Today’s Rental “WILL NOT LAST”

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by Prince Of Petworth April 27, 2017 at 2:15 pm 13 Comments

rental

This rental is located at 3051 Idaho Ave, NW. The Craigslist ad says:

“$900 / 1br – FANTASTIC NATURE VIEWS FROM TOP FLOOR ONE BEDROOM

THIS ONE WILL NOT LAST
QUIET PEACEFUL NATURE VIEWS FROM VERY LARGE 1 BEDROOM
HAS NEWER APPLIANCES, EAT-IN KITCHEN, PANTRY
LOTS AND LOTS OF CLOSETS WITH VERY LARGE LIVING ROOM
PRIVACY, BALCONY
NEAR METRO, METRO BUS STOPS IN FRONT AND IS ALSO REGULAR BUS
NEAR GROCERY
PARK WITH POOL AND GYM RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET
FORWARD ME YOUR EMAIL FOR MORE DETAILS
RENT INCLUDE ALL UTILITIES”

Moe

No interior photos = scam.
Nikki

I’m pretty sure that building doesn’t have any balconies…
Hill Denizen

Yeaaaah, unless this is a room in an apartment, this is DEFINITELY a scam. I don’t even think you can get a studio across the river for $900 including utilities.
Name

Yeah considering one bedroom rentals in that building typically go for around $1700… Scam that unfortunately I’m sure tons of people are emailing them about already :/
KG

Definitely a scam. Lots of them pop up this time of year when there’s lots of young and naive college grads coming to town who haven’t yet realized they can only afford a crawlspace in a group house.
- FridayGirl
  
  +1
Frank

This is either a scam or the “more details” part is you only get to be in the apartment 8 hours a day or something. Or you have to give me handjobs. This is definitely not 100% legit.
Springer

Maybe they meant to type $1900? Otherwise, definitely a scam.
andy2

Scam – no park with a pool across the street.
Nathan

I get that this is likely a scam, but what is the scam exactly? Are they trying to get people to pay an application fee upfront or where does the scamming happen?
- John Davis
  
  So for instance, a friend of mine was moving up here for an internship a few years back and thought she had a place lined up. The person asked her to wire the security deposit and whatever else (huge red flag there; obviously never agree to this), and then when she got here the place either didn’t exist or someone was living there (I don’t recall exactly).
  
  I assume in this case the person who posted the listing is hoping to get as far as possible online with someone from out of town and then ask for a wire transfer or some such business. In any event, the post has been flagged for removal.
- CathedralHeightsMetro
  
  One common scam is, “I’m living abroad right now, so pay me the deposit and I’ll mail you the keys.” I know several people who have gotten this response to their inquiries about “too good to be true” apartments. I can’t imagine many people fall for it, but I guess someone does? I mean, there must be a reason the scammers keep scammin’.
Rocky

I live near this building. It is no where near a metro station — there is no park with pool across the street — and the building does not have balconies.

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