Outsmart Apartment Scams

Apartment scammers are out there and they will try their best to make anyone a victim, especially when you’re in a rush to find an apartment.

When you’re researching apartments, you can become vulnerable to an apartment listing that has caught your eye. However, that very eye-catching apartment has a chance of being a scam. You need to be able to notice and outsmart apartment scams so you won’t become a victim. Here are some common scams to notice:

The “owner” of the apartment tries to get you to send money

They will sneak in ways to try and get you to send money to them. For example, they may say something like “you must pay the first month’s rent now,” before you even move in. You’ll send them the money and never hear from them again. You should know that something fishy is up because you haven’t seen the apartment or signed legal documents.

You’re asked for unnecessary/ high fees

Along with the fake rent, they may ask you to pay, they may also ask for unnecessary/ high fees that just don’t seem right. You haven’t seen the apartment nor have you met the owner of this apartment, but they are asking for you to send them a fee just for having a conversation about the apartment (logically speaking, it’s just a conversation). The scammer, however, will make it seem like the fee is the apartment application or the utility bill. Why should you have to pay a utility bill when you haven’t even used electricity or water in the apartment yet?

The “owner” seems eager to get you in and the process is way too fast

Leasing an apartment is a lengthy process. It can be done within a day but it should take up at least half of the day. If the owner hasn’t done any paperwork or tenant screenings, such as asked for work history, credit score, or an income, he is an imposter. One way to know it’s a scam is if the owner seems too eager to receive your funds.

It won’t be hard to notice that they mainly focused on your money, that’s all a scammer wants. Need help figuring out if your apartment is a scam? Let College Rentals help.

About the author:

Lavorian Smith majored in English- creative writing and minored in Humanities at Florida State University. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida working at a fashion store and freelance writing. When she’s free from work, her interests include art, fashion, and literature.