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Beware the fly-by-night letting agent

Cape Town - You can never be too careful when it comes to securing sought-after rental accommodation.

"It never fails to amaze me how gullible some people are when it comes to money matters," says John Roberts, CEO of the Just Property Group.

“We are bombarded with get rich quick schemes - those notifications about your cellphone number having won thousands of rands, or rich foreigners wanting you to assist them in bringing their funds into the country.

"All this is in an effort to get hold of your banking details so that they can help themselves to your money.

"And then you get the more resourceful ones, like your fly by night letting agent.

"These are mostly agents you never meet and whose offices you have never been to. Their sole purpose is to lure you into paying a deposit on a property they have no mandate on, and that's the last you will hear of them."

So how do these shady characters operate? Roberts says they lure their victims through falsely advertising rental property on the internet.

Mostly the advert is for  new developments, or properties where the units are pretty much the same and open to the public.

If not, they tell you to drive past the property and give you some lame excuse why you can't access it.

They almost never meet you at the property and much less at their offices. You are then pressurised into making a deposit by being told that there is a waiting list and that other hopefuls want the property. 

But paying a deposit can secure you the property - and that's the last you see of your money and the property.

How to avoid pitfalls

Roberts gives some golden rules:

 - Deal with a reputable company.

 - Meet the agent at their office and let them escort you to the property.

 - Ensure that the lease agreement and all other documentation is on branded stationery.

 - Check that the bank account you are requested to make a deposit into matches the name of the company you are dealing with.

 - Never pay money into an account in an individual's name.

 - Never make a payment before you have signed the required documentation, or before you have met the agent or been to their office.

 - Make sure that the agency can provide proof that your deposit is kept in an interest-bearing account.

 - Where possible, deal with a national brand with representation in the area you want to rent in.

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