House Rental Scamming

sofabed

Hello po, magpapatulong po sana kung paano macheck kung nag eexist nga talaga itong taong ito: <b> Carson Ludwig</b>. Possible po na na-scam kami ng taong ito by paying him $600 (via Western Union) for rent on his apartment: http://flatmates.com.au/property.html?id=134124 Though he provided us with Australian passport and land title, skeptical ako sa kanya kasi ngayon nanghihingi na naman siya ng deposit. Btw, my sister and I will be moving to Sydney by Jan. 24.

Thank you po!

kenkoy

how about trying to make another inquiry? pretend u are another person or maybe ask a friend to do it for u para iba ang IP address at ang style of writing. from his response to another inquiry pwede mo malaman na scam nga sya.

LakiMasel

Maki-singit lang po. May deposit po ba palagi pag mag rent sa Oz?

spykes78

@sofabed - unfortunately looks like you have been scammed as the apartment is the same as the one listed here and is for lease for $650 http://www.rwunlimited.com.au/pol/property/search.asp?f_propertyID=1872724&xsl=4943

There is no way rent is $150/week for a fully furnished 1-bedroom apartment in Surry Hills.

Nadine

Hello @sofabed: makikisali na rin po ako ha.... Sa pagkakaalam ko, in renting a place, you will have to apply to rent before you are allowed to do so. Before you can even apply, you have to inspect the apartment itself. Hindi yata pumapayag ang mga legitimate real estate agents that you will apply to rent without looking at the place first. Most agents do not conduct transactions online or via phone. I've tried applying na din po eh. Gusto ko rin sana may place na pag dating ko. Pero they always tell me to view the place muna. Ibig sabihin they don't entertain offshore applications. I would also be wary of those using personal email for business transactions (like what this guy did).

If your application to rent is approved, then contract signing na. Alam ko may Complex by law, application for residential tenacy, and Lease agreement na pinipirmahan. Generally, you are required to pay bond rental (equivalent to one month rent) + 2 weeks' advance rent. You should have receipts for all these. Also, yung bond rental has to be submitted by the agent/owner to the bond authority in the state. In fact, it's the tenant's responsibility to check po if the agent/owner has done this. Yung bond money will not be kept by the owner but by the state po. For mutual protection po yan in case of disputes.

So, if you didn't go through any of these, I doubt it's legitimate po eh. 🙁

http://www.rta.qld.gov.au/Renting/Moving-in/Rental-bond-deposits-and-utilities/What-is-a-rental-bond

LokiJr

Sana po nagpersonal visit kayo. Di naman kamahalan yung hostel while looking for a place to live in dun

aolee

Hi po if I may ask sofabed... nag post rin po ba dito sa site natin yang scammer na yan? Let me know po if there is para madelete at wala ng mabitkima.

stolich18

yikes scary naman to. Meron din pala tlgang scammers sa AU! :S

shishi

hello, sofabed. naku sana hindi naman kayo nascam. just in case hindi kayo matuloy jan, naghahanap pa kame ni @zigfrid ng makakasama sa bahay pero sa burwood area. let me know if you're interested.

Bryann

It must be this guy.

https://twitter.com/CLudwig20

http://pinterest.com/cludwig20/

I'm also thinking, maybe it was him who leased the house.. for $650/week, then is just looking for a flatmate to share the burden of rent with. Could be entirely possible. As for land title, is he saying he owns the place? Coz the link at RayWhite real estate clearly states it is for lease. For the passport, I might be wrong but it is not as easy as in Phils to get a fake passport or any documents.

You can also keep copies of your communication and receipts of deposit. That way when you get here in Australia, if ever he is indeed a scammer, you can communicate with NSW Police.

Looks like he had the same posting before, but later removed it. Availability was December. The one you mentioned is for November.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bGIOfBkZHg8J:flatmates.com.au/property.html%3Fid%3D133490+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au&client=firefox-a

HTH

LokiJr

If he's posting online in places like gumtree you can also report him there, at least people will be wary to deal with him hehe

Sushigurl

Can you kindly post the exact ads you've seen?

kasi yung ni post ni spykes78 is from Ray White, legal yung Ray White rto... at yung ofc address is tama naman if you check google maps...

possibleng tunay at possibleng peke... tulad ng sabi nila... ask for the contract....

did you signed anything? the best way to ascertain if legal ba yung transaction nyo is to call their office below. from the link provided by Spykes 78.

Ray White Unlimited

52 Blair Street

North Bondi, NSW 2026

ph: 02 9365 5888

fax: 02 9365 5822

Email our office

[ View on Map ]

Ganito "generally" ang rental s.o.p rto..

Initially, they will ask you to pay a week deposit, that is usually a non refundable deposit.

Once you do, they will pull the ads from the website.

Step 2. pay the balance of the bonds and rental advance, signing of contract could be the last stage together with the turn over of the keys. real estate agent ko kasi Ray White rin, but in a different location.

Sushigurl

Sofabed, assumed ko girlalu ka rin... Im also female and mag isa lang ako nag migrate rto...

I understand the difficulty of starting in a new country, and dami kong hirap na pinagdaanan. Awa ng Dyos, e may pailan ilan good samaritan na pinoy at Aussies who gave me advice..Now, im paying it forward... I can assist you to call up Ray White Realty but if peke is CArson i cant chase him for you ha, hindi ako pulis. I'll pm you my email addy. we can chat and you can tell me the whole story and il liaise with them.

zigfrid

Muntik na din ako mabiktima sa gumtree din.

Scammer's name: Joan

E-mail address used: hux619@gmail.com

Joan hux619@gmail.com

Jan 5 (5 days ago)

to me

I will like to rent your room kindly send me the details of the room

cos am ready to pay and moving in asap kindly send me email and pics

asap.

Regard

Joan

So nag reply ako sabi ko:

Hi Joan, which property are you looking at renting. Can you please cut and paste the ad so I can tell you the relevant information. Thanks.

Pero ewan ko ba bakit ako kinutuban. Di ko naman ugaling mag check ng google kung sino yun may ari ng email pero this time nga kinutuban ako ng parang curious lang ako so, ginoogle ko, kinat and paste ko email address niya eto nakita ko:

Scammer pretends to rent your house - HUX619@gmail.com ...

www.gumtree.com.au/s...hux619-gmail.../1011986959Scammers like this will typically sms you with a message I will like to rent your room kindly send me the details of the room cos am ready to pay asap send ...

gmail.com | Free Local Classifieds Gumtree Australia

www.gumtree.com.au/s-property-for-rent/gmail.../k0c18364Scammer pretends to rent your house - HUX619@gmail.com. Scammers like this will typically sms you with a message: "I will like to rent your room kindly send ...

Large ROOM FOR RENT IN NEWTOWN | Flatshare & Houseshare ...

www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/newtown/...for.../1011554857ShareScammer pretends to rent your house - HUX619@gmail.com. Scammers like this will typically sms you with a message: "I will like to rent your room kindly send ...

Parang puros gumtree ang tinatarget. Tapos so na try ko siya i-block sa gmail pero eto sumagot siya following day:

hux619@gmail.com

Jan 6 (4 days ago)

to me

Hello,

Thanks for getting back to me,am a lady willing to rent/share the room

and i am at sea at the moment as i am a Maritime and Coastguard Agency

(MCA) employee in Canada but i got transfer to work and study part

time down there but due to the nature of my work, phone calls making

and visiting of website are restricted. I only squeezed out time to

check this advert and send you an email regarding this. i am ready to

rent it asap so tell me how much is the rent/share per month and how

much deposit do i have to pay. Please send me more period you wish to

rent this out.

Looking forward to read back from you soon

Regards

So fellow Pinoys, beware of emails from hux619@gmail.com

rolf021

Hello po..buti pinansin ko itong post. Papunta po kami sydney and wala kakilala so I am looking at gumtree kasi iyun ang halos nirerecommend na site. Kaso, with this scam..paano po safe and cheap way para makahanap kami ng place to stay in sydney?

LokiJr

I guess it pays to visit the place first or ask a friend to refer you to a credible renter

Davidx23

Hmm. Dito sa Brisbane, you need to schedule a visit then fill-out the rent application form na binibigay sau ng property manager pagkatapos ng viewing. Requirement yun na makita mu muna ang property bago ka mag-apply for rent.

Sa mga nagpaparent naman ng propery, it pays na meron kang property manager kasi they have access to a database ng mga renters na hindi nagbabayad or mga black-listed (siguro dahil sa property damages).

LokiJr

If you own a property I think enlisting it to sites such as RP Data would also make the ad more credible hehe

Nadine

@Davidx23: sir, hello po. Magtatanong po sana. Kumusta po sa Brisbane? I'll be flying in 2 week's time, kasi will start work na. Ask ko lang kung hindi ba mahirap mag rent ng place para sa tulad ko na wala namang rental history pa? I've heard and read namimili din mga agents kung sino patitirahin nila.

Tsaka isa pang question, is it possible to buy car na 2k lang dyan? 😃 (sorry medyo OT to).

Thanks!

LakiMasel

Sa mga nakatira or naghahanap po ng rentals, ano po ba yung mga websites na pinupuntahan nyo?

Actually, ang plan ko ay mag hotel (cheap hotels) na lang muna bago maghanap ng rentals.