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Rental - John Scoffield

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Rental - John Scoffield Reports & Reviews (1)

• Feb 10, 2025

A very tempting apartment rental in Kitchener, ON was posted to rentals .ca. After a few days, the listing was removed and they contacted about renting the apartment out. They explained the apartment was their daughter's, who recently got divorced and moved back to Spain with them. They asked for a phone number to talk over the phone, then explained how they would do viewings: "Sotheby's" would send a rental agreement, you would sign on (paying first AND last month's rent at the same time), they would send the keys 4-5 days later and if you didn't like the apartment, you'd return the keys, cancel the agreement, and they'd return the money. It is an identical scam to the Toronto one featured in the March 29, 2022 CBC article "Couple trying to move to Toronto warn of elaborate online rental scam in red-hot market" and uses an identical script to a Vancouver-based one posted to the Reddit page r/vancouverhousing on October 10, 2024 titled "Is this a scam?"

A full transcript of their emails is as follows:

Hello,

The apartment [REDACTED] located at [REDACTED] Kitchener, ON [REDACTED], Canada it's still available. The rent for the entire apartment is [REDACTED]/month utilities included (heat, hydro, water, electricity, maintenance fees, [REDACTED] parking spots, laundry in-suite, washer and dryer also included, cable and internet). Full access to all the amenities and facilities. Pets allowed. In case repairs are needed there, I will support the costs. I want to find a responsible tenant to take good care of the place. I have attached the pictures so you can see that it is in excellent condition.

Everything is just like in the pictures, fully equipped with all the appliances you need, very clean and well kept. The apartment can be rented and furnished for the same price or if you want you can use your furniture and I will deposit mine in the storage unit.

I would like to know How many people will stay in the apartment, where you work, and how long you are planning to stay. Also a short description of yourself so I can make an idea of who is going to stay in the apartment.

Thank you for your interest and I am waiting to hear from you!

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Hello (Name),

My daughter has been living in the apartment during his university studies but she got divorced 2 months ago and moved to Spain where we have been residing for the last 15 years.

My family and I decided that we can rent the apartment to you so we need to make the arrangements for the viewing. I met my wife of 15 years on a holiday on the Mediterranean Coast and I decided to follow my dream and heart so I moved to Costa Blanca, Spain to be with her. I was discussing it with the real estate company called Sotheby’s International Realty and they sent me all the information over the email. Using Sotheby’s involves three parties: me as the owner, you as a potential tenant, and Sotheby’s as a responsible third party authorized to arrange the viewing and paperwork.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE PROCESS and I can provide all the detailed steps of the transaction (I am sure that many of the questions you have now, will be answered after I will send you the steps).

Also if you need to reach me please call me at at: [REDACTED] ( if you are calling from Canada you need to dial [REDACTED] ) or you can leave me the best number I can reach you and I will give you a call to discuss further details

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

------------

(Name),

Please send me your cell phone number because I want to confirm some details with you before moving forward.

Thank you

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Hello (Name),

I've gone through the process from Sotheby’s so below I will explain step by step how the transaction with the works, to avoid any misunderstanding please READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

-You need to provide me your information: full name (legal name that I will need for the lease agreement), mailing address (street, number, city and postal code) where you want to receive the keys and documents, cell phone number, move-in date and length of the lease agreement (e.g. 6 months or 1 year rental contract with option of renewal). The lease agreement will be a standard one from the Canadian government.

- Sotheby’s will send you a notification(via email) with the transaction details and necessary documents for the rental agreement. According to the real estate laws from Canada they will also provide you with the terms and conditions of their company that you can accept or NOT in order to move forward with the payment process.

- If you decide to move forward with the payment process you need to send the amount of [REDACTED]$ (first and last month of rent from contract ) following the payment instructions provided to you

- Sotheby’s will check the payment confirmation and I will start the shipping procedure through UPS Air Cargo.

- You will receive the package (keys, apartment documents and lease agreement) in 3-5 business days. After the keys will be delivered to your address you will have 5 business days (inspection time) to check the apartment. The inspection time will start from the moment you will be at the building.

- If you decide to keep the apartment you just need to sign the lease agreement and send a copy of the lease agreement with your signature to Sotheby. If you don't want to keep the apartment you will receive a full payment refund including any payment fee.

I NEED TO BE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS CLEAR FOR YOU SO PLEASE READ CAREFULLY ALL THE STEPS OF THE TRANSACTION BECAUSE I CAN NOT CHANGE THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS. ALSO I WILL PAY FOR THE COMMISSION AND DELIVERY FEES AND JUST IN CASE YOU HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS AFTER YOU AGREE THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FROM SOTHEBY'S I WILL NOT RECEIVE A REFUND FROM SOTHEBY'S!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AMOUNT YOU WILL SEND TO SOTHEBY'S IS A GUARANTEE DEPOSIT THAT YOU HAVE THE FUNDS AVAILABLE AND IT CAN NOT BE RELEASED WITHOUT YOUR APPROVAL. I CAN RECEIVE THE FUNDS JUST AFTER SOTHEBY'S WILL RECEIVE A COPY OF THE LEASE AGREEMENT WITH YOUR SIGNATURE.

Let me know if you have the funds available so we can move forward and e-mail me your full information I requested.

Thank you!

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