Does this sound like a possible scam?

[fizzyBee]

We posted on gumtree looking for a house to rent and placed several adds on different days.

I had an email yesterday from a woman supposedly offering her home for a very good rental price, in a great location, fully furnished saying that she was moving to live with her son and their new baby. She sounded as if she wasn't English from how she was writing. She sent photos of the property and got her lawyer to email a rental agreement to us to sign. Even this supposed lawyers email seemed dodgy. He emailed from a yahoo account.

Then the next day I had an email from another woman, written in a very similar style and again not sounding English. I thought this was a bit odd so I replied from a different email address with a different name. She said she was a hotel manager in London renting out her late grandmothers home, again for a very reasonable price, fully furnished and about a 5 min walk from the last property. Again she offered to send photos and I'm just waiting on the reply.

What do you guys think. Any ideas?

[lovenut]

View the properties and ask for reference details for the persons renting them to you. You could also check that they actually own the properties and contact the citizens Advice Bure. if you are in any further doubt they will provide advice for free.

[Twenty20]

Oh dear, please don't do it! No right minded landlord would send out tenancy agreements without at least doing some form of credit check. And there is no reason to involve a lawyer for a tenancy! I expect if you signed you'd be paying a deposit on a house she doesn't own and that you cant ever move in to - and you'd never hear from her again.

[CheekyChops]

There was an article in a magazine / newspaper a few weeks ago where by about 10 people turned up to move into the same flat on the same day.

It turns out they had all paid a deposit and assumed they had secured the tenancy. The person they paid the deposit to vanished and had never owned the flat in the first place.

[theonlyone]

Don't do it , go to an approved letting agency ,as they should be bonded so you get the deposit back when you move out .

[buildersmate]

Known as the Association of Registered Letting Agents (ARLA).

[trickymainly]

I enjoyed reading it since it was so well-written and interesting. I wish my writing was as interesting. Sadly, it's not about me because even writing college papers is difficult for me. https://wordwipe.io