So, I placed an advert on Easy Roommates seeking a Master Bedroom. Someone called me, saying that she has a Master Bedroom in a condo unit. She said that there are only 3 rooms. Her son (a university student) lives in one, she lives in the Master Bedroom, and there is another common room. If I want the Master Bedroom, then she can "shift" to the common room and let me stay in the Master Room.
So we scheduled an appointment for today. She said that any time would do because she would be at home all day.
So I went to see the place, and became a little suspicious. My suspicion is that this person may not be the owner, but the maid.
The Condo is just a few bus stops away from Boon Lay MRT. It looks nice.
However, after I rang the bell, and saw the person who opened the door, I fully expected her to go get her Madam - she has the look and perhaps also the demeanor of a maid, not someone who owns a Condo apartment. She was the only one at home.
So, I was shown the kitchen, the living room (first floor), and then shown the Master Bedroom upstairs. The Master Bedroom is SPACIOUS, not only does it come with a bedroom, its attached bathroom, but ALSO, it comes with two smallish rooms. They are all mine.
So then we went downstairs to discuss the rent. She asked if I will be moving in alone. I said yes. She said that $1500 would do. I was in disbelief. I had been searching for housing for more than a week at this point and I know that a Condo Master Bedroom would usually cost more than $2000.
She said she was from Myanmar, studied engineering for one year at NUS and is now working as a consultant for Land Transport Authority, and is working on a new MRT project. Her son is studying business management.
She then said that I can move in on Nov 1st, and that I can stay here for initially 1 month before deciding whether to continue living here. She said it was because she was not sure if I would be ok with her son occasionally making some noise during the night - on Fridays or Saturdays, he might come home late at early hours with his friend.
She said there was no need to sign anything. But that if I wanted anything to be signed, she would be ok with it too.
Then she asked: "Did you bring the deposit today"? I said "No, I didn't bring the deposit today. I need to go home and think about it. I may come back some other day with the deposit if I decide to rent the place. I may bring a check". She said "Ok, then let me give you my full name, and also my bank details so that you can transfer the money to my account if you want. I am going to SMS to you my full name and account details right now". She then took out an Iphone and sent the text (which I received).
Strange thing is that she is using a POSB savings account. I know for a fact that POSB is the only bank that offers account services to Work Permit holders (Maids, Construction Workers, etc). Shouldn't a Condo owner possess a more 'prestigious' bank account?
Her English was not very good. She spoke hesitantly and had some trouble expressing herself. But I am not a native speaker of English myself.
She also said that if I come back later to give her the money, I should call her in advance (because she might go somewhere else).
All in all, my suspicious is quite strong, mostly based on the following points:
1) Her look and demeanor
2) The rent is too good (to be true)
2) Her POSB bank account
3) She asked if I have the money with me (Owners are usually not in a hurry to snatch up the tenant, right?)
I suspect that the family is away for some period of time and she is pretending to be the owner and is trying to scam people for money.
What do you think? And most importantly, how can I check who the actual owner of a Condo apartment is?
Thanks!
SOMETIMES - if you look at the notice boards in the condo though - they will have AGM notices up etc with owners names. I discourage this though as it is a security risk.