THIS IS A TOTAL SCAM! This comes from Nigeria, from a couple claiming to be Catherine and Joseph Lucas. They claim to own a home in Brandon Florida they want to rent. Here is the E-mail responses I received after my inquiry about this listed (Craig's list) rental.
FIRST REPLY:
From: gsbtxhj <
[email protected]>
To: charliespz <
[email protected]>
Sent: Sat, Jun 15, 2013 11:08 pm
Subject: Re: - $800 / 3br - Freshly remodeled Home for rent (Brandon)
Hello,
How are you and your family doing? I really hope i am not getting back to you very late about the house you want to rent, We had to leave the state in a hurry due to my husband recent promotion and it involves him working out of the state sometimes, and also out of the continent so i am currently in West Africa, Nigeria with my husband. He got promoted due to the fact that he was really effective in helping out during the time of the hurricanes that affected most part of our beloved country. We intend selling the house out rightly if we find a potential Tenant that would want to buy, but right now we are going to concentrate mainly on renting the house on a month to month bases and if we find a tenant who is ready and capable of doing a lease to own after a year of living in the house we would be highly interested also. To be honest with you we are new in all this because this is the first time we are having to rent out our house personally. We tried using a Realtor but found out the Realtor made the rent and deposit too high for the aspiring tenant so you may notice the renting is different in amount to the one earlier posted by my former Realtor, that is the reason why i had to post the house personally with the exact price i know it is suitable for my home. We have made the monthly rent significantly low and affordable and we are also flexible to different ideas the prospective tenant would want to take to payoff the rent and security deposit that would not make the tenant feel renting my home involves lots of money . If you want more photos of the House, let us know because i have attached some here. Joseph is currently working as a counselor and also relief supervisor for the United States Aid for International Development (US-AID) here in West Africa . Please visit http://www.usaid.gov/, and see all the good work we are doing for the country and the world in general. You can also support our mission.I guess by now you should be eager to view the house because it is a lovely home and perfect for every family. So far, we have seen a couple of interested families but we shall rent to the best tenant according to our choice and the specified tenant renting code. The rent is $800 while the security deposit is also $700. The house is ready for immediate move-in and also future move-in..UTILITIES ARE ALREADY INCLUDED IN THE RENT AND LEASE IS 6 MONTHS TO A YEAR WITH OPTION OF LEASE TO OWN.Here is the address to my lovely home 301 Kenmore Drive Brandon, FL 33511. Please read my e-mail carefully before replying to the mail.
Thanks and God Bless you.
Catherine and Joseph Lucas
SECOND REPLY: (AFTER I ASKED SPECIFICALLY WHO I WOULD PAY THE RENT TO)
Hello Theresa,
How are you doing today,i really appreciate your effort so far,i want you to know that our house is ready for you to move in.We will not be showing you the interior parts of the house cause we are currently out of the country and i will need you to promise me that you will take good care of the house for us if you happen to move in as our new tenant.The month rent is $800 and the security deposit is $700,The Utilities are all include,All Appliances:
Double doors Refrigerator, Dishwasher,
Gas Range,
Microwave/Convection Oven Combo,
Full Size Convection Oven
Garbage Compactor
Large oversized Master Bedroom with Walk-in cl Open-style Dining, Living room with cozy wood burning Fireplace
New interior Paint and Carpet
New dual-pane Windows with indoor shutters
New energy efficient central Heat and Air
Indoor Laundry Room with Washer and Dryer
cars Garage
I would be the one responsible if anything should broke down.all you have to do is email me and tell me the problem then i will instruct the engineer to come fix it.
I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE RENT APPLICATIONS FORM BELOW
1)How old are you?.......................... ..............
2)Are you married?...............
3)How many people will be living in the house?...........
4)Do you have children?.........Ages........ ..
5)Do you have a car?.......................... ..............
6)Occupation?................. .............................. ..
7)Monthly income........................ ...................
8)When will you like to move in?..........................
9)How long will you like to rent the property?.........
10)Reason for relocating.................... .................
Rental Application
Applicant Information
Name:
Socil Securty number:
Date of birth:
Cell:
Phone:
Current address:
City:
State:
ZIP Code:
Own( ) Rent ( )
Monthly payment or rent:
How long?
Previous address:
City:
State:
ZIP Code:
Owned Rented (Please circle)
Monthly payment or rent:
How long?
Curent Bank:
Accont number:
We needs this to set up an account so you can pay us.
Employment Information
Emergency ContacT
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the keys to you,please I am giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this property and God bless you more as you do this. You can move in with your pet.
My Husband contact Number for further discussion......... +2348069590744
Thanks and remain blessed
Catherine and Joseph Lucas
________________________________________________________________________________________
After doing a bit of research, I found that this home WAS owned by Joseph Lucas and was sold on Feb 2, 2012 to THr LP who is the CURRENT OWERS. I also contacted the neighbors and found out that NEITHER Catherine or Joseph are missionary's nor are they currently in Nigeria. The ONLY Photo's they can provide are of the exterior of this home and can be found doing ANY rental search.
DO NOT GET SCAMMED: Do your research!