Rent in Haste, Repent at Leisure
Monday, Jun 29, 2009
Rent in Haste, Repent at Leisure
By TERI KARUSH ROGERS | June 28, 2009
MANY rental scams are easy to spot — unless you are drawn in by what appears to be the deal of a lifetime.
“If something looks too good to be true, it is,” said Gary Malin, the president of Citi Habitats. A two-bedroom apartment in the West Village for $1,200 a month? Keep looking.
Avoid dealing with absentee landlords, and do nothing (applications, fees, deposits, etc.) without first seeing the property. That means proceed with extreme caution online.
“You’ve got to be very careful with Craigslist,” said Greg Bibens, a sales associate at Barak Realty. Before you act, do an Internet search of any addresses or catch phrases in the ad to see if it’s actually a hijacked sales listing. Craigslist punctuates listings with warnings about fraud and scams.
If an agent or putative landlord seems to be rushing you, increase your due diligence. Ask a lot of questions and be suspicious if they are not answered to your satisfaction.
“If it’s an agent, ask them to slow down or ask to speak to a manager,” Mr. Malin said. “I think too many times people are so quick to jump into a deal that they kind of forget to do their own homework, to make sure what appears to be happening actually is, versus going along with the ride because you expect to get a deal.”
Even though it may be inconvenient, renters should always visit the office of the agent with whom they are dealing to ensure that he or she is not a lone con artist. Even when the agent is legitimate, if trouble should erupt down the road, you will have someone to complain to.
While modest application fees in the range of $50 to $75 are frequently nonrefundable and collected in cash, be wary if you are asked for a more substantial sum in cash or for other fees that are nonrefundable.
Also, if an agent wants you to make a check out in his or her name instead of an agency or corporate name, be careful. “It’s a huge red flag,” said Claudia Saez-Fromm, the chief operating officer of Mark David & Company, a boutique realty. “Some do this for legitimate tax reasons, but there are some agents who take the money.”
If you are the victim of a scam, you can file a complaint for larceny and fraud with your local precinct, said Jeffrey S. Reich, a real estate lawyer at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz in Manhattan.
If the amount you lost is less than $1,000, it’s a misdemeanor; more than that, it’s a felony. But your complaint may not draw much attention. If you lost less than $5,000, you might have more luck at small claims court.
Internet scams can be reported online to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov/default.aspx). You can also report them to the Federal Trade Commission (www.FTCComplaintAssistant.gov/).
Neither route is likely to reunite you with your money, however. The information is dispatched to a law enforcement agency only if trends are identified. Moreover, these small-potato Internet con artists are often overseas, therefore that much more difficult to catch.
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