Beware Of Rental House Scam In Neighborhood, Currently Happening To Two Homes In Laurelhurst

The Laurelhurst Blog recently received this email about what appears to be someone posting two Laurelhurst homes on Trulia as rentals.

The Laurelhurst Blog Staff did some research on the two homes and found that neither is for rent.

And in one of the emails (pasted in below) from the "landlord" to the potential renter, the "landlord" actually signs the email using the current residence owner's name.

The Laurelhurst Blog contacted the owner of the home on 46th Avenue NE to notify him of the scam. 

The Laurelhurst Blog could not find contact information for the owners of the home listed as a rental on Trulia on the 5100 block of 45th Avenue NE to notify them.

Here is email received from a Laurelhurst resident about her daughter's rental scam experience:

I would like to let everyone know about what happened to my daughter when she and her husband were looking for a house to rent in mid-October.  

They found 2 listings on Trulia for homes in Laurelhurst.  One was listed as in the

5100 block of 46th Avenue NE and was being rented for $1500.00. 

The other home was listed as being in the 5100 block of 45th Avenue NE for $900.00.   

There were pictures of the homes on the website with all the detailed information.  

When my daughter emailed the person listed in the ad, she got responses from both "landlords" which seemed almost identical in content, just different people signing the email.  Both indicated they were going on missionary work and wanted to find just the right renter that would take good care of the property while they were out of the country, thus the reduced price. 

The house on 45th Avenue NE has a "For Lease" sign out front with an actual real estate agent listed.  The house on 46th Avenue NE had no sign. One email stated that my daughter was to either ignore the sign in front of the 45th Avenue NE house as they had let their agent go, and the other email said there was no sign out front for the same reason. 

There was a rental application in the email.  My daughter did not respond as she had a bad feeling about it, so she got a second email stating that if she was interested to drive by and look at the house.  No one would be there to let her in.  She was to wire the rent money plus deposit and the "landlord" would have a neighbor give them the keys. 

I called the real estate agent listed on the sign and she said that this is happening all over our area.  It is a huge scam.  Most people do not even know their homes are listed as they are not renting out their properties at all.  The scammers take the money.  She said many are from Nigeria. 

I just wanted to put the word out to please be careful.  We also notified Trulia.

Here are the emails from the "landlord" referred to in the email above:

In the first email, which refers to the home on 46th Avenue NE, the "Landlord" has signed  the email using the current residents owner's name, which the Blog staff removed:

Thanks for your Response. l owned the house and I received your email correctly. I wanted to tell you a little about us as well, so that you can get a feel for who we are. I thought it might give you another look into my character and the type of person I am, which I know is very important to you. I have been married for 15years with 3 children. my family and I We are very passionate about God's work. Along with working in the church.I have given myself to be obedient to God. few months back I plan to sell the house due to our transfer relocating to West African Nigeria, on a missionary work but my Family Advise me not to sell our house anymore.Now I change my decision to rent the house immediately. My family and I are seeking  for a good tenant who would take care of our house in our absence,I do be believe you can take care of my House.the Utilities are included in the rent. I was dealing with the realtor in getting a tenant, but the realtor want me to rent the house very expensive due to their contract fee. I was renting at higher price and that takes time to get someone who will rent at that price.I Terminated the contract working with the realtor. Now I reduced the price of the rent to a flexible price. I won't sell my house anymore since I will be in West African Nigeria .for 3 years. I am looking for 1 to 3 years lease if possible, we can renew the lease. short lease is acceptable as well. I would like you to treat the house as if you owned it.you can drive by the house today and get back to me after that----Ignore the realtor sign post in front of the house when you go by. I am no longer dealing with them. the realtor would remove the sign post next week.the keys and documents are with us here in West African Nigeria.So I will need to ship them to you before you can occupy the house.I'm not around to book an appointment for viewing the inside. But you can drive by the house anytime to take a look at the area and surrounding, You can also peek through the windows if you don't mind. I would feel at ease renting this home at flexible price rather dealing with the realtor and renting so expensive. I have an impressive dedication in helping others. Thank you for taking the time to read my quick story of who I am. Again thank you for your time and God bless!

let me know if you are still interested?

DETAILS ABOUT THE HOUSENumber of bedrooms:5
Number of bathrooms:2
Rental price: $1500 per month and security Deposit is $800(Security Deposit is Refundable)

Utilities included in monthly rent Pets Welcome.

 SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE RENT APPLICATION FORM BELOW
                            RENT QUESTIONNAIRE

1)Your Full Name?
2)Your Full Address?
3)Phone Number?
4)Are you married ?
5)Age & Email Address ?
6)How many people will be living in the house?
7)Do you have a pet?
8)Do you have a car?
9)Occupation?
10)When will you like to move in?
11)How long are you willing to stay in the property?
12)Picture of the occupant If Available?
13)When are you ready to Move In?
14)How Many Months are you willing to rent?
15) How many months rent can you pay upfront? Minimum ( 1month +
SECURITY DEPOSIT ) or ( 2 months + SECURITY DEPOSIT ), so which option
do you prefer ???

Looking forward to hearing from you with all this details so that I can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Awaiting your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you. We may not see, yet we are only putting everything into Gods hand, kindly do not let us down in your taking care of our property and God bless you more as you do this Amen. I roomed my number so you can text me on this number 607) 398-0193
Regards..
 (Blog staff removed the name as the "landlord" signed with the current owner's name)

 

 

#2 email referring to home on 45th Avenue NE

 

On Thu, Oct 16, 2014 at 9:24 AM, Lovely Home <lovely_home13@aol.com>wrote:

 

Thanks for the interest in my House, my house is still available for rent quite and safe. I only need someone that can take good care of the house at my absence because right now am not around i just secured a contract in Delaware of which i will not be back until after 6years. And am here with the house keys and documents, i tried to look for management before i left but i couldn't get any in time.

But the one i got we got a deal, but later advised against that. I reasoned with her and accepted her advise. So I contacted the agent back and let him understand that i am no longer interested in handling the property to him anymore. So later we decided to have the house rent out, we would have give the agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with him later.

If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute perfect care of the property. So If you know that you have a  good credential you can email me back to secure and occupy my house at my absent.

NB: You can drive by and check the neighborhood and get back to me for further discussion, any sign post will be removed once i get any responsible tenant so you ignore the sign post cause i have stop dealing and contacting the Realtor for too much fees i pay. It is available for a long term lease as we will be here for 6years and also intend buying a new home on getting back to the states.

General house description:
Property type: Single Family Home
 Bedroom: 3
Bathroom: 2
Monthly Rent: $950
Security Deposit: $1000
Total move in cost: $1,950
Pet: Acceptable with no pet deposit in as much as they are not destructive
Utilities are included in the rent.
There is also high speed wireless internet access.
You could get in touch with me with this number: +16317624910

Get back to me ASAP with the application form below because i need a tenant urgently,
I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL OUT THE RENTAL APPLICATION FORM.

Applicants Full Name:_____________
Cell Phone Number:___________________
DOB:___________
Nationality_______
Current Address:_______________City:__
_________State:____Zip:____
Current Landlords Name:__________________________________
Landlords Phone Number:______________________
How Long at This Address:__________
Reason for Leaving:___________________________________
What is your occupation:_________
Do you have a Pets ?:_______________
Marital Status:_________
Kids:_____ (YES/NO)
Do you smoke?__________
Do you work late at night?__________
How long do you intend staying?
When do you intend moving in?
Do you have the security deposit to secure the house?
How soon do you intend making the payment?

Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this. Looking forward to hear from you.

Best Regard.
Verna Nowell.

 

Lovely Homelovely_home13@aol.com