Craigslist can be a great service for looking vacation rental apartment but still, there is a risk to fall into some scam.
In fact, the service provides millions of rental apartment offers yearly and lots of them are short-term rentals.
There are chip offers and house swaps, short-term and long-term rentals.
Nevertheless, there are lots of fraudulent groups that post fake listings and steal people’s money.
So there is a question whether it’s safe to rent an apartment for vacation using Craigslist?
We’ve prepared for you some tips that can help you to avoid scams on Craigslist.
Contents
Fake Listings
Fake listing is a widely used trick to get money from people who look for vacation rentals.
Considering the fact that Craigslist isn’t an official home rental platform, it’s widely used by scammers.
How does it work?
The scheme is pretty simple.
Scammers just need some photos and apartment description copied from any official site, low rental price and security deposit that is transferred directly to the “host”.
It’s a total nightmare for a traveler as you come to your rental just to learn it doesn’t exist or your booking is invalid.
According to the data of 2017, there were about 55 million scam bookings and travelers all over the world lost millions of dollars.
If you want to avoid this horrible trap, just use our tips for vacation rental on Craigslist.
‘Too Good to Be True’ Rentals
Found a rental that is too cheap or it’s an extremely good bargain?
There is a high possibility that it’s a scam!
Just think of the reasons for such a low price.
Maybe it’s just a trap to catch some oblivious vacationers or maybe the owner just really looks for somebody to fill the space.
You cannot be sure for 100% so just do some research.
Look for other similar offers in your destination and check their price.
Use some other platforms to look for similar offers.
Phone Number Check
Before making any payments (security or rental deposits, or any other payments), call the owner to have a little conversation with him or her.
It’s your opportunity to make sure that you have a point of contact if there are any issues.
If there is no phone number in the description, use Craigslist to get in touch with the owner and ask for phone number.
Also, you can ask for some other contacts such as email.
It can be useful when there are any difficulties and you cannot get hold via phone.
If the person doesn’t want to provide you with contact info, it’s time to forget about this offer.
Ask for Extra Photos of Apartments
Extra photos are a great opportunity whether it’s a real listing.
If it’s posted by the real owner, he or she can always provide you with some extra photos without any difficulties.
Also, look for the rental you’ve chosen on other platforms such as Airbnb or HomeAway, and check what photos are added there.
Just keep in mind that normally, good offers contain plenty of good-quality photos.
If the photos are small or blurry, or there are only two or three images, avoid such offers.
Ask for More Specifications
Get in touch with the owner and ask him some specific questions.
For example, you can ask about good restaurants and interesting places near an apartment, parking conditions and so on.
If there is no concrete and quick answer, there is a high possibility of a scam.
Be Careful Sending Money
Considering the fact that Craigslist isn’t an official rental service you can be asked to pay some deposit directly to the owner using PayPal, Western Union and so on.
Don’t send any money if you aren’t sure that the listing was made by the owner or the agency in charge.
Also, it’s better to use your credit card for such payments as it can provide you with some extra protection.
Never use your debit card as scammers can get access to your bank account easily.
Security Deposit
If you are asked to pay a safety deposit, check some official platform to learn what similar listings ask for it.
Compare your research results with the sum you’ve been asked on Craigslist.
Also, learn security deposit laws of your destination and compare it with the owner’s requirements.
Property Verification
Also, it’s a good idea to use Google Maps for your property verification.
Just ask for the rental’s address and search for it.
It’s your opportunity to check whether it really exists and matches the photos on the platform.
Rental Agreement
The best way to avoid scams is a rental agreement and any legal owner or agency should be able to provide you with these papers.
The agreement should contain such info as:
- the terms and conditions of the rental;
- the amount you’ll be paying;
- security deposit;
- other official details.
If the owner of the apartment you want to rent cannot provide you with the agreement, you shouldn’t rent it for sure.
Online Research
It’s always a good option to look for the owner on the Internet and social media.
Look for the owner’s account on Facebook, Instagram or other platforms to find out whether it’s a real person.
Don’t try to contact the owner using social media as it’ll make you look really creepy.
Just surf through the account a little so you can be sure it’s not a scammer.
In fact, there is no certain answer to the question of whether Craiglist safe or not.
There are lots of scammers on this platform.
Nevertheless, if you are attentive and cautious enough, you can avoid all problems and find an excellent place to stay.
But still, it’s better to look for vacation rentals using some official rental platforms.
Hello, Good and Remarkable report
Honestly, I would not recommend you find a vacation rental through Craigslist. It’s just not enough information and proof from the owner, better to use VRBO or AirBnB for something like that. It will feel safer to get there and know there it’s not a fake.