Rome Apartment - Scam or Real Deal?
May 28th, 2012, 04:25 PM
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Rome Apartment - Scam or Real Deal?
Ciao fellow travelers, just wanted to get some feedback from some other seasoned travelers before I move forward with my plans. I'm going to Rome for a couple weeks and it's kind of last minute. I found an apartment that I'm very interested in renting but it seems almost too good to be true. Here is the link: http://www.vrbo.com/408084. I found it on vrbo.com, but I know that doesn't guarantee anything. There are two things that are making me a bit wary. First, the cost of the apartment is half of the cost of most of the other places I've looked at. Don't get me wrong, it would be AMAZING to save some money here, but it seems almost too low to be real (500 Euro for 12 days). The second issue is that the owner wants the deposit sent directly to his bank account. Don't most owners use Pay Pal or something? If anyone has any thoughts or feedback, I'd really appreciate it. I have to make a decision quite soon, so please respond soon! Thank you in advance for your advice!
May 28th, 2012, 04:45 PM
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Modeen, I also noticed that there were no other bookings.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I did see the same apartment advertised by the same person on other sites as well. Is this a good sign or does it not make a difference?
Oh, I forgot to mention that I did see the same apartment advertised by the same person on other sites as well. Is this a good sign or does it not make a difference?
May 28th, 2012, 04:54 PM
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i'll bet that someone has hacked into that listing and is advertising it much cheaper. I would bet is a scam.
My daughter looked at a house to rent because the listing said $800/month, but when we actually called the number on the sign in the yard, the lady said it was $1200/month. Apparently someone in a foreign land hacked the picture and wanted the money also deposited into their own account. SCAM!!
My daughter looked at a house to rent because the listing said $800/month, but when we actually called the number on the sign in the yard, the lady said it was $1200/month. Apparently someone in a foreign land hacked the picture and wanted the money also deposited into their own account. SCAM!!
May 28th, 2012, 04:59 PM
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Well I did call the phone number listed on the site and spoke with someone in Italian. I've been corresponding with him over e-mail as well. He also had a previous renter e-mail me, and what the renter had to say was positive but not over the top praise or anything. I really want to believe this is legit but I don't want to get screwed over either.
May 28th, 2012, 06:23 PM
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The apartment doesn't look that great to me. The bedroom doesn't look it has a window, and it seems a bit dark and dingy to me. Also look at the bathroom- the shower especially. It looks like literally everything in the bathroom will get wet when you shower.
Personally I wouldn't stay there, based on the pics, the fact that there are no reviews, and the fact that there are no bookings shown for 2012.
I feel like I'm spamming because I just recommended them in another thread, but if you are looking for something within a modest budget I would give realrome.com a try. I rented from there a couple of years ago and was very happy.
Personally I wouldn't stay there, based on the pics, the fact that there are no reviews, and the fact that there are no bookings shown for 2012.
I feel like I'm spamming because I just recommended them in another thread, but if you are looking for something within a modest budget I would give realrome.com a try. I rented from there a couple of years ago and was very happy.
May 29th, 2012, 08:43 AM
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Just an FYI, on the VRBO page take a look at a heading on top of the page, Rental Guarantee, there is a fee but may be worth checking further. Of no importance at all but we have used VRBO for many rentals in Europe, so far so good, maybe we've just been fortunate. We have a rental in Spain in a few weeks, also another in France early 2013.
May 30th, 2012, 02:57 PM
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There was a discussion on one of the threads recently regarding VRBO's 'rental guarantee' which was not reassuring. If I recall correctly, the OP had rented somewhere in Asia, arrived to find the owner had never heard of her or seen her money. Apparently someone had hacked into the owner's email account and pulled off a scam that way. VBRO refused to take responsibility for the loss.
Anyone trying to scam you would of course be very convincing in a phone call. Can you say "Pay Pal or forget it" in Italian?
Anyone trying to scam you would of course be very convincing in a phone call. Can you say "Pay Pal or forget it" in Italian?
May 31st, 2012, 05:58 AM
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Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I really wanted to believe it was real but ultimately you all confirmed my suspicions and it's just not worth the risk. I'd rather pay more and have the peace of mind that I will have a place to stay in Rome. I found another great place that seems perfect and legit (http://www.vrbo.com/402592) I can pay the deposit through Pay Pal, there is a review, and I found the private site of the owner of this place as well as others in Rome (http://www.apartmentsinrome.it/trast...se,S1,182.html) That's enough to be confident, right?
