tee1

+1 Obvious Scam. Looks like it was put together with goggle translate. Most scams on Craigslist will look similar to that. You can weed out almost all scams by asking to see the place even if you can't. If you get a load of excuses to avoiding meeting with you or a Friend then any add is almost certainly a Scam.

Now the crafty one's who turn up with keys and a lease for you to sign there harder to weed out.

Amtobi

Thank you for that offer! I think I'm convinced that it is a scam, it just doesn't sit right with me, I'm not going to pursue it.

I think we just need to start looking at a cattery for the initial period after we arrive and then find something short term when we arrive. Signing a year lease on a place with out seeing it is just too risky.

Which brings me to the next question... Any recommendations for cat boarding in Van/Burnaby/Surrey

Thanks for all the input!

ibobi

testing

Aviator

[quote=Amtobi;11037368I think we just need to start looking at a cattery for the initial period after we arrive and then find something short term when we arrive. [/quote]

I don't think you'll find that very comfortable, I'd go with the motel first.

withabix

"Also the keys and document to the property are right here with us, Which we can send to you after all necessary agreement has be accepted."

That phrase appears in the emails about all of the scam ones that we have seen on Craigslist.

A lot of them have mentioned that the owners are full-on God botherers who have gone to France(!!) to run a mission.

Oh and everything is always included...


As for genuine offers, we were offered one rental, got it all set up, agreed that we didn't need to pay anything until we got here and then the owner got a job offer for a transfer to Victoria and decided she was selling her house instead!

However, she found us a different house before she told us, checked it out and negotiated the rent down as well.

We are now living in that house and we didn't pay any rent until we had been here for a week because the owners were on holiday in Mexico when we arrived!!

You wouldn't get that in Britain!

Edo

I have been told to avoid hook ups from Craigslist due to the common issue of catching STDs.

Amtobi

my brain was running faster than my typing... Short term for when we arrive, cats in a Cattery.

Lol, although the one cattery I've looked at looked pretty snazzy! Much nicer than the motel maybe I should ask if they can accommodate us as well

mandymoochops

lol that made me laugh too. Thanks for posting the reply Amtobi, it's always best to get other opinions and in mine also I'd steer well clear.

That was a lovely offer from Bells and Kiwi, they would certainly weed out any scammers, and knowing the pair of them as i do - if they did go and see a place for you they'd probably scare the landlord so much that he / she would end up paying you to live there

The4BellsLondon

Cheeky mare

ExKiwilass

hahaha true!

ExKiwilass

ha ha. maybe that's a service we could offer to expats!

itai86

Hey guys,

I had a personal experience myself two weeks ago !..
BEWARE of a guy who goes by the name of David Wojda ... he seems to be listing beautiful condos at an affordable price all across Canada.

I was looking for a condo to rent in Toronto, the listing he had was downtown Toronto for 860$ including all utilities. My wife decided to research the prices in the same building and the rent was going for 1500$ ... She even spoke to him since he said he was in the UK for a business contract of 4 years. Somehow she came across googling his name that he was alerted as a scammer !

Lychee

I've seen that same scam, almost word for word, 4 years ago when I was looking for a place in Vancouver.

Red flag number one: "Chicago, IL United State" - nobody talks about cities this way!

Red flag number two: They're conveniently moving away from the city, and won't be able to meet with you in person. Always a red flag!

Red flag number three: Google Translate-style text with strange cases, bad grammar, etc.

Red flag number four: If it's too good to be true...

I'd flag it on Craigslist as fraudulent.

KuroKuro

I tend to copy & paste phrases from the ads into google... Often exactly the same advert will have been posted to Craigslist in completely different cities. Of course, this doesn't pick up all the scams, but it was particularly helpful when I was job hunting.

januarymix

My friend just sent me one to ask if it looks legit. I told him that at 800 for a 2 bed suite, the difference to market would set some bells off. But the ad didn't look Google Translated at least..