Craigslist room for rent...is this a scam?

[Sukhoi]

There's a room for rent literally right down the street from me. I went and saw it on Saturday. There definitely is an empty room and the roommates seem cool enough. From what I gather the landlord used to live at this place (in San Jose), moved to Phoenix to work for Intel, but still owns the place and rents it out. The roommate that showed me around has known the landlord for a while and basically does the local transactions for the landlord. I can confirm the landlord actually works for Intel as I have an e-mail from him. I also have the full name of the roommate that showed me the place. It's definitely not a too-good-to-be-true offer, as the price is very average for the area.

What is weird is I just talked to the landlord on the phone about my app, and he wants me to send the first month's rent + deposit to him via money order, then after that for future rent I can send a personal check or transfer online. Should I be worried? Would I somehow be safer if I got a cashier's check and overnighted it to him instead of doing a money order? I guess my thinking is that if he's going to scam me he's going to do it regardless of how I sent him the money. But I can also see his point of view how he wouldn't want to give keys to some random dude who just gave him a personal check that could bounce.

 

[Beev]

Sounds ok to me. You should ask him if you can do a cashiers check, though, if you're really worried.

 

[Ns1]

a. yes that's normal however
b. there's risk involved seeing as how he's out of state

in the 4 places I've rented, first check/deposit is always MO or cashier's check, every one after personal check is ok

 

[Pheran]

Sounds pretty much on the level, and I doubt he's going to care if it's a money order or a cashier's check - they are both backed by pre-paid cash.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: Ns1
in the 4 places I've rented, first check/deposit is always MO or cashier's check, every one after personal check is ok

same here. Although i lived with my sister for a while that was renting a house, and the guy that owned it would only accept a check if we tacked on another $25. :roll: so we paid cash every month.

 

[Sukhoi]

Ok, cool, I didn't realize that was so normal. I rented this place in CA when I still lived in KY, and they just took a personal check for the rent + deposit so I thought that was normal. Maybe not! Before that I always could pay in person, so I have limited experience with the long-distance landlord thing.

Now from my point of view is it safer for me to send a cashier's check vs a money order? Or is there no real difference?

 

[lokiju]

Sounds normal to me.

I've always paid with MO or cashier's check for first months plus deposits.

 

[alkemyst]

First, it's extremely common for a landlord to insist on payment in certified funds in advance. Once you take residence he'd now have to go through eviction processes should your check bounce.

Second, having a remote landlord is hard. Does he have a reliable person available to you for maintenance?

Third, being he is remote I would take a ton of pictures of the unit prior to your move in with someone from his team in the pictures or that can 'witness' them. This should always be done in my opinion, I have always left my places better than they were when I moved in and never have been asked to return them to original condition. I also know quite a few that left their places in equal to/better than move in shape and had their security deposits claimed for 'damages'.