Hi everyone!
We want to move to Germany in order to settle down and work. Thus, we’ve been searching for apartments in every way possible, including Facebook.
Two landlords were recommended by people on Facebook and we contacted them in order to discuss renting the apartment long term. The problem is: they requested that we send money beforehand as “reservation”.
Is this common practice among Germans or scam?
He even tried to persuade me by promising to send a picture of his ID. Would that help in any way if it was legit?
by NoisserpedKnip
4 comments
!housing
that one is a scam
Scam. We have a housing crysis. No landlord will rent out an apartment to someone they haven’t even met in person yet.
The ID is those of another scam victim.
Scam because of the reasons others listed already. Also: you have the legal right to pay the security deposit in 3 installments. One third on top of each of your first 3 monthly rental payments. The landlord might not like it, but they cannot do anything about it. You don’t have to tell them you intend to do this before signing the contract. Any clause that says you cannot do this is null and void.
This is one of the most typical housing scams