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Ann Arbor Real Estate Blog

Blog about Ann Arbor and Saline Michigan

Craigslist Scammers in Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor folks looking to rent BEWARE!

Craigslist scammers are out in full force advertising our homes for sale in Ann Arbor and posting them as rentals.

I had three calls this week, from really nice folks looking at one of my homes for sale that they found on craigslist for rent.

For rent for $700.00

It is not for rent.

It is a “short sale.”

I immediately went over and found the home. Reported it, yea that did a lot of good. Then I emailed the person as his email address was front and center.I told him to “Take down the ad.”

In speaking to the people that called, he wanted them to wire the money to Nigeria then he would send them the key. Thank goodness they called me and I was able to tell them it was not for rent.

He told them he did have it listed for sale, with a local Realtor, but decided to rent it. NOT!

Here is what he was sending out when people ask him about the house.

Hello,
I resided in the house with my family, my wife and my only son. Presently we have moved out due to my transfer. Presently my house is still available for rent for $700 (rent already includes utilities).More so Now,I’m currently in Lagos,Nigeria for a missionary work.
As soon as we settled down here, I had a thought of selling the house so I had to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents.Later we decided to have the house rented out because of maintenance, we would have given the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with me later if I let him or her know that I’m letting it out because of maintenance.If you notice, you will discover that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the maintenance. Plans has already been made to remove the for sale sign and take it off the market. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won’t be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just have a feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the house and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the house.
The house is available for rent at the moment so you are free to move in as soon as you wish to…A Deposit of $700 (which happens to be the security deposit) is required before moving in…..Feel free to call me for more information and arrangements on how to get the keys and other necessary documents delivered to you.Please if you are ready now to occupy the house and believe you can assist us in maintaining the house, kindly provide the information below for record purpose..

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Application Form
Full Name__________________________________________________
Home Phone (        ) ________________________
Date of Birth_________________________________
Other Phone (       ) ___________________
Current Address_______________________________Apt#________ City__________________ State______ Zip________
Reasons for Leaving____________________________Rent $__________Phone (       ) ____________________________
Are you married____________________________
How many people will be living in the house____________________________
Do you have a pet____________________________
Do you have a car____________________________
Occupation____________________________
Your Exact move in date____________________________
How soon can you make the deposit payment________________________
How soon do you want to receive the keys and documents of the house________________________

For more inquiries, please feel free to reach me on any of the numbers below
( +234-703-345-1866 OR 011-234-703-345-1866 OR +234-709-521-3144)

Yesterday the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors sent out this notice:


















 

This is one reason I use SentriLock lockboxes on all my listings.

Please be careful, you can search for rentals in Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas on my home search site.

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4 thoughts on “Craigslist Scammers in Ann Arbor

  1. Missy, just want to point out that this happened to one of our listings also. I want you to know that the email from the Board implies that the lock box was broken into to get the key. That is not the case. The scammer is calling in and using a Realtors name and ID number (which you can get from the State of Michigans website), and then opened the lockbox to get the key. A sentrilock box would not have been safer, as the scammer would get a 4 hour code and then open the lockbox. What we are now doing is insisting on getting a phone number that we have to call back before we give out any combo or 4 hour code – even on vacant homes where we don’t have to confirm the appointment. I think that with this scam, they are picking vacant homes, so the the scammer gives a fake number, and gets the combo or 4 hour code, knowing that no one’s going to call back to confirm the appointment. With inhabited homes, we have to call back to confirm, so the scammer will be discovered. Hope this helps.

    1. I had a local Realtor/Broker send out clients to one of my listing, she thought it was vacant. It was NOT, my clients kids were living there during the short sale. I had a SentriLock on it.
      The difference was she gave the one day code to her buyers, and the sellers kids were shocked when in they walked. She even had the nerve to fill out feedback.
      I am filing a grievance against her.
      The point is I could have tracked who went in with SentriLock, not with a punch pad. It took me one call.
      In the post above, one of the people who called me, said he told them he did not have a key it was in Nigeria, and he would mail it once the 700.00 arrived.
      I know people shouldn’t be that stupid and the 3 that called me weren’t. But, many consumers don’t pay attention to scams until they are looking to rent or buy.

  2. THANKS YOU FOR SHARING THE INFORMATION, THEY STOLED MY JEWELRY THE SAME WAY AND THE POLICE WONT FLIP A FINGER TO HELP. THANKS MONA

Thoughts?

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