Rental Scammer - [email protected]

I have also received the EXACT same two emails only the person I've been corresponding with is Henry Goles <[email protected]> and he was listing an apartment in a fancy building in the Vancouver, BC area.

HomesOverseas does seem to be a legitimate site but they only list sale properties from what I can tell. I sent them a message before I found this thread to ask if they could verify the validity of the service Henry claims they offer. I'm curious to see how they will respond and if they do, I'll return to post it here.

Anyway I'm very glad I've erred on the side of caution. I had to search for "homesoverseas.com" to even find this thread which is alarming. I plan to contact the building in question as well to notify them that this scam is happening.

Here are the two emails I received, as you can see they are virtually identical to the ones in the first post, save for the local address and a slight price difference.

Hey,

Thank you for your interest in my apartment located in 8333 Anderson Road, Richmond, BC, V6Y 1S2. The apartment is in excellent condition and it's just like in the pictures, very clean and very well kept. Honestly from point of view I'm sure that you will rent it on spot. I'm not looking to make a business or a profit with the apartment, I'm just trying to find a good and trust person to take good care of the place. It is furnished but if you want you can use your furniture and deposit mine in the storage unit that is located near the building not far away. The rent is $700/month with everything included (heat, hydro, water, electricity, cable and internet-full package, 2 parking spots, laundry in-suite, washer and dryer). You will have full access to all the amenities of the building. Pets are allowed. I stayed in the apartment with my wife for 4 months. The price will not increase for the whole period that you will stay there. I would also like to know how many people will live in the apartment and also which rental contract do you prefer- 6 months or 1 year rental contract with option of renewal.
The monthly payments can be wired to my Bank Account or we can setup a payment method that is suitable for both of us.This apartment is a private property, paid in full and no mortgage on it. I'm sure you will have everything that you need there because is one of the best areas in the city. Pets are allowed.
I'm 40 years old, I'm married with 2 children. I work as an engineer in telecom industry. The company I work for they have projects all around the world so most of my time I'm traveling. I will be away for the next 6 years so it's free for you to stay there as long as you want. I want to rent the place on my own so I need to send you the keys and papers so you can check the apartment

Thank you and look forward hearing from you!

Hi again

Since at this moment I'm located in London, United Kingdom obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal. The solution is a worldwide third party company called HomesOverseas (http://www.homesoverseas.com) ,they will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package. With this procedure you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment. Please be aware that is NOT necessary for you to register with HomesOverseas given that I'm a registered user for 4 years and I've made over 7 transactions with them so far. They are really professional and they have great services.

Regarding the process, you will only have to deposit to HomesOverseas the first month of rent from contract and damage deposit a total of 1300CAD so they can proceed with the shipping, and you can receive the rental package (keys and documents). I will pay for a 2 days delivery so you will receive the keys and the contract signed by me right away. I will explain you step by step how this process will work:

1 - To start the process all I need is your full info(full name, mailing address and a cell phone number).
2 - I will go at HomesOverseas to deposit the keys and the contract on your name as the intended receiver.
3 - HomesOverseas will check the package to see if everything is in order and also the legal papers that will come along with the keys and proof of ownership with their Real Estate Professional Department in London. They will also confirm with the building manager that I'm the legal owner of the apartment I'm renting to you.
4 - HomesOverseas will send you a delivery notification to let you know they have the keys and the papers in their custody. They will also send you all the payment instructions to complete the rental transaction.
5 - At this point you will have to make a money deposit on the HomesOverseas payments representative for the amount we agreed, the total amount you shall deposit for the first month of rent and damage deposit. The payment needs to be sent within 24 hours after you receive the transaction details or else they will charge me an additional fee.
6 - After you make the deposit you will have to send the payment details to HomesOverseas .
7 - HomesOverseas will verify the transfer and if everything is in order they will start the shipping procedures using UPS or DHL .

8 - After you receive the package, you will go and check the apartment and in 5 days (inspection time) you must contact HomesOverseas to inform them if you keep the apt or not and if everything is in order you will instruct HomesOverseas to send me the information about the money deposit and I will be able to receive the funds. If you don`t like the apartment they will be sending the money back to you and you will send back the keys and contract. HomesOverseas can NOT release the funds without your approval.

You need to know everything about this process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us. If you have any other questions you can reach me any time at: +44 20 3286 3726 (if you are calling from Canada or United States you need to dial 011-44-20-3286 3726) or you can email me and I will respond ASAP.

Let me know if you have the funds available (1300CAD$) so we can move forward and e-mail me your full information I requested.

Thanks

homesoverseas.com is a real company. Scammers will often use names of real companies to commit their crimes. Any email the scammer sends you from homesoverseas.com will be spoofed.

Make sure you visit any rental and meet the landlord. Make sure you can physically see the inside.

If you have any questions please ask.

I too, did not see this "SCAM" article, until I did further digging into the rental property I was interested in.

Like you, I received the EXACT (word for word) emails over the past couple days. The only difference of course was the location of the property.

I came across this "too good to be true" advertisement, and felt compelled to ask about it, because it's in a prime location, and the property value is insane. I would be incredibly dumb to pass up on an opportunity like this, right? My immediately thought.

RED FLAG #1: needing to pay up front to see the property (VERY VERY skeptical about that).

I spoke back and forth through emails with said person. And made it aware I didn't feel safe sending him money right off the bat. He sent the long email replying about how the process worked and what not. My mom, who is a licensed broker was helping me out through the process and she's like, it does not seem legit. Make sure you do your research, and if you get a chance to see the place, let me know I would love to come. My mom actually tried to reach out to him, and every response back was very automated. RED FLAD #2.

I reached out to the property manager of the building, gave the PM the guys name, and what floor the condo was on, and he's like we have no one by that name in this building. I assumed, he could be emailing me from an alias, and using a different name, one he goes by. RED FLAG #3

I tried to call the number associated, and there was no dial tone at all. Apparently the person on the other end "tried to call me back". He said he had a missed call. I do not understand that, as I never even connected to a person. RED FLAG #4.

I am still waiting on a response from him (myself and my mom have both emailed him numerous times back and forth today) and have received responses. But once I said I said I reached out to the PM and said I tried to call/reach out above an beyond email, I have received nothing back.

If I do not hear back within a reasonable amount of time, I will be reporting him and HomesOverSeas to the Better Business Bureau, to ensure that they shut down this scam, before other people are mislead, and out large sums of money.