Packing in Key West

This is a retelling of a true story imparted to me by a lady lawyer who purchased an Old Town  home from me. She lives in a big eastern city throughout most of the year, but spends her winters in Key West. She enjoys the ability to practice her profession in the comfortable environment of her tropical home. She is single and shares her life in Key West with her two dogs which she calls her "puppies".  

My buyer. who I'll call "Annie", told me about a recent event which occurred while she was on a scheduled conference call with various "principles". She said that particular phone call was more productive than she had expected, inferring that not all conference calls work out well.  Annie set the stage for the events that followed. She said she normally leaves all the doors open when she is at home. She loves the fresh air and sunshine, the elements she can't enjoy up north during the winter. She said the conference call principles were making their points when all of a sudden the puppies started barking loudly - the angrily. An unknown woman walked right into Annie's front door with a piece of paper in hand. Annie did not who this woman was or why she was standing inside Annie's house.

Annie told the principles she needed to excuse herself from the phone call and put the telephone on hold. She walked to the woman and asked who she was and why she was inside her house. The lady said "This is my house!" Annie told me she immediately wondered if the precious owner had pulled a maneuver sold the house a second time to someone else. She remembered how tight he was and wondered if he would have tried something like that. She dismissed that thought. The woman then said something about having proof the house was hers. Annie examined the piece of paper. It was some type of rental agreement for Annie's home.

The woman told Annie she had seen the house advertised on Craigslist where she saw a lot of photos. The lady loved the place and paid the $3500 for her upcoming vacation.  Upon first arriving at the house lady could see someone was inside. She called the rental agent who said the last "tenant" had not left the house and was an illegal holdover. The agent said there was nothing he could do. The lady was not deterred and decided to confront the illegal holdover tenant herself whereupon the lady and Annie were facing each other down in the living room. Annie said "I am the owner. I do not rent my house".   The lady realized she had become another victim of a Craigslist rental scam. She agreed to leave.

Before existing, the door still opened, the lady asked Annie a favor.  She said she was expecting a package which was to be shipped to the vacation house address. She asked Annie to call her when the package arrived. Annie agreed. The package was delivered a couple of days later.  Annie looked at the sender's return address: it was a firearms and ammunition dealer. Annie surmised the package contained either a gun or ammunition.

Annie called the lady who returned to Annie's home to retrieve her package. This time the lady waited to be invited inside the house. The two ladies exchanged pleasantries. Annie looked at the box as she handed it over to the lady and said "I'm packing!" The lady said "I'm packing, too!"  They laughed.

Annie told me under other circumstances the day of the telephone conference call could have ended quite differently. She said she might have responded to seeing a stranger walking around in her living room not with a question but with action, and under Florida law that would have been her legal right. Remember the terrible consequences in the Trayvon Martin killing. Florida law gives property owners the right to stand their ground and kill an intruder.

I get phone calls every few weeks from folks who have seen a Craigslist ad for a house which I have written about. The caller often starts out telling me they are a bit suspicious about an ad that sounds to good to be true. Or the tell me the rental agent insists that the renter remit payment by Paypal instead of credit card. I always tell each caller to do a Google search for real estate companies or property management companies that rent vacation rental homes.

Key West Vacation Rental Scam

I received an email inquiry a couple of days ago from a lady who feared she may have been the victim of Craigslist vacation rental internet scam. She asked me about 1022 Packer Street in Key West, a property that I wrote about in my blog when it was for sale. I didn't know if the new owner was renting the house or not so I contacted the buyers agent to ask him to let the lady know if the owner is renting the property. The answer was no, the property is not being rented.

The lady then sent me a copy of the purported Transient Rental License for 1022 Packer Street. I copied it and added some red letter markings to help potential renters compare if they receive a similar license. The City of Key West has a very short list of very specific houses and condos that have a transient rental license. Most of those properties are located within two blocks of Duval Street, but not all properties within that area have transient licenses.

Last week I received a phone call just as I was about to eat dinner. The lady who called started the conversation by saying "We're here." To which I responded who are you and where are you? She said 510 Frances Street to which I instinctively said I wrote about that property a few years ago when it was for sale. She asked when I would meet her at the property with the key. I repeated I wrote about the property in my blog. She then said I was the contact person on the internet. I assume she Googled the address and saw my name and number and assumed I was the person she sent money to when she rented the house. I told her again I had nothing to do with the rental. I waited a couple of minutes and then decided I better check the address.  Once I did that I knew the property and really doubted that it was a rental. But I did not know for a fact whether it was being rented or not. 

Shortly thereafter I got a phone call from a different phone number. This time a man was on the phone who asked about 510 Frances Street in a less strident tone. I told him I only wrote a blog about the house but did know what house it is. I told him I doubted it was being rented and said it could not be rented as a weekly rental.  I asked him the name of the company he rented the house from. He did not know. I suggested he find out and contact the property management company if in fact he rented the place from a real company.

Several agents in my office have had similar phone calls from people who show up expecting to check into homes they rented using Craigslist or VRBO. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ACTUAL SCAM WEBSITE.   Other scam addresses this company uses include 517 Margaret Street Key West, 1023 Packer Street Key West (note the license misidentifies the street address), 1409 Reynolds Street Key West, 2105 Dlophin Drive, Marathon.  I looked at the photos for a couple of the houses to see if they were of the actual houses. The photos for 510 Frances Street are actually photos of a Meadows Condominium on Pine Street or Petronia Street. Last Key Realty in Key West rents a 3 bedroom home there. Last Key Realty is a well known and legitimate company. The photos of 517 Margaret Street are actually photos of the interior of a ground level one bedroom apartment on Amelia Street and the pool is of a "cocktail pool" on Virginia Street.

If you want to have a great vacation in Key West, rent your house from a licensed real estate company or property management company. Don't be a victim.

Craigslist Real Estate Scam - 731 Waddell Avenue - Key West

This is a Special Blog to warn potential renters about an Active Craigslist Real Estate Scam on 731 Waddell Avenue in Key West.  I received a phone call early Monday evening from a woman who found a too good to be true nightly rental of $400 advertised as "This home provides the privacy you desire during your vacation. The kitchen is well equipped to cook your meals,the 4 bedrooms are great with flat screen TVs, and a lush garden is also available within the environ." Photos were submitted to the prospective renter are displayed below.

 A prospective renter exchanged a series of emails with a person identified as "Gary".  I have copied one of Gary's emails below:

"This home is available for your dates Nov 1-7, a night rate is $400, 6 nights will total $2,400, other rental fees include a cleaning fee of $150 and a property damage fee of $600 totaling $3,150.

If you are satisfied with the rental rates do write back so additional pictures of the home and other necessary home details can be made available for you. Also do provide your email so the home details can be sent to you.

Regards,

Gary. "

None of the three above photos was taken at 731 Waddell Avenue. I know this because I have photographed the interior and exterior on at least two occasions. The real kitchen is shown below.

Private homes, condominiums, and town homes located in Key West may only be rented on a nightly basis if they have a transient rental license.  Very few properties in Key West have a transient rental license. Also be aware that the scam artists are using other sites to dupe potential renters.

My suggestion to guests who are planning a vacation trip to Key West, call a licensed real estate professional.  Most of the large real estate companies in Key West have property management divisions. And whatever you do, do not wire money or use your credit card of Paypal account to transfer money to someone other than a licensed and verifiable property manager. 

Key West Vacation SCAM - Don't Be a Fool!

Each week I receive at least one phone call or an email from someone who has performed a Google Search on an address of a vacation rental in Key West.  The person normally found a blog I wrote about a particular place and decided to contact me to find out if the ad (usually found on Craigslist) is legitimate.  None of the calls or emails has ever been a legitimate rental.

The City of Key West has fairly simple rules with regard to nightly and weekly rentals of homes and condos.  If an owner has a transient rental license, the owner can legally rent the home on a daily basis - just like a hotel.  Most owners with a transient license require longer vacation stays so they can keep the "turnover" to a minimum.  A house or condo with a transient license must display a plaque at the front of the property so that neighbors and code enforcement know the rental is legal and who the property manager is in case of a problem.

There are only a limited number of homes or condos that have a transient rental license. 

The City permits owners to rent homes or condos on a monthly vacation rental basis. Stays of 28 days or longer are required.  And only one such rental is permitted for the property during that month.  For example, an owner may not rent three weeks to one renter and then rent the fourth week to another renter.

If you see an ad on Craigslist or any other place on the Internet that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Unsuspecting renters are being victimized all the time by scammers who have stolen photos of real properties and then pass then off as the property they proclaim to offer for rent.  One particular scammer speaks in 'broken-English' to peole who call to discuss property rentals in Key West. He previously required renters to make advance deposits by Pay-Pal. Now he is asking for payment by direct deposit to a bank account.

One couple paid a several thousand dollar advance deposit on a large house with a pool and parking with broken-English speaking man.  When they got to the house they called the number where they made the reservation. The man said he had forgotten they were coming or something to that affect. He said to look in the mailbox or under the floor mat for the key. Sure enough the front door key was in the mailbox. The vacationers went inside and spent three days enjoying the house until the man who is actually responsible for watching the house showed up.  He called the police and had the vacationers evicted because the house was not a rental.  He had left a key where anybody could find it.  Shame on him. And shame on the renters for being so careless with their money.

 

Key West is a wonderful place to visit for a week, a month, or season.  I suggest that you contact any of the Key West property management companies that have identifiable street addresses, land line phones that you can verify as belonging to the company you are calling, and an actual website apart from Craigslist, Homeaway, or VRBO.