tenant scams

[dulwichgirl2]

A friend wants me to advertise her flat but I am reluctant to do so now after posts about "tenant scams".

Can anyone elaborate? It would be good to know what these scams are - stealing furnishings is the only one I can think of.

[Sue]

Surely if you get references and follow them up you should be OK?

Or have I missed something?

[maxxi]

Well if she doesn't fancy making money out of someone else's needs then maybe she should sell the flat and save herself grief. (just put in to pre-empt the deluge of "there are more landlord scams than tenant scams" posts this thread will prompt).

[dulwichgirl2]

Someone posted on the residential section about a would be tenant (family of four) and a specific scam. I asked her via pm for more details but i imagine she has not logged on yet as she has not replied. I completely agree - I simply cannot imagine tenant scams other than the furniture one so I can pre-empt anyone thinking there are more landlord ones myself.

[vomc1987]

Surely if you get references and follow them up you should be OK? http://www.keyforex.info/g.gif

[StraferJack]

as with anything in life, dodgy operators exist in both the landlord and tenant spheres

But references (that you follow up on!) and an interview should allay most concerns

[DulwichFox]

dulwichgirl2 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> A friend wants me to advertise her flat but I am

> reluctant to do so now after posts about "tenant

> scams".

> Can anyone elaborate? It would be good to know

> what these scams are - stealing furnishings is the

> only one I can think of.

There are many Tenant/Landlord Scams..

Renting on behalf of someone else....

How well do you know this Friend. ?

Is the person someone that has just befriend you. ?

Someone you met in pub.

Why don't they advertise the flat themselves.

One possible scam.

You advertise the flat.

You get replies and the 'Friend' shows them around the flat.

They tell the applicants they are looking for the right Tenant and would get back to them.

After a dozen or so viewings the 'Friend' contacts all the applicants saying they have been

successful and they need to pay 1 months rent in advance to secure the tenancy.

That is just part of the Scam..

The property does not belong to the 'Friend' they are just renting it. Short Term.

The scammer dissapears with all the money from the deposits.

And the 12 people scammed only have your details as it was you that placed the advert.

Just one example. There are many variations.

Fox.

[Loz]

The main one you have to worry about is the tenant just not paying rent. It takes a number of months to evict them. Make sure you get references and don't be afraid to say no to anyone if you have any concerns. There will always be another prospective tenant come along.

Other than that, try this article: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-1700200/Top-tips-to-avoid-property-renting-scams.html

But most tenants and most landlords play fair. But there are always bad apples.

[chloe11]

I have been a victim of a hurrendous tenant scam which I will tell you so that you don't make the stupid mistake that we did. We rented our flat out privately because we did not want to pay estate agent fees and 2 young men replied, came round that night for a chat, they seemed polite, friendly and professional. They gave us work references and a reference from thier previous landlord who I called straight away and who gave a glowing reference for these boys.

They gave us 6 weeks rent as a deposit and the first months rent in advance. They then paid the next month's rent on time but that was the last amount they ever paid us. They changed the locks on our flat door and the only way we could get them out was through the courts. Even though it is illegal to change the locks on a rented property, the police will tell you that it is a civil matter and can only be dealt with by the courts. We hired a solictor and had to wait until they were 2 full months in arrears then we had to wait another 3 months for a court date and when we finally got a conviction to evict them we were told the only people who are legally allowed to evict tenants are court bailiffs and we had to wait another 3 weeks for a date for which they could evict them.

My husband very nearly smashed the window to drag them out but that is an offence and we would have ended up in court before them!

They rented our flat in March, paid 3 months rent and lived there rent free until December. They had completely trashed our beautiful flat and did a runner. They had left their jobs for which they had also given us references and there was no trace of them. To this day they owe us over ?12,000 in rent and damages. Our solictor has warned us that we would need to spend a lot more money to go after them, including hiring a private detective.

We did not do our homework properly and suffered the consequences. There are so many honest and reliable tenants out there but there are also tenants who know how to play the system and we got played big time. Be careful as once they are in, they are in!

[Huguenot]

Can you get insured against that kind of thing?