House Rental Scamming

sofabed · January 2013

@Bryann it is confirmed a scam, di na nag reply sa amin. na report ko na rin sa flatmates. also saw the pictures in twitter but the passport he provided has different pic..

sofabed · January 2013

@Saken thanks!

sofabed · January 2013

@icebreaker1928 lalaki po ako sir.

ok naman po, meron na kami kahit papano prospect na tutuluyan.. nirefer ni @barloval ..

sofabed · January 2013

@kenkoy too late sir, nabasa ko lang din mga samples after mag deposit.. tsk

sofabed · January 2013

@shishi hi, anjan na po ba kayo? magkano po rent kung 2 kami ng sister ko? boy po ako

Bryann · January 2013

Here is some useful information regarding this, to avoid being scammed.. and in the case you were, there are links in the page to report those scumbags.

http://flatmates.com.au/content.php/56.html

Nadine · January 2013

@sofabed: naghahanap din kayo? Saan kayong state punta ulit ng sis mo?

shishi · January 2013

@shishi hi, anjan na po ba kayo? magkano po rent kung 2 kami ng sister ko? boy po ako

hello! opo andito nako pero taken na po lhat ng rooms...

sofabed · January 2013

@shishi ok thanks!

sofabed · January 2013

@sofabed: naghahanap din kayo? Saan kayong state punta ulit ng sis mo?

sydney po this Jan. 24

Metaform · March 2013

Got this in my email after inquiring about this apartment I saw in domain.com. It did not bother me that the ad never mentioned a unit number, or that it only costs $200 for a fully-furnished one bedroom unit, or that the apartment did not go through an agency and mentions "For a faster response contact me only through the email mentioned in the above pictures."

So I emailed the "owner" directly and got the below response this morning:

My scammer sense not only went tingling, but it went off the charts. The red flags I saw were:

* Weird email add - [email protected]. Why would someone go through the trouble of getting a private domain email add for such a transaction? And the address is not the same as that I originally emailed.

* Owner will ship the keys of his fully-furnished flat to a stranger? Seriously?

* $200 for a fully-furnished apartment with all the trimmings in an accessible area. Again, seriously?

Did some digging and found very similar situations here and here.

Moral of the story: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

stolich18 · March 2013

Thanks for sharing! nkakaduda rin yung part na sinabi nya na magemail lang sa knya and not to fill out the online contract form. hehhehe

kaimikz · March 2013

Hello po, sino man po may kakilala na nagpa pa rent ng room (filipinos only) dyan sa Melbourne. Actually di ko pa alam kung saan maganda location.
Plan ko po dumating dyan 1st week of May 2013. Di pa po kasi ako makakakuha ng flat kasi bago pa lang ako at balita ko point system din bago ka makapag renta.

Please advise naman po.

Maraming salamat..

li_i_ren · March 2013

Lesson number one: Never pay anything through western union. Western union per se is a reputable company but once you send money through them the company has no way of tracing where the money goes kasi they deal in cash unlike with banks, credit cards and even pay pal wherein you can stop the transaction or they can get the money back for you.

Back to rentals.

Always deal with a reputable rental company.. Ray white, domain, real estate.com.au because people who place their ads there are paying to place those ads and there is a licensed real estate broker dealing with those properties.

Gumtree has its merits but never buy anything in gumtree or believe everything you see in gumtree or any other FREE posting website kasi its free anybody can post anything. There are no checks and balance in these sites.

Getting a rental is based on points systems: you need proof of identity, proof of income or funds/ bank statements, job contracts and previous tenancy contracts plus reference from your previous agents if you dont have those your employers can be your references. Dito sa au they really call those references for character checking like on time ka bah mag bayad ng rent or employed ka bah talaga dito etc.

You need to fill up an application form kasi you are not the only one pplying for the apt. The agents have the right to choose kahit sabi ng iba bawal ang discrimination it actually happens. My colleague who has a rental and she specified to her agent prefers older whites/ no people in their 20s and no smokers.
So they have the right to choose.

You need to view the apt or get a representative to view on your behalf. While in nz kahit mataas na rental history ko there some agency refused my application kasi wala pa daw ako sa oz kahit na may job contract and tickets na kami though there were some who were ok na yung sister ko would view on our behalf hence we had a plac to sty right away when we got here and i just emailed all the application and other paperwork.

You pay 1week advance rent plus bond which is equal to 2weeks to 3 weeks rent which is refundable if the house is in good condition once you leave or finsh the contract.

General rule ... There are no apt below 300 aud per WeeK in oz on our own. Anything 150-200 aud per week must be flatting with others or a Scam.

Rent is per week.

You have to get your own utilities except water. So meaning applying for power, internet, phone sariling sikap po yan and not the agents job anymore. They can recommend though but up to you to call and arrange or it.

Davidx23 · March 2013

Hey guys, napansin nyo ba yung mga posting ng user na si 'barbra12'. Meron syang mga responses sa rental property inquiry sa brisbane, sydney, south australia, etc. Either she is a real estate tycoon or an candidate for this thread. Hehe.