Adventures with apartment ads

I'm still looking. I have yet to find a place that meets my needs. Fortunately, there's no time crunch, and I'm not going to move just to move. I'm going to find a place I want to move to that meets my simple yet specific needs.

Along the way, I've encountered some interesting apartment ads. There's the ones that are tagged that they allow pets, but in the ad clearly state "NO PETS" (usually in all caps). There's the ones that say "large" but um, no, not really. People stretch the truth in apartment ads. And if something sounds too good to be true, it quite possibly is.

Take, for example, a recent inquiry I made to an ad I found on Craigslist. It sounded too good to be true. I figured it probably was, but there was no harm in sending an email inquiring. They said they wanted a renter ASAP, but the rent seemed low for the location advertised, and the pictures of the place also seemed a bit too nice, as if they were staged. But again, no harm in asking, right? So I sent off my usual inquiry, telling them when I'm looking to move in, and asking about fees, security deposit, pet policies, utility rates, etc. plus a few specific questions clarifying things in the ad.

What I got back was a variation on a theme. A scam theme. Specifically: the Nigeria scam.

You know what scam I'm referring to. Those letters you get from some poor soul who is set to inherit money but needs your help so can you please send all your banking info to them asap so they can give you lots of money for your help? Yeah. That scam.

I did get a reply to my inquiry. The couple that owns the place is currently in, you guessed it, Nigeria! On a Christian mission. They were unable to find someone to rent their home prior to their departure, and also unable to find an agent to manage the house and rent it out. They have the only set of keys with them in Africa. No sh*t. They want to send me an application, so I can send them a deposit, and then they'll send me the keys. Um, thanks but no thanks. I had a variation on this about a month ago, where the guy said he had been transferred back to Europe and needed to sub-let the place for 5 years. I don't think so.

So for now, I'm still on the look out. For a new apartment AND for scams.