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Possible housing/rental fraud???Please help!

Posted in Amsterdam forum

Hi there...

Im currently looking for a 2 bedroom apartment for me and my friend to rent in Amsterdam.
I have found a couple of them which seem to be very good deals...yet i have some doubts that it may be a fraud.

So my question is: can i somehow check if the landlord is who he claims to be and that the apartment he sais he posseses is really his?Is there an agency to make such identifications?

The apartment owner with whom i am talking via email says he lives in London and rents his apartment in Amsterdam.He wishes me to send him 1000E (a rent and a security deposit) and THEN he will send me the key to the apartment !!!

Any ideas?????? ([...])

  • Go to lily roberts's profile

    posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    hi, my friend and i moved to Amsterdam about two months ago and we dealt with the same situation, there are so many frauds and scams here.
    basically if they ask for you to send them any money (via western union or any other form) before you even view the house, then its a no go!!
    Majority of them say they are in the U.K and tell you their sad life stories (cue worlds smallest violin) of how they , or someone in their family is sick. Then when you try to ring them the connection is poor quality or brakes out often.
    There are THOUSANDS of them here so watch out!
    Mainly i just want to stress that if they want money before you have even met them/viewed the house then its pretty much gonna be a garanteed scam!
    hope that hellps

  • Go to Agnieszka Cyganska's profile

    posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    Thanx, I'm not gonna be tricked by this one (no worries), but my question on ownership was more general; when renting from private person (not via agency) even if I see flat/owner => how can I be sure they really own it?
    so the only safe way in this case seems to rent via agency (which means higher costs).

  • Simon Lynch

    posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    Anyone who cannot let you see a flat is almost certainly trying to defraud you. Look at it another way, would you want to rent from someone who doesn't have a friend who will help him out to show the flat or the common sense to use a rental agent if they are not there.

    Trying to check ownership is almost certainly not worth the effort. If it smells like a scam, it will be a scam. Not worth the risk.

  • Go to Agnieszka Cyganska's profile

    posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    Hi Guys

    I have similar yet not exactly the same situation right now. Guy claims to have nice app for rent in Amsterdam, but I cannot see it as he's currently (surprise, surprise) in UK (back in 15 months). However the solution he proposes is deviating from standard fraud: he wants to first sign a contract, then he'll send me keys to app, I can see the app and only if I decide to take it, he wants deposit.
    It still smells like huge scam (deal is too good) but I wonder what's the trick (probably he's not owner of the flat)...is there any way to check ownership?
    Anybody with similar experience?

  • Francesco Ryan

    posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    i think that, no matter if that would be an agency or not, the best thing would always be for an agreement like that to go u in person and perform all the necessessary checks without going in front of a locked box :D don't u think so? :D

  • Go to Maria Najera's profile

    posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    I just have heard about these scams, usually from people that say that they are living specifically in UK. You really need a person in Amsterdam to check the place for you first. The housing (renting and buying) has very strict laws, and not a lot of people has 1 or 2 empty spaces. And if they do have a space, they are probably living in it. So good luck with the deal, and I hope you find a good place to stay. Regards, Maria

  • Kostantinos Demiris

    posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    Hi Simon and thanks for your reply

    He said he is living in London and has 2 apartments in Amsterdam which belong to his dead father.He asked me to transfer him money through Moneygram in order to send me the key by DHL.

    For Christ sake,what idiots do fall for that!!!
    The annoying part is that JustLanded and other sites are full of these scams.
    Hope noone will be a victim of them.

  • Simon Lynch

    posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    Take a look at some advice on this here: http://housing.justlanded.com/en/stay_safe_online

    Let me guess, they have a phone number starting something like this +44 70, a Yahoo email address and is very concerned about being conned himself (which is why he needs a deposit). Probably has a sick mother as well?

    Quickest way to smoke them out is to say you have friend who will visit the appartment and ask them to organise to have someone there to show it to them. If they cannot do this, then they are not renting an appartment.

  • posted by  in Amsterdam forum 

    HI!!
    there is a very simple rule to follow: never send money by western union or other company like it before that u can see the flat!a lot of time, whenever u insist to check the room/flat before send the money, they disappear!
    If the owner doesn't want that u check the flat, trust me, it's 99% a fraud!

    Hope that this can help u!

    Sel.

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