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Renting an apartment on Craigslist - 4 very similar applicants. Is this a scam?

bradn — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:44:46 -0800

Renting an apartment on Craigslist - 4 very similar applicants. Is this a scam? I have had a 2 bedroom apartment listed for rent on Craigslist for one week today. So far, I have received 4 emails from interested parties that are suspiciously similar, but in every other way seem legit.
All are currently living out of town and are moving to the area to attend an area university. All are couples with a dog (our listing says "dogs allowed"). Two say they will be in town in a week or so and wish to see the apartment. One will rent sight unseen, but asked to have her brother look at the place beforehand. I spoke with this one on the phone, she was very nice and normal, seemed legit in every way. The fourth just said she will be in town next month and to keep her in mind if the place is still available.
Is it possible that this is a coincidence or is this some kind of scam? Does anyone have experience with this? Am I being overly cautious?
We rented the upper apartment 2.5 years ago via Craigslist, and we did get some scam replies, but they always involved a 3rd party that would be paying us, sometimes WAY over the asking price. Also, the interested party was usually overseas.
Have the scammers just gotten more clever and convincing? We need to rent this place soon, so I don't want to waste time on scam inquiries.
Thanks in advance.

Question about short-lease of a brownstone in NYC

bjork24 — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:54:35 -0800

NYC-vacation-rental-filter: we're on the cusp of agreeing to rent a six room brownstone in Williamsburg, but before we do, I need to know what we're getting into from people who have had similar experiences. First, is there a way to protect ourselves against fraud? We found the ad on Craigslist, initiated contact, have emailed back and forth several times, but I'm still a little nervous. The ad clearly states the address; the pictures match google maps street view; the name, phone number, and email address of the lady who lives there checks out; but I still want to be sure. Is there any sort of preferred method of payment in these situations that can protect both the lessee and lessor?

Also, if this works out, are there any questions I should ask the lessor now that will expose any otherwise hidden charges (i.e. cleaning fees, etc.)? If you've been in a similar situation, is there anything you wish you would've known upfront that would've led to a more enjoyable experience? Thanks!

SEATTLE: Help us find a nice rental home with a soul!

Bob Dobbs — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 05:52:35 -0800

SEATTLE: I'm looking for internet resources to find rental apartments, condos, houses Hi All,

We are moving to Seattle very soon. Need online resources to find a nice rental home for the two of us. We are looking in the Ballard, Queen Anne, and West Seattle areas. I'd prefer non-mega corporate rentals, ie. one or two unit townhomes, a house, or a smallish apartment building. I'm familiar with craigslist, which I've been using a lot. Also familiar with NWapartments. The larger sites like rent.com list rentals that are just too cookie cutter and commercial for us. Please give resources to help us find a nice, unique, home with a soul. BTW, we are looking at the $1800-$2800/month rent range for a 2bedroom.

How do I figure out the best time to rent?

one_bean — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:02:41 -0800

Is there somewhere on the web that offers analyses of the best time to look for an apartment in an area (specifically, Berkeley/Northern Oakland)? Or, alternately, is Craig's List conveniently archived somewhere? I'm planning on looking for an apartment in Berkeley either for August 1, August 15 or September 1. Basically, I'd like to see how the volume changes among these rental dates, and other data on available rentals -- price, room size, distance to campus, etc. Personal anecdotes are also appreciated.

Has craigslist really destroyed the local paper's rental listings? What now?

croutonsupafreak — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 15:14:23 -0800

Is craigslist now the only place to search for apartments in urban areas of the U.S.? What does this mean for the significant share of the population that is not computer literate? Four years ago, I did all my apartment hunting through the local alternative weeklies and the Sunday section of the daily paper.

I need to move again, and I've discovered that one of our local alt weeklies doesn't even have an apartments section any more. The other seems only to list places way out in the burbs. The Sunday paper mostly has big complexes, and very limited selection. I've only been able to find nice-looking close-in stuff by going to craigslist.

Fine for me. But I spend enough time around people from other cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to know that there are a LOT of people who don't have a clue about computers, the internet or craigslist. It seems that people in this demographic are the ones who would most benefit from quick, easy access to information about inexpensive rentals and rentals accessible by public transportation.

What am I missing? Are computer-illiterates being screwed on the rental market? Have the listings migrated somewhere else that they can find?