Private Rental Houses

Complete scam artists! I’m out $75! They wouldn’t even provide a plausible explanation as to why I was not approved. How are they still in business?

We are out to get them , they’ll die soon for all of this bull[censored] trouble they put me and others in

SCAM! Private Rental Houses lists properties that they DO NOT manage. The property I applied to rent was occupied and was not available. I was able to locate the actual owner. He had no idea his property was listed. I paid $150 for application fees. I was told by Joseline that the application was denied. I asked why. I was told to call the manager, Randy Stuart. (813) 370-0757.
He had no explanation and said we’d receive a letter.
Well, our credit was NEVER checked! Thankfully, I was able to get my money back. If you look at their website, there are properties on there now that are not available. Robert (Drake) Wagner is also involved (813) 802-8519. There are over 110 complaints with the BBB over the last three years! They operate under other names as well. Houses 4 Rent Florida. 17633 Gunn Hwy # 161 Odessa, FL 33556- https://www.rentahomefast.com/ (813) 444-2615. These people need to be STOPPED!

Scammer’s phone +1 (813) 519-3399

Scammer’s website Privaterentalhouses.com

Country United States

Type of a scam Moving

Initial means of contact Text message

I was contacted by text message after I was trying to look up an apartment/houses for rent so I replied. I told her that I have been looking for houses and it’s hard to get one that allows 4 dogs. She said, it will be ok for that said listing located in Jason Rd Springhill. Just fill out the application and she will follow up. The next day my supervisor told me she missed a call from Florida, but wasnt sure if it was them calling so I thought they are trying to do a background check on me. She called them back and left a message but they didnt call backor answer. The next day a guy called and said my application was rejected for an unexplained reason. He said, he was told to say that its because of my job, my credit report and my rent history. Furst of all, I have a an excellent credit score and it was never checked. I work as a Clinical Lab Scientist for 20 years and worked from 3 different countries and moved here in Iowa and bought my home which I lived in for the past 6 years. So I dont know what is their basis. I messaged Pam Sanford regarding the issue and told me to call Drake to reconsider. I called him and asked to leave him a text and he will follow up the next day but he never did give me an update. They obviously just took $150 out of our hard worked money. Please be careful with these people.

This company is a scam I did my application for them they denied me because they said a third-party denied me which I never heard of a third-party denying someone so be careful of these people they’re taking your money and denying you for no apparent reason when I’ve been in my place that I’m in now for almost three years and before I moved into my place I was in another place for two years so how is it that I got denied from a third party be careful of these people they’re scamming you out of your money

Victim Location 33637

Total money lost $150

Type of a scam Travel/Vacations

Initial means of contact Not applicable

Found a house listed on multiple rental websites that directed me to this company. I called and they directed me to watch the walk through video and apply online and pay the application fee of $75 per adult, $150 total. We did so, were charged the fee, but credit was never checked and they called about 2 days later saying we were not approved but couldn’t give a reason why. They said we should get a cosigner to apply. I asked what the criteria to get approved was and they replied with a tenant to pay rent on time and keep up with the property…but still no definite answer.

Victim Location 33881

Total money lost $150

Type of a scam Credit Cards

Initial means of contact Not applicable

My girlfriend and I paid a $150 for an application in order to view a property. We were interested in several properties that this company advertised on many sites such as MLS and trulia. We both have an excellent rental history as I owned a home for 11 years previously. We also have excellent credit and make way more than the required 3x more than rent. We were denied and given no reason. drake the scam leader had insisted I drive by the property on oak cluster then retracted. well I did drive by and 3 other properties they had advertised as theirs and available for rent as I had spoken to 2 of his agents the day I drove by the properties. 2 of them were occupied. this is false advertising and completely illegal. how are they still in business and not in jail? its blatant and open. I have contacted my attorney and local news stations so hopefully more attention is drawn to this and they will be shut down

Victim Location 78727

Total money lost $75

Type of a scam Rental

Initial means of contact Not applicable

I found several rental properties on Hotpads.com and Zillow and when I inquired about them, “Randy” (no last name provided) said I needed to go to https://www.privaterentalhouses.com/ to see a virtual tour and to apply. I specifically told him that I lost my job because of COVID, that I have plenty of savings to cover rent for more than a year, that I’m a private lender and receive decent monthly distributions and that I have excellent credit. I asked him if it would be a problem if I couldn’t show steady employment income.
He emailed back and said, “no problem yes one application is good for all of our properties now and coming up and We are private owners and overall we are looking for a good tenant to pay rent on time and take care of our property
that’s fine again We are private owners and overall we are looking for a good tenant to pay rent on time and take care of our property call me at 813 4747410 if you have any questions”
There is absolutely nothing that should have disqualified me from tenancy so I paid the $75 app fee and submitted it. Randy emailed me and asked what name is on the application. Really? He then called me the next day and told me that I didn’t qualify and didn’t give me a specific reason. He said he would contact their 3rd party processors to see if there were other options and he never called me back. I emailed, called and texted him a few times to follow up and he never replied back. In hindsight, I now realize that the app never asked for my SSN or DL # so that they could do any kind of thorough background check. They did request my last four pay stubs and proper ID (my passport) which I emailed to them at [email protected]
I then found another property on Zillow (https://www.zillow.com/homes/4116-McTavish-Pl,-Tampa,-FL-33624_rb/2084141697_zp…⇄ and the listing agent’s name was “Drake W.” He said I needed to go to https://www.privaterentalhouses.com/ to see a virtual tour and to apply. I told him about my unsavory experience with Randy and he asked if I could get a co-signer on the lease. I asked him if that would cost another $75 and he said “yes.” When I called what I thought was Drake’s phone # (813.802.8519), it was Randy who answered and I believe that it was Randy all along who I was communicating with via text messages and there is no Drake W (again, no last name provided).
I believe that this a scam to continually get people to pay $75 for an app fee and there really are no rental properties to lease. Their website is in all caps (https://www.privaterentalhouses.com/), they don’t provide a physical mailing address on their website, they don’t provide their last names on anything, they don’t have a company email address, they don’t have their company name/logo in their emails, the emails are totally unprofessional and loaded with grammar mistakes, and they don’t follow through with what they say they’re going to do. So I was scammed out of $75, which I’m going to dispute with my credit card company.
I can provide proof of all the above via text messages and emails. This scam needs to be shut down immediately and this guy(s) needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Randy Stuart. (813) 370-0757
and Robert (Drake) Wagner (813) 802-8519. I was able to get my money back. There are over 110 complaints with BBB over the last three years. But they are still getting away with it! It happened to me on January 13th

Victim Location 14615

Type of a scam Rental

Initial means of contact Not applicable

I was looking for a house to rent in Florida. I came across a house on appartments.com for 895 a month and found a different add online same place with Zillow for 995 a month. They both had different numbers but was the same company. They also are listed as houses4rentflorida. I had spoken to joseline and they will give me the 895 price. I had a 75$ fee each person. Had to submit pay stubs and Id. I had submitted everything friday evening and monday morning I was told we didnt get the place. They couldn’t explain why we weren’t approved. Could be credit, job info, background or a landlord issue where we are at now. After I had paid and submitted the info I looked them up and saw they could be scam. When they called me Monday I told them what I had found and that I will report them and want a refund. They did send me the money back but was 6$ less. But at least I got most of it back. My boyfriend and I have great credit, been in our place for 4 years and never missed a payment, been at our jobs for 3 yrs. There should have been no reason for us to get denied. They told me it would take 7 to 10 business day to find out if we were approved and I got a call back not even 24hrs later. I just wanted to report them so the next person wont go threw this. It’s hard looking for a place out of state as it is with out having to worry about scams.

Victim Location 27534

Type of a scam Rental

I made contact with a Elizabeth Huffman and Randy Stuart about a rental property in New Port Richey, FL. I explained our situation about moving to FL from NC and Elizabeth said that it wouldn’t be an issue and that they would work with us more than a realtor, because they are private landlords. Said, all I had to do was fill out the application and pay $75 per adult. I began asking questions, like what would disqualify us, she wouldn’t answer the question for a while. she eventually answered and said "too many unpaid debts" but I explained to her our situation, and she said, although she couldn’t guarantee anything, but that I should go ahead and apply. If you google the property, the actual owner of the house, died 4 days ago. I asked about viewing the house, and I was told, you’re first step is to go online and apply, and you can feel free to drive by the location at anytime. I found a website reporting the phone number given to me when I asked about verification of ownership, so I knew we weren’t being scammed, Elizabeth replied with "we have deeds to all of our properties". I took a screenshot of the report of her phone number being a scam, and sent it to her, she then blocked me. Found the same listing, listed under someone else’s name. These people are MASSIVE scammers, and need to be reported and charged. They are scamming people, stealing their money, and using identities of deceased people. If you google the names they are using, they are dead actors or dead realtors.