I recently found a listing for a rental apartment, far below market on an apartment search site - not through Airbnb. Of course I thought, seems too good to be true, And, when I saw the 'owner' says his company recently relocated him overseas and that his previous prending tenant fell throug, he's now resorting to using an NEW SERVICE, Airbnb property management company (although has not stated which) impling that Airbnb is doing it directly. He's stated that he's doing it below cost to get the right tenant. Hum.... but, for 1/2 the market rate??
Following was his last coorespondance which details the way it works... am I being paronoide or is he just that good a con?
"First of all, I want to start this email saying that this is not the traditional face to face transaction, this being the whole purpose for using AirBnb new service for long distance transactions, to protect the both of us 100%. Now for security and for your peace of mind I had attached an copy of my PASSPORT to build up some confidence. <which he did> Also please know that you will receive official documents from Airbnb also, before making the deposit to them.
Regarding the process, you will have to deposit to AirBnb the first month rent + damage deposit, an total of ****$ (****+****) so they can proceed with the shipping, and you can receive the rental package (keys and documents) so you can go and inspect the apartment. Please know that I will pay for all the fees that Airbnb will take (transaction and shipping fees).
Below I will explain you step by step how the transaction with the Airbnb new service works, to avoid any misunderstanding please READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING STEPS:
1 - To start the process all I need are your contact details: full name, mailing address (street, number, city and postal code), cell phone number, move-in date and lease agreement preferred (e.g. 6 months or 1 year rental contract with option of renewal). The lease agreement will be a standard one from the government.
2 - I will go to the AirBnb Property Management office to start the transaction and I will give them the apartment keys and necessary documents.
3 - AirBnb Property Management will check the ownership documents and lease agreement. They will also confirm that I'm the legal owner of the apartment I'm renting to you.
4 - AirBnb will send you a notification (via email) with the transaction details to inform you that they have the keys and the documents in their custody. Also they will send you all the transaction details, steps etc. <**HE MENTIONS ALL VIA EMAIL>
5 - At this point you need to send the amount of ****$(1st month rent from the rental contract + damage deposit - refundable at the end of your stay) to the the AirBnb payment representative (lawyer escrow account) provided to you in the notification. THE PAYMENT NEEDS TO BE SENT WITHIN 24 BUSINESS HOURS AFTER YOU WILL RECEIVE THE TRANSACTION DETAILS OR ELSE THEY WILL CHARGE ME AN ADDITIONAL FEE.
6 - As soon as the payment is completed you need to send the payment details to AirBnb. (an receipt proving that you sent them the deposit).
7 - AirBnb will verify the payment and if everything is in order they will start the shipping procedures using UPS Next Day Shipping Service.
8 - You will receive the package (keys and lease agreement) and you will have 5 business days (inspection time) to check the place.
9 - If you decide to rent the apartment you just need to sign the lease agreement that Airbnb sends, email it to them and they will release the funds to me. If after the 5 days inspection you don`t want to keep the apartment you will receive a full payment refund.
PLEASE NOTE that AirBnb Property Management can NOT release the funds without your approval. You will have 5 days to inspect the apartment and decide if you want to rent it or not, in this time you will have full control of the payment. They can release the payment to me as a landlord just after they will receive the lease agreement with your signature.
ALSO THEY WILL SEND YOU OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS (LEASE AGREEMENT AND INVOICE) BEFORE MAKING THE DEPOSIT TO THEM.
Like I said, I used this service last month when I rented my apartment in London UK, everything went great, I felt 100% protected with them, so I hope this will work again for you and me in this transaction.
I ALSO 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 TRANSACTION AND DELIVERY FEES AND JUST IN CASE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND I WILL NOT RECEIVE A REFUND FROM THEM!
Let me know if you have the funds available (****$) so we can move forward. If you do have the funds available and agree with the transaction steps, please e-mail me your full information (full name and address and cell number) so we can get the transaction started.
If you have any further questions regarding the transaction please let me know."
