Need help with a fishy-sounding renter's email

I'm looking to strike out on my own and get my own place, and in my search I came upon an apartment located very close to where I work, and for an incredible price. However, the renter is currently doing missionary work in the Ukraine, he says, so in order to move in, I have to send him first month's rent and then he'll send me my keys and lease papers. When I questioned him about being able to view the apartment or whether or not it was safe to send him the money, he said that there was no one available to walk me through the place (though he did provide pictures, which I don't really trust seeing as he's not there to take recent ones), and simply urged me to fill out the application so we could get on with the process.

So, is there any way I can insure this money if I do send it? Or hold him legally liable? Should I request the lease form first, before sending anything? I'm leaning in the direction of just telling him to find someone else to rent the apartment, because I'm not getting a good feeling about it at all.

Turn and run in the opposite direction as fast as you can, that reeks of deceit.

Do not give this person your money.

Well, this is about all of the confirmation I needed. I was hoping I was missing some detail or that maybe this could be explained away somehow, but I'm not risking any money if everyone else sees it as suspicious as well.

If he were legitimately off doing missionary work, I guarantee he would have arranged for someone to be able to show off his apartment to people, and that same person would likely also be the one to give keys to tenants and be present for paperwork.

Sounds like he might be some Nigerian prince or something... No, but seriously... This is totally a scam... Why the fuck would you ever pay money down on a place you haven't even seen? Come on man...

@the_nubster: He'd be liable under scam laws, but there's nothing that would legally be able to protect you. You'd possibly never even see his real name or address. He may be a woman living two neighborhoods away from you that is having mail forwarded to them from the address you are given to send your application and fees. Usually, when people leave the country, they either rent it before they leave or they entrust it to someone local. Don't send them anything or even contact them back. It's likely a scam and not worth the risk.

@liquidprince: Read the last sentence of my first post: "I'm leaning in the direction of just telling him to find someone else to rent the apartment, because I'm not getting a good feeling about it at all."

As in: I wasn't going to send him money unless, as I clarified in the next post, "I was hoping I was missing some detail or that maybe this could be explained away somehow."

Send me the money and I will totally send it to him.

I did read your first post and didn't mean to come off rude, but still come on man... The fact that you even have to ask this question is crazy. This is one of the oldest scams in the book, except he swapped out missionary work in Nigeria to Ukraine.

If things seem too good to be true, they probably are.

You do not want to rent a place you haven't seen. There are tons of things you can't learn from photos.

Do not pay anyone for any good or service online unless you do so through a legit site. You have no recourse for money you send through interact e payment or through the gift option on paypal.

If you feel something isn't right, ask someone like you did here. People get scammed all the time and asking other people's opinion on something can help a lot.

...Yeah. And I didn't pay him money. Instead, I did something sensible and asked a group of people who are far more knowledgeable than I am in hopes of this being a positive outcome, but instead my suspicions were confirmed. You talk as if I'd fallen for it and sent him a month's worth of rent before catching that something might be off. Your attitude about my asking for advice is baffling, like I've messed up simply by posing this question.

And if you don't intend on coming off as rude, don't say things like "Come on man..." because it makes you sound extremely condescending.

@gorillamopena: Done, and I've enclosed my credit card and social insurance number so you can run any checks you'd like on me.

@gorillamopena: yeah this is smart except im gorillamopena's accountant so technically you should send it to me first.

Yeah, that's a fairly common rental listing scam. Let me guess, he wanted you to send the deposit via wire transfer?

I'll just quote the FTC's recommendations:

They say they’re out of the country

But they have a plan to get the keys into your hands. It might involve a lawyer or an “agent” working on their behalf. Some scammers even create fake keys. Don’t send money to them overseas. If you can’t meet in person, see the apartment, or sign a lease before you pay, keep looking.