The Dangers of Craigslist

Photo by PoPville flickr user seligson2

“Dear PoP,

I’m in the process of looking for a place to rent starting this summer, preferably a house with a yard for the dog. At any rate, I saw an ad on Craigslist yesterday – http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/apa/1678969338.html – that struck me as odd – $1,000 per month for a 4-bed, 4.5-bath 2800-sf pad within walking distance of the Tenleytown metro.

So I emailed the contact listed to ask whether the price was accurate, a typo, or the per-bedroom rent. The response kind of blew my mind (the exchange is below). Now, I have no interest in pursuing this rental any further – the circumstances remind me of a certain Nigerian prince who contacted me ages ago, from the oversharing of quirky details to the strange grammar – but I thought you or your readers might get a kick out of it.”

Even though I use Craigslist for my afternoon rental posts, I really hope to avoid situations like this. Insane:

I did get your response concerning the AD I posted on craigslist.. The house is still available but presently I’m not around… I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometimes ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the bidding so I have to move quickly down to Africa to have my company set up because I will still have to rebid for it in the next 10 years. I came over here with my wife, we both owned the house when we got married. As soon as we settled down here I had a thought of selling the house so I have to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that. She said we may not be able to win the bidding next time, in other to keep our head when we return that we have to keep the house.. I reasoned with her and accepted her advise.. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to have the house rent out because of maintainance, we would have give 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 maintainance… If you notice, you will discovered th at 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 maintainance.. 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 had 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 rent is $1000 and the deposit payment is $1100

ADDRESS 3727 Albemarle Street NW Washington, DC 20016

4 beds: $1000
Full Baths: 4
Half Baths: 1
Square Feet: 2800

Brand new, completely renovated 4 bedroom home less than 5 minutes from Tenleytown/AU Station Metro Stop (red line). 4 full baths, 1 half bath, finished basement, large outdoor backyard deck, fenced backyard with lighted fountain. 1 car garage with additional private parking available in the driveway and on the street. All new appliances including washer and dryer.

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

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 and first month payment________________________
How soon do you want to receive the keys and documents of the house________________________

House Address 3727 Albemarle Street NW Washington, DC 20016

PLS NOTE Drive by and take a look at the exterior of the house because you cannot see the interior of the house.the keys and document are with me and family here in west africa.get back to me after viewing the exterior of the house with the application form filled out so as to proceed in shipment of the keys and document to you after making the payment to me directly,utilities are also included in the rent fee such as water,light,gas,washer,dryer,trash etc