So I'm trying to rent an apartment, I've gone and seen the place already and the realtor is asking for a security deposit of almost 1000 dollars and 150 dollars for a background check required for by the apartment complexes association. She (realtor) is showing possible tenants the unit but the property manager is another lady who is the one who will actually be receiving the money order and signing it. I have not seen the property manager or been to any offices. The realtor seems like she is who she says she is, I asked for her ID and proof that she was a realtor and she showed me her drivers license, credit cards and her certification on some website but she didn't have any physical realtor ID (if thats even a thing). I've met the realtor twice, once at the apartment and another time at a t-mobile store where were supposed to meet for me to give her the money order. She was changing her phone because apparently it wasn't working right. She then tried calling the property manager from the new number in front of me but the property manager wouldn't answer because she doesn't respond to phone numbers she doesn't recognize so the realtor had to text her so that she'd answer.
She says I'll probably get accepted but she needs the deposit to hold the place and the background check money. She says if I don't get accepted that the apartments association will return my deposit to me. She handed me some papers with the contract to lease(not the actual lease agreement) but I don't see either of their names on there. There's spots for the tenant and the landlord but they have to be filled out. The thing is I'd be handing these papers to the realtor along with the money orders and I wouldn't get to see them sign it or fill anything out. I also searched up the property manager and I found her profile on trulia.com, she has 2 reviews which are 5 stars and were posted on the same day about 2 years ago and are about the same length so they look fake. Is this is a scam? What steps could I take to ensure that I don't lose my money if I decide to take the gamble?
Submitted November 01, 2018 at 11:32PM by RyEKT https://ift.tt/2PyQTby
