Properties rarely look as good in the flesh/bricks as they do online, where estate agents and landlords discretely omit damp patches in the bathroom, main roads by the bedroom and dead bodies in the cellar.
But one couple from Birdgend, Wales, got well and truly stitched up after they handed over £800 ($1,021) to rent a property owned by a 99-year-old man.
Amy Da Cruz and Matthew Morgan were looking for a house to rent together nearer to where they work, so Amy's mum posted an advert on Gumtree. Earlier this month, someone got in touched with Amy's mum and said they had a property that would suit her daughter and Matthew.
Advert
From there, the couple began liaising with the anonymous landlord via WhatsApp, where they were sent pictures of the property, which featured large bedrooms, a driveway, a big kitchen and a garden.
But before being allowed to see the property for real, the landlord asked that they pay a secure deposit to prove they could afford it - which was apparently the advice of his solicitor.
Amy, a 22-year-old driver, said: "We really wanted the house. So we paid £300 ($383) in two payments on the understanding that we would get the money back if we didn't like the house."
However, on the day of the viewing, the landlord asked for £500 ($638) more to cover the first month's rent.
Advert
Amy added: "All of the emails and texts mentioned his solicitor and we had seen a copy of the tenancy agreement, so we had no reason to believe that something wasn't right."
After sending over the additional funds, the couple headed to the property. But they weren't met by the landlord, they were met by 99-year-old a bewildered Frank Ballinger, the owner of the property, who had no idea why it had been placed on the rental market.
Amy said: "I was so annoyed. I emailed the landlord straight away asking what was going on. They emailed back saying that they had injured their foot and that they would meet us the next day. We knew something was up. I asked for the money back, but have not heard from them since."
Advert
The bank has told the couple they are unlikely to recoup their money as they transferred the money willingly.
Amy said: "We will never do something like this again. From now on we will only go through property management companies and never give money over before. We had our heart set on this place, we thought this would be our family home."
Featured Image Credit: Media WalesTopics: uk news