Deposit before viewing

Hi I’m currently in the process of moving into the property but the landlord does not have it on open rent website and he wants me to pay a month rent in advance and the deposit before I view it and get the keys? He did say someone from openrent will show me the property etc but needs payment first is that correct?!

pay before viewing ? NEVER. do not do it. you will regret it Paying for something you have not seen? how do you know he owns it?

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He has pictures and has stated he works with open rent and he we’ll send me the link before paying but has also stated once he has sent the link and details I have 24 hours to pay then 48 if I want to keep the property after viewing then if I opt out I’ll get my money back?

It’s a reservation invoice Once paid they will show the the property afterwards

You must be desperate if you think this rings true. I AM a landlord… You can check who owns a property thru the Land Registry for a few quid

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What could I do to clarify this is legit other then the first option would he have an agents details I could ask for and maybe a document?!

wait till you get replies from others on this site . see what they think

he does not have it on open rent but someone from openrent will show you the property ? Think about it !!! Never pay a reservation fee on what you have not seen … Crazy that is.

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This has all the hallmarks of a scam. Walk away and report him to Openrent management.

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I agree. Sounds like a scam.

If it’s not advertised on Openrent then I very much doubt Openrent doubt be doing the viewing.

It is not normal to pay anything before you view.

It is the sort of thing con men (or women, better not be sexist!) do to extract money from lots of people. All they need is internal photos of a random property, pick an address and download a photo of the outside from Google Street view and then pretend they own it. Then get lots of people to pay them deposits before they disappear into thin air.

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Are you convinced now?

Do not proceed with this. You are being scammed. This is not how OpenRent works.

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The Openrent concept is where landlords advertise their properties themselves directly to tenants looking to rent, no agent or middleman. I used openrent for the first time last year and no one who “works from Openrent” helped with the viewings. That is not a service they provide. Openrent offers landlords services like tenant referencing, safekeeping tenant’s deposit, tenancy contract templates.

Openrent - please take note and investigate

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Hi @texascarlton

We’d recommend that you exercise extreme caution around this property as it is not usual to be asked to make payment before viewing a property. Please contact our customer support team by clicking the blue “need help” button at the bottom of your screen.

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Hi, these people are very slick in what they do. They have a fake Facebook Market place page with a catfished profile. If you ask them for the Open Rent property reference number specific to that particular property you will be given a number in a link that will take you straight to a fake Open Rent website with a chat help. You will be greeted and spoken to have all your fears set aside just so you think its all legitimate and you go ahead and make the payment. After youve made the payment you go back click the link co firm its done they tell you that as soon as its cleared an agent will call arrange to meet and do walk around hand keys over and do the paperwork!!

In my case i was that desperate for somewhere to live and in such a bad place mentally i was just going through the motions and not as sharp as i should have been! However!! I soon snapped out of it when i decided to drive to the house and found it had a sold board outside of it and i had just rented it!!
I wont tell you how i did it but i got my money back by tracking them down within 12 hours and that came as a huge shock to them so did my ultimatum! So take it from me it is a huge scam please do not fall for it. I tried getting help from Open Rent at the time but truthfully with hand on heart, i was left to my own devices until about three days later i got an email. By that time given i had explained i was in urgent need of help that day the boat had sailed.
Not saying Open Rent are not a good company far from it its just that occasion for me in a tight situation it didnt work out. So i hope this helps you and any others. Because as soon as they have your money they shut it all down and vanish. But they dont because they have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of catfished accounts out there once you can spot one you can spot nearly all of them!! Take care everyone :slightly_smiling_face::dog:

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well done darrie. The result you got warmed my heart. These scammers are feeding on desperation. I hope as you left you at least let their tyres down. I good warning to all… texascarlton .Are you listening or have you been taken in by it?

1 of my tenants has a dog and I have no problem with that. I could ask him for extra money to add to his deposit but they are nice people and I am happy to go along with it. Just need to make sure a house inspection is done more regularly. I would like a little dog at some point so I see no point in denying one to my tenants.

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SCAM, SCAM, SCAM. Do NOT pay upfront without viewing. Didn’t know OpenRent showed property??

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Hello. The same thing I think may be happening to me.
I noticed the property on Facebook market place.
His name comes under ‘Paul H’. Does that name ring a bell? I have put an enquiry in to open rent and see where her his property is legit.

Hi this is the name of the landlord I have been speaking with!! Again gas asked me to pay £1900 before a viewing etc. sounds fishy to me!
No advert on openrent

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