is this apartment a scam?

It's a scam, you should NEVER rent a place from Craigslist unless it is listed by the actual owners/managers of the apartment/house AND you can walk through it yourself. The place is owned by someone else, the keys are fake and You will never gain access. Western union isn't fake but you will never see the money again. You need to see if you can contact the place its at and say they are being used in a scam

Total SCAM. Any landlord that asks you to send money before you view the

apartment, you know it is a scam. Why would ANY landlord send keys to someone

they do not know, who could go to the apartment and vandalize it without having

spent a penny? Does that make sense?

That's totally a scam... Never send anyone money like that. You think he's going to manage his apartment from Ukraine? lol

This exact scam has been around for more than 10 years that I know. I am a Realtor and one of my vacant listings was put on Craigs list this way by some jerk. I don't how many people got cheated by that guy.

Scam. Any time you see Western Union, Moneygram, etc, its a scam.

That's totally a scam... Never send anyone money like that. You think he's going to manage his apartment from Ukraine? lol

When you send money by Western Union, there is no return policy. Once the person pick up western union transfer it is converted to funds of that country.

I hope that by the comment in your statement by sending you the location you mean the location of the keys, and rental agreement. I hope you do not mean the location of the rental unit.

This might not be a scam, however, all the classic are there that would indicate this a scam. The landlord is not located near the rental unit, you are required to correspond by electronic means for information and documents to rent the unit. You have not seen the interior of the rental unit.

The biggest of all in a scam is you are required to send money, after which you would get the keys and rental agreement.

When something is to good to be true, it is.

When something look like a duck quack like a duck and walk like a duck, guess what? You have a duck.

There are many good ads on Craig's list, however, there are a few scams on this site also. You have to be

extremely careful in any business transaction. If you use common sense and follow the gut feeling you would have, normally you are able to prevent from being scammed. There is a little feeling in your gut about this particular transaction. Listen to it.

Web sites might be a good place to find an apartment or house to rent, if you want to go through the entire list to find one in your city and state.

The best place to look for places to rent is to go to the yellow pages of your telephone book, look under property managers.

You might also Google Property managers in whatever city or community you want to live in and see what comes up. Do not pay for these list or information as it is free from reputable property managers.

These individuals list properties for rent in certain areas, so make sure you select the areas in which you wish to rent.

Call several of the property managers listed there, tell them you want a list of properties that they have for rent. Some will fax, email or mail the list of local places to rent along with the address, number of bedrooms and bath rooms, amenities available, such as washer and dryers or gyms, the monthly rental of the unit. Most will include a rental application. These list will include the monthly rental required, if a lease or month to month agreement will be signed. They will also indicate if they will accept Section 8 vouchers. They will also indicate it they have disabled access, allow pets and if so the type allowed.

They might indicate a web site that you might visit to get their list of places to rent. In most instances you would be able to see a visual picture of the rental that are offered for rent.

It does not cost to get a rental list from a reputable property manager. Some will require you to stop by their office and pick up the list. A lot of them post their list outside of their office, so the list are available 24/7 365.

Make sure you don't fall for the scams and purchase a list as 70%-80% of these list are composed of free list they have compiled. They are not the property managers of any property in most instances.

You might consider obtaining a crime report from the city in which you would want to reside.

I hope this has been of some benefit to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Yes it is a scam

Sounds like a scam so be very careful. I would not send money.

You would be a fool to pay him anything. If he did not hire a management company to show you the place, in person, then it is a scam. You will not receive any keys. And, of course, he wants you to use Western Union. They are the ONLY money order company that is not traceable.