This is a true and cautionary tale of owning rental property. Forty years ago I owned twenty-one apartments in Denver. I have dozens of stories I could tell which would stear any would-be investor into buying a time share in Tahiti instead.
Before the internet I placed rental ads in The Denver Post. A second floor unfurnished two bedroom apartment became available. I placed an ad. I met two guys at the property on a Saturday morning. They were driving a U-Haul truck. They liked the apartment and paid the first and last months rent on the spot and started to unload the truck.
The next day I noticed some tenants in the building next door buying pieces of furniute and other odds and ends from the new tenants. I asked the new guys what was going on. They said they had more furniture than they thought and decided to sell some things to make the apartment work for them. I thought might be plausible. I wasn't sure though.
A few days later they were gone. The once crammed apartment was vacated. I figured out they must have stolen the truck, rented the apartment, sold everything for cash, and then scrammed.
The strategy - don't do it!
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