A Bonafied Craig's List Scam

I work in a real estate office with this delightful couple. Part of their duties is to handle the showings for my office's property management division. Hence, they bring in a renter for property management's vacant homes.

Additionally, these vacant rental homes are on the greater Phoenix multiple listing service, complete with pictures and lovely descriptions consisting of "neutral colored tile," "spacious bedrooms" and "move-in ready." Any agent who belongs to the multiple listing service can show these properties, but most don't unless they are desperate, crazy, totally professional and don't mind spending six hours of their Saturday with someone with less than optimal circumstances trying to find the landlord willing to rent to the folks who have three rottweilers... But, I digress...

And, to top this all off, rental homes right now in the East Valley (a part of Metro Phoenix) right now are going fast. Like sight unseen fast. Currently I am desperate, crazy, totally professional enough to be working with two sets of tenants (one has a guinea pig). Every rental home we see already has an application on it. Both sets of clients know any application they put in will be a back-up application. That's how crazy the rental market is out here.

But, back to this delightful couple. Last Saturday the Delights got a frantic call from the tenants they had placed in a rental home. The tenants had just pulled the moving van into the driveway of their new home just in time for another moving truck and another tenant to pull into the drive way right behind them.

Apparently both couples thought they were moving in. Both had a lease to prove it. In the case of the correct couple--my colleague's folks--it was theirs to rent. Enjoy. Move in. Make yourselves at home!

The second couple was a bit more disappointed. You see, they answered an ad in Craig's List. Someone (presumably claiming to be a real estate agent) met them at this particular home, showed them the home and gave them the application. These people returned the application, paid the first month's rent and the security deposit (all in a cashier's check) and were told the house was theirs. Enjoy. Move In. Make yourselves at home! Sadly they were scammed.

Hopefully it won't take too long to find this couple a home again--if they don't have a rottweiler. And lately,  that seems for us agents who are handling rentals, is half the battle.