Do you think this rental listing is a scam?

Question

I found a room for rent on craigslist and I met up with a man that said he was managing the place for the owner and he showed me room, he introduced me to 1 of the tenants there and it looks as if the owner does not live there but just rents the rooms out. The house looks like an airbnb with a code lock on the front door and room numbers on the bedrooms doors.
The room he showed me was empty.
The next day I texed him with info about me and I sent him my pay stubs and that was it. I was approved.  No social  no background or credit check.  He emailed me what looks like a legitimate lease and asked me to pay the first and last month with zelle. I told him if I could just pay with money orders and he said that's fine and that he will meet me at an address that is a couple minutes away from where the house is. 
I googled his number and I found a photo of him on google images from what looks like a social media profile. 
The things that sound fishy are that:  it looks like an Airbnb with a 4 digit code lock on front door.
He wanted me to pay with zelle before we meet to give me the keys and code to front door.
He wanted to meet at a diffrent location to collect the money orders.

Bort · Answer

Most of it sounds legit except that they're renting rooms in a house, period. You didn't mention anything about your location which is important to know for info. In most states and cities of the US a person has to register with the city or county or state or both/all of them as a landlord and register the property as a rental before they can legally rent. Some city codes require each dwelling to have it's own bathroom and kitchen. You didn't mention that detail either. Some areas in the US also just plain don't allow rooms to be rented out of a single family home, period, if the property isn't listed (or whatever the term is) as a Duplex.

If you're in the US call your local court house with these concerns and ask where you find out whether this person is legitimately registered, if they have to register. In some areas there is no registration requirement. The court house is where you would begin the journey of finding out whether this place and the person you met is legit or not. If they're not legally renting it out nobody can rent it legally.

R P · Answer

Yes, it sounds like a scam.

Tavy · Answer

I could do that, I could rent anywhere and get a friend to pretend I was the landlord. You could then give me a months rent, I could then give you a random set of keys and disappear.
Of course its a Scam.

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Do you think this rental listing is a scam?

3 Answers