 5-days inspection period from the day you receive the keys and contract at home.
If you decide to rent the apartment, then you will have to sign the contract so I can receive the payment from the Lugene Properties Limited . If you will not be satisfied with the apartment, you will have to send the keys/contract back through the same service and you will receive a full refund. I think this is more than fair for both of us and it is good to know that you do have this second option available.
If you wish to proceed with renting the apartment, please provide me your Full Name and Address and also a phone number (mobile if possible), so I can initiate the process through the Lugene Properties Limited right away.
I'm really sorry but I cannot give you the apartment number because I have signed the contract with this agency and they don't allow me.
Best Regards,
Calton Michael Matthew
11 Barkston Gardens,
London,
SW5 0ER,
United Kingdom
+44 771 908 5842
While searching for an appartment in Belgium, I found this really nice and cheap appartment... But the deal was almost too good to be true.
I first contacted this person at [email protected], but the next day I recieved an e-mail from a "Calton Michael Matthew". This seemed odd, but I still wanted to know whether or not it was a real thing. He first introduced himself like this:
Hallo,
Mijn naam is Calton Michael Matthew en ik ontving uw e-mail van belang zijn voor de huur van mijn woning in: Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 83 , 9000 Gent
Ik ben een research engineer voor een farmaceutisch bedrijf en ik kocht het pand tijdens het werken op een contract van 2 jaar in België als alternatief voor huren. Ik ben de enige eigenaar, is het pand volledig betaald en zonder juridische problemen. Het pand is niet bewoond sinds ik niet meer in België.
He's stating that he's a research engineer for a pharmaceutical company and that he bought the house while working with a contract of 2 years, in Belgium. At the end of the e-mail, I was asked if it was possible to reply in English.
Still very odd, but I was not sure if I was dealing with a scammer or not, so I stayed in touch with him.
After a few e-mails back and forth, he sent me this e-mail, which is first quoted, which was just weird. Depositing one month rent plus another €425,-? No, no, that was way too expensive to send a pair of stupid keys, I figured. So I googled this "agency" and found a topic about it, on this site. After looking into Rental scams, I found dozens of sites with the same lay-out and 'procedure'.
Looks like "Lugene Properties" has a few friends out there.
Example: http://www.europe-property.eu/ - http://www.remax-lettings.com/index/index.html
Please, if you're in the same situation as I was, do not reply to that person anymore.
I'm hoping I can prevent people from getting scammed this way.
