Type of a scam Rental
On June 21, I received the following reply for an add I had posted on kijiji, since I wanted to rent out the condo I own for a month:
Hey there, this place sounds perfect for my fiancé and I. We need a place to stay from July 27-August 31’st as our place is going to be going through a reno. We are both professionals, that don’t smoke and have no pets. This looks like a perfect fit. Any chance we can have a look? Thanks so much, Keegan
The couple, Keegan Downer and Alyssa Bell, did come visit the condo and said they wanted to rent it for the month of August since their place was going to undergo renovations. They mentioned that they had British friends who were going to visit and they asked if it was ok for them to stay a couple of nights and maybe longer. They provided references, including one from a man called Nathan Wood (this will become relevant), and the references all checked out. I told them that if they wanted to rent the condo they needed to provide me with a deposit of $300 so that I knew they were serious, and they stalled on this, never providing me with anything. I received a phone call from Keegan Downer telling me that finally the renovations had been postponed to September, but they could assure me the rent by having their British friends stay at the condo for two weeks and renting my place the rest of the time through airbnb. I said to them that this was not what we had agreed upon, and that I wanted tenants, not a company to take care of my place. He mislead me and was dishonest, that is what I told him on the phone. While searching on the web after cancelling all business with him (see papers signed in attachment), I found out that Keegan Downer and Alyssa Bell are the owners of the company Rent Gurus (they did not tell me this when they visited the condo) and that one of the references provided, Nathan Wood, whom they said worked for a company called Cura Security, was previously involved in a similar scam:
<span title="http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/victoria-homeowner-horrified-after-tenant-lists-condo-on-airbnb-1.2864644
http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/victoria-homeowner-horrified-after-tenant-list…⇄ />
I was lucky that I trusted my gut and cancelled all business with them. I did not rent to them.