Student Pays Deposit, But Gets No Apartment!

Building Takes Student's Money, But Doesn't Let Her Move In.

College student Janelle Olsen was looking for an apartment on Craig's List.

She was shown a place in Harlem, on Hamilton Terrace and paid out $ 5,500, for first and last month's rent, including more money down for credit checks, because she was told she was a credit risk.

Janelle says she met several times with a woman representing the apartment, each time handing over money towards the apartment. "There were a couple of transactions...first I gave 500 dollars, then a couple for credit checks...then I met her again to give her another 600 dollars."

During these meetings, Janelle never received a business card, was never referred to a real estate broker and never met the landlord. She only met with a woman named "Sonia".

Initially Janelle's lease indicated her move in date was supposed to be September 15th. But close to that date she received word that the apartment was being painted, so she would have to wait.

But when October 1st came around, she was told that a sprinkler system had gone off and ruined the hardwood floors, so that was another delay.

When Janelle called again in October, Sonia flat out told Janelle that she had no idea when the apartment would be finished. So Sonia agreed to return Janelle's money at this point, but she first had to wait for the funds to be released, because the building manager was "sick".

Then Janelle's check was somehow mailed to the landlord's other house in Virginia, so she had to wait yet again for it to be picked up and returned.

By now Janelle was out of patience and called Help Me Howard.

Howard and Janelle paid a visit to the building at Hamilton Terrace, but were not able to speak to Sonia.

Sonia later did call Howard back. She claimed that Janelle kept changing her mind and had been difficult, but she would have her attorney give Janelle her money back the following week.

But after almost a week and a half and still no money, Howard and Janelle paid another visit to Sonia in Hamilton Terrace. That's where Sonia avoided them by getting into a car and drivinging to the local police precinct. They caught up with her and again asked when the money would be returned. Sonia repeated again that Janelle would get her money, claiming she was "in the middle of all this."

As of today, Janelle has still not received her money back. Sonia said that she would pay Janelle back in two parts beginning this week, so we will see what happens.

There are a lot of apartment scams out there, including on Craig's List, where a person advertises an apartment, shows it to a prospective tenant, collects the deposit, then disappears. Don't let it happen to you! If you are looking for an apartment, make sure that you are dealing with a reputable broker or the owner of the building, the landlord. Do not trust people who claim to "have access to the apartment and can show it to you." You have no idea who they are and whether they have legal access to show apartments. And don't pay any money until you have a signed lease in your hand plus a receipt!

Make sure a real estate agent is a licensed broker. Their office should have their license prominently displayed or you can get their license number by checking with New York State's Department of State.

If the ad says "For Rent By Owner", make sure you're dealing with the building's real owner and not a scammer. You can confirm the name of a city buildings's owner by going to the city's online city register , where you'll find the list of deeded property owners on an automated city register information system. If an apartment is advertised as "No Fee", find out exactly what that means. Ask the broker how they are getting paid, sometimes an owner or landlord pays the broker a set fee off the top of the rent, that has been inflated just for that purpose.

Be suspicious if a broker doesn't show you the apartment that you called about. If the one you want is already gone and they're showing you one just like it, be careful. Also don't give in to pushy brokers who pressure you. If you don't feel comfortable about an apartment, walk away. Quality brokers should not be pressuring you into something you don't want or can't afford.

Finally, be VERY careful about what you find on Craig's List . The site is like a giant, anonymous version of your local classifieds. Not everything posted there is what it seems to be and very often it takes some time for scam ads to be identified and removed, so watch out.

And NEVER send money via moneygram or mail, without first having seen the apartment in person and getting a signed lease in your hand. And even that is questionable. If you have to send money long distance to a landlord somewhere else, imagine what type of problems you will have getting anything repaired if the landlord is that far away. NOT WORTH IT.