wow.. I am so upset that I hope I can express the warning in a way that helps others!!
My dh's birthday is in Aug. we (my dd and myself) decided to rent a cottage for a few days/nights in Key West. It is about a 3 hour drive and it would be fun for all of us. So the "hunt" for a place that is nice and affordable.
We started with listing in craigslist. I have used craigslist in the past..
First rental was really cute..so I sent an inquiry to the listing and get a response from "sandra smith" we came to an agrement on dates and price. I asked for an address and said I would be down next week and could I meet her there and pay (my dh had to go down for 1 day for business.. he has a solar energy company and installs solar pool heater etc).. RED FLAG.. she only takes bank transfers!!
Second rental.. you know I don't even remember where I found it but got an answer to my inquiry.. address was given, dates are good, price is doable.. I asked for picture. I had a name and a phone number .. looked up the name ..yes there was a person by that name that lived in the Keys.. good so far. The cell phone number was registered in the keys.. very good. She takes paypal.. very very good. So close!
Then I decided to google the address... found out the property just sold last month and was a 1.5 million dollar property.. hmmm not good. I went back to look at the pictures she sent me... hmmmmm they were the same pictures as posted with the realtor advertisement... really not good. Went to Monron County public records.. the property was owned by a trust ..not her name....really not good
I called paypal and reported her paypal address as a fraud/scam.
I then (very stupid) emailed good ole Sandra Smith and said I would not rent the property.. I felt it was a scam because she only took bank tranfers and karma would deal with her. She emailed me back and said karma was going to kill me and bomb my country! Hmmm.. what do you think she was???
I have decided to rent via a realtor or just get a room at the hyatt