Could be a complete lie/scam. Could be legit but you should still never sign for someone unless you’re willing to pay their rent.
Yea just ignore and block them.
It’s a scam. Asking a complete stranger to pay rent upfront and take legal responsibility is INSANE.
Could be. I personally wouldn’t do this. If something goes wrong and they just leave the country, you will be responsible for everything. So I don’t recommend doing this for people you don’t know or barely know.
Regardless of scam or not it would be just silly to do that.
Even if it is not a scam, it is a massive risk.
Never, ever, *ever* (and, since I cant stress this enough, ***ever***) be a guarantor. Really, don’t.
I wouldn’t do it for my best friend. Money in the way always causes havoc. Always.
Take it form a 55 yo who had her faire share of experiences in the matter – or make your own, it’s your choice totally 😉
Even if it’s not a scam – no. Red flag. Imho.
ASK at UniApart before
There was somebody posting the same story here a few weeks ago.
What you could do: if the terms are, that you as a co signer could end the contract in case the rent is not paid by here and you can cancel the lease with a 3 month advance, then
– you could as ask her for a 4 month rent advance payment
– thus you would be 4 month ahead of rent in case she does not pay anymore
Still a lot of trouble for a stranger and I don’t understand why her parents from Israel cannot sign this haha
Seems like scam
If you don’t know this person closely then it is a scam.
It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a scam. The proposition is that you act as a financial guarantor for a complete stranger. Consider two of the possible outcomes here:
1. Larissa is 100% honest but terribly unlucky. She runs out of money through no fault of her own, also accidentally floods the flat, and because she overlooked something in the paperwork it turns out her liability insurance is invalid. Oops! You’re on the hook for three months’ rent and 20k€ of repairs.
1. Larissa is a liar. She never had the rent money but just skips town when the rent demands start piling up. And leaves the bath running out of pure malice when she moves out. How mean! You’re on the hook for three months’ rent and 20k€ of repairs.
From your point of view as guarantor, these outcomes are functionally identical.
The 3 day time frame at the end are illegal and give it away as a scam.
But of course there is more: Do you KNOW that person? No? Why do you even think it is NOT a scam?
Oh, wait. I just realize, that I can not pay my rent for the next month! Would you pay for me? But it’s urgent, I will have to leave tomorrow, if I can’t pay!
No. I don’t need money. Keep it….
There’s only one way to find out.
In all seriousness though, you shouldn’t believe this kind of story even if it’s your nephew, unless you’re willing to lose whatever amount of money they make you responsible for.
It’s a scam, don’t fall for that honey trap
Seems legit, it’s a lot to ask, but seems legit.
I am from Ulm and lived at Uniapart myself; I know about their strict policies.
With Uniapart, there is no standard rental contract—they only offer fixed-term contracts.
I understand that a lot of people here consider it a scam, but this is really a real-world struggle international students face.
I don’t know if I would help in this case, as such a contract is really fragile, and there are so many things that could go wrong.
But still, it seems legit to me.
Uniapart is known for not returning deposits in order to renovate the apartments, so watch out for that.
If you have to ask it is a scam
I don’t think it’s a scam because of the paperwor neccessary to become a “Bürge” in a rent contract.
My guess is she is just naive.
BUT I still wouldn’t do it.
Whoever takes up this responsibility could be held lable for basically everthing comming out of that rent agreement.
Unpaid rents, damages, unpaid utilities…
Definitely a scam. You don’t co-sign a contract unless you know the person really really really well. There are maybe 10 people in the world for who I would co-sign.
Hopefully its not and she has to go back
No German landlord in his rightful mind, knowing that Germany “ein Rechtsstaat“ and that „es gehts nur um Ordnung“ will require such…….don’t fall victim please.
I disagree that this is definitely a scam.
It could be. However consider this:
The timing fits. We are between semesters right now. Students definitely are looking for apartments atm.
This was posted in your sports group. Has she ever been to any games? Does anyone know her?
Does she have a student card? Can she show you her notes/slides from lectures?
Can she offer you a deposit? Can she give you detailed information about her parents?
There are absolutely ways you could verify this to a certain degree and be somewhat safe.
You could ask for guarantees of insurance (I’m not sure how, but there are apparently ways to do this). You could have her parents put money in escrow (basically a deposit).
It would be a lot of work and you’d still take on quite some risk.
I would stay out of it.
Edit: oh, crap she *just* joined the group. Ääääh…
It think it’s not a scam, but it’s a huge responsibility the she asks to shoulder.
I would do it for my children but probably not for strangers. I would rather offer living room /guest room if you really want to help her.
Being a garantor: if the person you trust the most in life asks you, then you say…
No.
I would say it’s a legit problem, I remember being in a position like that but obviously I couldn’t ask any stranger to be a guarantor cos only someone insane would agree.. I looked for alternate options and got it eventually.
I hope it is not a scam
I would only suggest the person to look for alternatives. Many alternatives are available
As an Israeli, I can confirm this is a clear scam.
There are too many hints that they are not from Israel.
I assume the number does not start with `+972`, right?
Larissa isn’t even Israeli name, it’s greek
Do you really want to trust a total stranger that she pays her rent, after her landlord said they don’t trust her and want someone else to guarantee that? This will not only be a financial risk for you where you may need to pay a few months of missed rent, but it will also negatively affect your credit score until she cancels that contract. You may also be required to pay for any damages she does to the house.
It may be a scam, it may be legit. But honestly, this is too much to ask from a stranger.
Sure, i’ll do it. You pay me 4 months rent upfront, now, and you get 3.5 back after September, if you didn’t miss a payment.
Rule 1: Everything is a scam.
On the off chance that this is not a scam, you could point out to the person that there are alternatives to a normal ‘Burgschaft’, e.g. Bankburgschaft, Burgschaftversicherung which she could suggest to the landlord. She may also not be aware that she could just offer to pay the whole rent for the four months up front and that the landlord might be happy with that. Some landlords actually prefer Bankburgschaften as banks will always pay up if there are damages whereas the parents of a student in a WG might not or it might turn into a legal battle. I think it is possible that this is genuinely an international student who is in an unfortunate situation and doesn’t know what to do as she doesn’t have any family in Germany – nonetheless, there is no way you should ever agree to do this for a complete stranger.
31 comments
Could be a complete lie/scam. Could be legit but you should still never sign for someone unless you’re willing to pay their rent.
Yea just ignore and block them.
It’s a scam. Asking a complete stranger to pay rent upfront and take legal responsibility is INSANE.
Could be. I personally wouldn’t do this. If something goes wrong and they just leave the country, you will be responsible for everything. So I don’t recommend doing this for people you don’t know or barely know.
Regardless of scam or not it would be just silly to do that.
Even if it is not a scam, it is a massive risk.
Never, ever, *ever* (and, since I cant stress this enough, ***ever***) be a guarantor. Really, don’t.
I wouldn’t do it for my best friend. Money in the way always causes havoc. Always.
Take it form a 55 yo who had her faire share of experiences in the matter – or make your own, it’s your choice totally 😉
Even if it’s not a scam – no. Red flag. Imho.
ASK at UniApart before
There was somebody posting the same story here a few weeks ago.
What you could do: if the terms are, that you as a co signer could end the contract in case the rent is not paid by here and you can cancel the lease with a 3 month advance, then
– you could as ask her for a 4 month rent advance payment
– thus you would be 4 month ahead of rent in case she does not pay anymore
Still a lot of trouble for a stranger and I don’t understand why her parents from Israel cannot sign this haha
Seems like scam
If you don’t know this person closely then it is a scam.
It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a scam. The proposition is that you act as a financial guarantor for a complete stranger. Consider two of the possible outcomes here:
1. Larissa is 100% honest but terribly unlucky. She runs out of money through no fault of her own, also accidentally floods the flat, and because she overlooked something in the paperwork it turns out her liability insurance is invalid. Oops! You’re on the hook for three months’ rent and 20k€ of repairs.
1. Larissa is a liar. She never had the rent money but just skips town when the rent demands start piling up. And leaves the bath running out of pure malice when she moves out. How mean! You’re on the hook for three months’ rent and 20k€ of repairs.
From your point of view as guarantor, these outcomes are functionally identical.
The 3 day time frame at the end are illegal and give it away as a scam.
But of course there is more: Do you KNOW that person? No? Why do you even think it is NOT a scam?
Oh, wait. I just realize, that I can not pay my rent for the next month! Would you pay for me? But it’s urgent, I will have to leave tomorrow, if I can’t pay!
No. I don’t need money. Keep it….
There’s only one way to find out.
In all seriousness though, you shouldn’t believe this kind of story even if it’s your nephew, unless you’re willing to lose whatever amount of money they make you responsible for.
It’s a scam, don’t fall for that honey trap
Seems legit, it’s a lot to ask, but seems legit.
I am from Ulm and lived at Uniapart myself; I know about their strict policies.
With Uniapart, there is no standard rental contract—they only offer fixed-term contracts.
I understand that a lot of people here consider it a scam, but this is really a real-world struggle international students face.
I don’t know if I would help in this case, as such a contract is really fragile, and there are so many things that could go wrong.
But still, it seems legit to me.
Uniapart is known for not returning deposits in order to renovate the apartments, so watch out for that.
If you have to ask it is a scam
I don’t think it’s a scam because of the paperwor neccessary to become a “Bürge” in a rent contract.
My guess is she is just naive.
BUT I still wouldn’t do it.
Whoever takes up this responsibility could be held lable for basically everthing comming out of that rent agreement.
Unpaid rents, damages, unpaid utilities…
Definitely a scam. You don’t co-sign a contract unless you know the person really really really well. There are maybe 10 people in the world for who I would co-sign.
Hopefully its not and she has to go back
No German landlord in his rightful mind, knowing that Germany “ein Rechtsstaat“ and that „es gehts nur um Ordnung“ will require such…….don’t fall victim please.
I disagree that this is definitely a scam.
It could be. However consider this:
The timing fits. We are between semesters right now. Students definitely are looking for apartments atm.
This was posted in your sports group. Has she ever been to any games? Does anyone know her?
Does she have a student card? Can she show you her notes/slides from lectures?
Can she offer you a deposit? Can she give you detailed information about her parents?
There are absolutely ways you could verify this to a certain degree and be somewhat safe.
You could ask for guarantees of insurance (I’m not sure how, but there are apparently ways to do this). You could have her parents put money in escrow (basically a deposit).
It would be a lot of work and you’d still take on quite some risk.
I would stay out of it.
Edit: oh, crap she *just* joined the group. Ääääh…
It think it’s not a scam, but it’s a huge responsibility the she asks to shoulder.
I would do it for my children but probably not for strangers. I would rather offer living room /guest room if you really want to help her.
Being a garantor: if the person you trust the most in life asks you, then you say…
No.
I would say it’s a legit problem, I remember being in a position like that but obviously I couldn’t ask any stranger to be a guarantor cos only someone insane would agree.. I looked for alternate options and got it eventually.
I hope it is not a scam
I would only suggest the person to look for alternatives. Many alternatives are available
As an Israeli, I can confirm this is a clear scam.
There are too many hints that they are not from Israel.
I assume the number does not start with `+972`, right?
Larissa isn’t even Israeli name, it’s greek
Do you really want to trust a total stranger that she pays her rent, after her landlord said they don’t trust her and want someone else to guarantee that? This will not only be a financial risk for you where you may need to pay a few months of missed rent, but it will also negatively affect your credit score until she cancels that contract. You may also be required to pay for any damages she does to the house.
It may be a scam, it may be legit. But honestly, this is too much to ask from a stranger.
Sure, i’ll do it. You pay me 4 months rent upfront, now, and you get 3.5 back after September, if you didn’t miss a payment.
Rule 1: Everything is a scam.
On the off chance that this is not a scam, you could point out to the person that there are alternatives to a normal ‘Burgschaft’, e.g. Bankburgschaft, Burgschaftversicherung which she could suggest to the landlord. She may also not be aware that she could just offer to pay the whole rent for the four months up front and that the landlord might be happy with that. Some landlords actually prefer Bankburgschaften as banks will always pay up if there are damages whereas the parents of a student in a WG might not or it might turn into a legal battle. I think it is possible that this is genuinely an international student who is in an unfortunate situation and doesn’t know what to do as she doesn’t have any family in Germany – nonetheless, there is no way you should ever agree to do this for a complete stranger.
Comments are closed.