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    Thursday, April 15, 2010

    Follow Up from yesterday's post (housing hunt)

    So, at end of the work day yesterday, I got a response (via email) from the poster of the 3 bedroom condo for rent. And I gotta say, it was a little weird. Perhaps the gal is just overly enthusiastic? (Also, I can tell that English isn't her first language just by the sentance structure and some of the word choices. My co-worker, who's married to a Chinese gal - she's from Taiwan & she's so very sweet/a fun person! - read part of the email response to me and remarked, 'you know, based on the writing, it almost sounds like this person could be Chinese.')

    I had a co-worker do a search on Win2Data (provides property information including owner name) and my aunt do a title search...just cause I wanted to be sure that this person really does own the place their listing...and I came up with a weird discrepency. So guess I need to contact her and ask her how long she's owned the place. (Unless she's not the owner but a renter and needs to sublet while she's away? Hmm....but she did say "I owned the home you are interested in". Past tense, but could be just an issue with not having English as a first language.)

    She's going on some trip and says that the place is available for up to 5 years. Um, ok. Good to know upfront I guess.

    Also, my email had specifically asked to tour the place, meaning the INSIDE of the place, but she responded "You can go ahead and view the surrounding of the house and the neighborhood area". Um. Thanks. Not exactly what I meant. Ok, maybe she just didn't get what I was asking. It's possible....I guess. 

    Another weird point (maybe she's just overly concerned about the care/condition of the property??), she states outright that "also i will be come once in 4 months for visit to see how you are taking care of the home, and if any thing need to be repair inthe home, and fix it back!" I appreciate the willingness to be available to fix things, but having someone Check In on me every 4 months? Kinda weird.

    Obviously she's requesting some information from me (reasonable, when your considering leasing to someone - name, contact info, number of people who'd live there, proposed move in date, etc.). No biggie.

    She also finishes off the email with "Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so i can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt in your name and contacting you. Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the documents and the keys to you..."
    (she goes on about giving this based on trust, etc.)

    So...um...yeah, like I said. A tad weird of a response. But then again, I'm used to dealing with commercial brokers and commercial tenants and our process of leasing here. So maybe just my perception of things.

    And to respond to her point about documents & keys - there's no way I'd sign papers/give over any money WITHOUT looking at the layout of the place (inside & out). I gotta know what the insides look like and if it'll even work for me. Like I said previously...it all sounds good on PAPER. Gotta see it in real life.

    So basically, I haven't responded yet. Still thinking of what to say. I mean, she just could be a very nice person who isn't as comfortable with English as I am and has a lot things on her mind and hasn't got much time to lease this place.

    Thoughts anyone?

    2 comments:

    Jennifer Rosbrugh said...

    Be warry of stuff like this. There are "criminals" in other countries who look up public info on properties in the US then post them for sale/rent/lease. Of course, there are already the true owners living there with no intention of selling.

    http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/04/fake-craigslist.html

    I would not persue this any further for your own protection.

    Marcail Gaelyn said...

    oh, don't worry. After that email I killed the deal. Its dead as a doornail. Too fishy for me.

    I'm back to looking at places to buy (and moving in with my folks - stuff in storage and I'm living outta their office/spare room - until I find a place I like & escrow actually closes). I have found a few places I like and have already bid on them. (Though I found NEW places I like yesterday afternoon/evening but still need a bit more info before we write up the papers to make an offer on them. If we get a response soon, might be submitting a bit late today or tomorrow for some Foothills Ranch 1 bedroom + loft units).