Searching for a house is certainly not an easy job because there are many factors which need to be taken care of. First of all, there are many landlords who put up a good number of restrictions on their tenants especially if the tenant is a single boy or girl. Secondly, the location and the covered area of the flat should be as per the requirements of the tenant and most importantly, it has to be in the budget of the tenant.
In big cities, it is almost impossible to get a flat without taking the services of the broker because many landlords give these brokers the duty of finalizing the tenant and also ask them to fulfill all the legal duties, such as tenant verification by police.
Recently, a person shared an incident related to house search in Delhi on Reddit. He shared the screenshot of the chat with the broker as per which he wanted to visit to see fully furnished 1BHK apartment which has a rent of Rs. 15K and the tenant needed to pay 2 months deposit.
But the twist came when the broker told him that he needs to make a Society visiting card for visiting the flat and what is shocking is that for this card, the person is required to pay Rs. 2500. The broker told him that he needed to WhatsApp his selfie, aadhaar card and mobile number and Rs. 2500 for making this society visiting card. The broker further told him that if he agrees to take the flat on rent, then this Rs. 2500 will be deducted from his rent and if he doesn’t like the flat, then the whole money will be refunded.
The concerned person asked the other online users whether it is a type of scam and everyone said that if someone is asking for money to show you a flat, then it is a scam. He posted the WhatsApp screenshot with the caption, “I’m looking for a place to stay and this is the second time something like this is happening. I declined the first time. Also, give protips for finding a place (1bhk/1rk and not a PG) and help out a struggling brother.”
Check out the screenshot of the chat:
Here is the post by the online user who is searching for a house:
One user categorically said that various real estate websites state that a person should never pay any visiting charges. Another user said that such scam is common in Bengaluru and it seems that it has started in Delhi as well.
So next time you or anyone in your acquaintance comes across such things, be cautious and deal carefully.