How not to get scammed when renting an apartment?

staggerlee: How to rent an apartment and not get scammed?
So I’m going to view an apartment tomorrow and if I want to rent it then I have to give $ 500 cash to take the apartment off the market. Supposedly I get a receipt for this deposit and it is subtracted from the first month’s rent.

How can I be sure that I’m not giving this person $ 500 dollars to show me an empty apartment that he found?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Nonnie22
Well, since it’s tomorrow I’m not sure it’ll help … but you can check with the Better Business Bureau and any complaints would be filed there. But honestly, I can’t imagine that being something you should worry about. I’ve never heard of getting scammed on an apartment deal, unless it’s like your brother in law or something.

Any one who did that is stealling and it would easily be a police matter.

Answer by Insurance Pickle.com
You don’t pay in cash. That’s ridiculous. If they don’t accept a check or money order then you don’t rent for them. Who cares if they give you a receipt but you can never find the person again or if you end up not signing a lease and have to try to chase them down. It’s not worth the headache.

There is no rush. If it’s available today and it’s available tomorrow, then it’ll be available on Saturday too more than likely.

Answer by david h
Is he an agent or the owner ? does he have a contact address , office , home address , phone number etc.do some homework on him.Ask if there s a problem how can i get in touch with you ?

Answer by irsx02
There are a number of ways you can protect yourself. First and foremost, do not give cold-hard cash. NO, never, no way. Give this person a money order or cashier’s cheque.

Next, before you go to this apt, see if you can find out who the owner is. You may check sites like zillow or your county website. If the name of the owner doesn’t match the name of the person who’s taking in the money, make sure you find out why. It can be a legitimate reason, such as a Realtor/property manager. But the reason why must make sense.

Since you have the name of the person who’s receiving the money, do a quick Google search to make sure this name doesn’t show up in the wrong places.

Other things I can think of. Make sure you have a friend with you. Do not hand him the cheque until you see a receipt, his ID, and something written with date and his signature stating that the apartment is yours.

Answer by Brady
before you sign up and give them any money|shouldn’t take much time at all depedning on who the manager is|i would just google it|that should be easily searchable on the internet|if he is going against what the contract says then its a breach so therefore yes|that would be a blockbuster question|wow good question there|only if there are any damages then you will be|i dont think that is legal|check the local listings|kick them out or at least start the process}