Hmm...interesting and fishy. Since it's on Craigslist, I take it the person who owns the home posted this, not a real estate agency. I would check with the Rhode Island City Housing Authority to make sure this is on the up and up. They would know more about the property and the home owner to see if it's legit, by who pays it's taxes yearly. Just let them know you found it posted on Craigslist as a rental property and want to be sure it's a legit property for rent, and would like some more information if available before making a decision. If it turns out it's not, then I would relay the info. to the legal authorities and let them take it from there. With the phone contact being in Texas, it could be a person who bought the home on a repo, or foreclosure and is trying to rent it due to probably not being able to sell it. It's possible that the person owning the home that is away on missionary trips in West Africa could have a friend or relative that is watching the residence while they are away for the rental, and the name you looked up could be just a name that a same person in Texas has, but you could probably find more out by contacting the Rhode Island City Housing Authority, or they could point you in the right direction to find out more details.perrinoia wrote:Yeah, it's annoying as hell.
So, on an unrelated topic... My Mom wants to move closer to me, and got offered a job at the local hospital. She asked me to check out a rental house she found on craigslist, which appears to be a scammer.
http://providence.craigslist.org/apa/5353737174.html
The image is ripped from a $1200/month ad, which has many more photos and different contact info.
The "home owner" claims to be a missionary in "West Africa", trying to rent out his primary residence for a few years.
His phone number is from Texas, but the home is in Rhode Island.
And searching for the guy's name on Facebook turns up a guy who lives in North Carolina.
My Mom wants me to report him to the local police department, but I'd rather get some internet justice... What's your opinion, on the matter?
EDIT: Not sure where in Rhode Island this is, but here's a site with listings for the Authority in particular areas:
http://www.rhodeislandhousing.org/sp.cfm?pageid=612