My House Hacking Journey: Pt. 3
By: Geoff Lane
Tags: Advice, Life Lessons, Perseverance, House Hacking, Real Estate

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, chances are it’s a fu*!ing duck

Happy Wednesday everyone. You’re in luck because today I’m gonna drop a value bomb on you. One you become aware of only after almost being scammed. You’re gonna wanna get out a pen and paper here! Totally kidding. I hate it when people say that on podcasts or YouTube videos. It’s like Hey. I’m busy here.

Anyways, my last post in this series was about where to look to find a room in a hurry that you can rent on a month-to-month basis as you look for your first house hack. Now, although I covered where to look, I didn’t mention something you have to look out for.

FRAUDS.

Yes, they’re out there. And if you’re someone as trusting as myself, you may not have your guard up as much as you should when looking on these sites. And I’m not just talking about Craigslist here. It was actually one of the other sites I mentioned — Roomster. Or more accurately, FRAUDSTER.

Okay that’s harsh. There are totally legit people on there. But, as is the case with anything, there are a few rotten apples. That said, I narrowly escaped forking over a $500 security deposit before prior to my move-in date. Didn’t think much of this request at first. After all, if for some reason it fell through, this landlord would have to go out and find another tenant and pay for a longer vacancy in their home.

But for some reason, something wasn’t adding up. This wasn’t the first person I dealt with in my search for a room, and the other people who were serious about renting their room to me asked to hop on the phone. In this case, I was the one to ask to hop on the phone and they declined. Not necessarily a red flag, IF they wanted to meet in person prior to having me sign a lease agreement just to ensure it was a good fit for them and for me. After all, I would be living in their house.

Nope. Not the case here. And not only that, I also thought it was odd that this person didn’t ask for either an offer letter or pay stubs or bank statements confirming that I am indeed employed and able to pay rent every month. What the hell?

Another thing. The pictures they emailed me of the house didn’t even slightly resemble the ones I saw on Zillow of the property at the address this person claimed to live at. Hmm. Perhaps they recently renovated the place?

So I kept asking to hop on the phone, even if only for a couple minutes so we could get a feel for each other. The fraudster here said they were at work and unable to step away. But they could text me throughout the whole day? Weird.

Then I’m like Okay, let’s see what social media presence they have. The answer? There was no such thing…No Facebook, no Insta, No LinkedIn. Nothing. It was at this point that I thought Okay something’s actually off. This is not normal.

I’m lucky enough to have a cool realtor in the Atlanta area who was able to do some light detective work for me, and he got in touch with the company that listed the home on Zillow. Lo and behold one of their reps said the home is not available for rent by room and the only way to apply is on there website. In other words, the person I was talking to was in fact NOT who they said they were and the house didn’t belong to them.

Boom. Fraudster status verified. Evidently, it can happen on any platform out there peeps. Even the ones that aren’t sketchy. So keep an eye out for sketchiness when hunting for a room to rent, no matter where you look. Chances are, if someone is unwilling to hop on the phone or meet in person prior to throwing together a lease agreement for you, they aren’t legit. And don’t be fooled by them sending you a selfie with their license! These things are easy to fabricate — remember the fake you used in college?

Just be careful. Go with your gut feeling. Make sure to speak with these people and get a feel for them, whether it’s over facetime or in person. If you get sketched out, move on as there are tons of other options out there. And if I were you, I would prioritize peace of mind over what’s cheapest any day. Stay tuned for the next part in the series peeps! T-three days ‘till I’m Atlanta bound!