Hi all, I’m in the process of moving to an apartment and found a 1 bedroom at the Maycrest Condos via FB Marketplace. The price is cheap (cheaper than the average rental), no roommates, all amenities included and modern appliances. It all sounds perfect but honestly I’m getting that “too good to be true feeling”.
I’m wondering if anyone knows anything about this apartment complex. Is it rent stabilized? Issues with the building? Lots of vacancies? I’m suppose to schedule a tour but since I’m a 25 yr old female I want to make sure I’m not getting myself into a dangerous situation.
Many thanks :)
EDIT: I decided to NOT apply to this apartment. Thank you all so much for your advice, it did sound a little shady / suspicious. Btw the person who was messaging me did not ask for any money prior to checking out the apartment, just standard questions like my credit history, criminal record, income etc. Nevertheless, I’m just going to keep looking
Make sure you actually see the apartment first. Google the shit out of the landlord, ask for references, etc. - there are so many scams on Facebook marketplace. Do not give a deposit or first months rent until you look over the lease. If it’s an apartment complex, there should be a property manager on site - go into the office and talk to them. I’ve heard horror stories of scammers just posting pictures of random apartments for rent that they don’t even have ownership of - they take your security deposit and you never hear from them again.
Great advice!
Well, a couple things to consider:
1) It appears to be an older building; and
2) It appears to be a co-op situation, which means there can be drawbacks to ownership. Right now there’s major disputes in NYC and FL related to things such as land leases and overall maintenance.
If the price of the unit is significantly cheaper relative to the market, it’s likely a scam.
If you want to do some digging, you can look up who owns the unit here. If you ask smart questions around who owns the unit and the party who claims to represent them (if it’s not the owner themselves) you’ll quickly understand whether or not it’s a scam, IMO.
Additionally, given that it’s a co-op, is the owner even permitted to rent out a unit? This isn’t always allowed in co-ops and typically requires board approval. Meaning, is there any mention of board approval or in-depth financial analysis in the rental listing?
I can DM you the Facebook listing if that’s okay! I decided to not take it as another Reddit thread I posted this to made some good points about it being a potential scam
Sure.
Shoot it across.
It’s because it’s a coop. Fort Lee is filled with coops and they usually rape you on the monthly “fees.”