House for rent in Gale Road in Sefton is a SCAM. Rental scams are rife atm - Please Be Aware
SCAM ALERT
Facebook is full of scams and property scams are rife at the moment. A property advertised on Facebook to rent on Gale Road in Litherland for £700pcm is a scam.
This listing needs as many people as possible to report it to Facebook and hopefully it will be taken off. This is the Facebook link to his fake page which also has numerous other false properties on.
In this case, the ‘landlord’ claims to live in Scotland and uses the email address of angmcc1980@gmail.com. He requests one months rent as a deposit and the first months rent be paid via an Airbnb link (which is also fake), after which you will be given the keys and five days in which to view the property and sign the tenancy agreement. If you don’t like the property then you return the keys for a refund.
This beautiful half a million-plus house in Formby is up for rent, including all bills and council tax for a mere £950 month. It sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? That’s because it isn’t true, ITS A SCAM!
The genuine owner of this house is an older lady that has had people knocking at her house which is her home, expecting to rent it. The lady has reported it to the police and they haven’t been able to do anything about it. Her house is still up for rent on the Facebook page along with another eight properties of which are all scams.
The disgusting people who have set up this page were still live on Facebook but since our post, this has now successfully been taken down. Amazing news! So many people reported it and Facebook took it down. Click HERE to read the original story about the Formby property.
Please report the Litherland listing to Facebook by clicking the link HERE
Please report the post to Facebook.
Please do never part with any money unless you have actually been to the house and looked around and met the owner. This scam goes on around the world.
Rental property listing scams typically aim to steal money from interested renters. They’ll try to get you to pay for a security deposit or move-in fee without ever seeing the house or flat and they’ll keep the money without any intention of renting a house to you.
The best way to avoid a scam is to see the house or apartment in person and meet the landlord before you move forward with any part of the application process.
How Can You Tell If a Rental Property Listing Is a Scam?
There are a handful of commonalities seen in fraudulent rental listings. These are seven rental scam warning signs every renter should look out for as they search for a place to rent:
1. They Don’t Want to Meet You in Person:
It’s never a good sign if the person who posted a rental listing says that they are not able to or don’t want to meet you in person. Even if you’re not able to meet in person, you should always be able request a real-time video walkthrough of the rental so you know that the property exists.
A good landlord will make sure that they can meet you either digitally or in person so that they can feel comfortable with trusting you as a renter. Plus, a landlord should want to meet you in person to make sure you’re legitimate, as well. On the flip side, scammers typically don’t want to meet you, since they don’t want you to be able to report them.
2. They Want You to Move in Immediately, Without Ever Seeing the Property:
Even if you meet someone in person who claims to be the landlord, you should always see the property before signing a lease or sending any money. It’s easy for someone to say they have a property and fake an online listing, so it’s best to see the property in person and make sure the place is available.
In most rental scams, the individual advertising the property doesn’t actually have any way to access the inside of the property. If a landlord instructs you to inspect the property by walking around the outside at your convenience, this is almost certainly a scam.
If you are in the unfortunate position of needing a place immediately, be extra careful. Properties that are available right away can be scams or the sign of a disorganized landlord.
3. They Ask for Rent or a Security Deposit Before Signing a Lease:
An apparent sign that the house or flat you’re looking at is a scam is if the property manager, landlord, or estate agent asks for rent or a security deposit before signing a lease.
As a potential renter, you should never be asked to give a large sum of money before seeing and having all parties sign a lease. Application fees, which are used to cover the costs of background checks, are an acceptable fee to pay before signing a lease. The first month’s rent or a security deposit, however, is not.
You should never mail or wire money to anyone if you have not signed a lease. In some cases, a scammer will tell you they live overseas and need you to forward the money to them in return for the keys. In an even more dangerous scenario, you might be asked to wire money to someone who you have only talked to online. Remember that anyone who doesn’t live near the rental itself should have someone, such as a property manager or estate agent, who lives in the area and can handle these logistics.
In cases like these, you should report the listing as fraudulent and cease all communications.
4. The Price is Too Good, generally if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
Whenever you see a price that looks too good to be true, it probably is. A property that is priced well below the going market rate in your area should be an immediate red flag.
Properties like these can be a “bait and switch” situation, where the owner is using a low rent price to lure in potential renters before suddenly taking the listing off the market and replacing it with a similar, more costly unit. The incentive to act fast before it’s gone can cause renters to sign a lease quickly, despite the change in price.
So how can you determine if a house or flat is at fair market value and not a scam? You should always do your own research on rent prices for units of comparable location, size, and amenities to get a good idea of what rentals in a certain area are being rented for.
While an asking rent amount below market is a sign of potential fraud, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the listing is definitely fraudulent. Keep in mind that the property owner may not know the fair market rent rate, they might be renting the unit outside of the peak moving seasons, or the unit is flawed in some way (near a noisy highway, for example).
5. The Listing Has Typos, Poor Grammar, or Excessive Punctuation:
Beware of rental listings that are full of errors. Serious landlords or property managers will take the time to write a decent listing and proof read it, too. If you come across a rental listing that is full of typos, has poor grammar, and contains excessive punctuation or capitalization, it was likely created by a scammer.
6. There Is No Tenant Screening Process
As a tenant, you’ll want to rent from a high-quality, responsive landlord who does things the “right” way. Professional landlords almost always have a set tenant screening process that they follow to ensure they choose tenants who are going to be able to pay rent and take care of their property.
If a landlord does not require a rental application and credit check, you should consider this a red flag. The landlord is either unconcerned about picking a good tenant because it’s a scam, or unconcerned because they are inexperienced. In both scenarios, you should be a bit suspicious.
7. They Want You to Sign an Incomplete Lease
One reason why every renter needs to read through a new lease is to see if it’s complete or not. A landlord or property manager that asks you to sign an incomplete lease does not have your best interest in mind, because they can change the lease whenever (and however) they want without letting you know.
By going through your lease to make sure there are no blank spaces, vague writing, or incomplete sentences, you’re making sure that you will not be harmed by a manipulated lease in the future.
Ways to Avoid Rental Scams
Before you move forward with any rental property, make sure you:
Thoroughly vet the rental listing:
Using the tips above, make sure the rental listing you’re considering looks legitimate. If there are any red flags or scam-like qualities, skip it.
Meet the landlord in person:
You need to meet the person you are renting from. Will you work well together? Do they seem friendly and motivated to rent the unit to you? And most importantly, are they a legitimate landlord or property manager?
See the property in person:
This can be a time-consuming step, but seeing a rental house or flat in person will let you know the property exists and give you a good idea as to whether or not you want to live there before signing the lease. You’ll also meet the landlord or property manager when you go see the place, which helps you learn more about their personality and professionalism.
What Should You Do If You’re a Victim of a Rental Scam?
If you are the victim of a rental scam, make sure you:
1 - Contact the Police. If they successfully find the scammer, they’ll press charges and possibly return any money you may have lost.
2 - Contact the listing website where you found the rental so they can take it down and report the lister.
PLEASE REMEMBER -
If it looks too good to be true,
then it probably is!
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