Greetings! I will be studying in Rome for two months over the summer. I'm looking for a room to rent out and was wondering if anyone can help me with advice on avoiding scams? I've contacted several private parties regarding rooms advertised online - some are requesting wire-transfer deposits in order to secure the room. This makes me very nervous as I have no idea who is receiving the money on the other end and if he will keep up his side of the bargain (or if he actually has a room to offer at all). Any suggestions on how to secure a room without being scammed?
Thanks!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
You have to put yourself in the owner's shoes, as well. Without getting a deposit from you, how is he supposed to know he can trust you? What you could do is ask him if he can give you the name and email address of someone else who has rented from him and then you could contact them to find out if they had any problems. I imagine you'll be fine if you use an established rental site (like vrbo.com) rather than something as broad as craigslist.
Or use one of the recommended owners discussed at great length on this site.