What's the deal with those "for rent" signs on the electric polls?
Here's an example of a rental listing on a utility poll.
It says:
FOR RENT
Small basement 1 bedroom apt off ( ) street and ( ) avenue with all utilities included
Broker
718-xxx-xxxx
There are a few problems with this listing, aside from the fact that it is illegally posted.
First, most basement rentals are illegal, but even if this is a rare legal basement rental, there's another problem. It says "Broker", but the brokerage and license status aren't revealed. This is blind advertising, and one of three things is likely going on:
I decided to google the phone number for fun. The good news: The person definitely claims to be a broker, but none of the party's websites have sufficient information to confirm their license status. This is problematic, because by stating that he or she is a broker, it's likely that the person is going to request money from the person who responds to ad. If it's a scam, the person will likely request the money be sent to a his or her private account (another violation of real estate law) and will request for it to be sent my Zelle in which case the money will be virtually irretrievable.
Here's where things get heartbreaking: The City has been putting in a significant amount of effort trying to motivate people report illegally rented apartments.
This "broker" has opted to plaster the neighborhood with advertisements for a dubious listing that's likely located on a block of nosy neighbors, of which in only takes on neighbor to call 311 or fill out a form that's readily available on the City's website, get inspectors out and possibly get the tenant evicted.
Check out this 7 On Your Side report and you'll see why it's best to steer as clear as possible from this and other illegal rental options no matter how money saving they seem to be.
It says:
FOR RENT
Small basement 1 bedroom apt off ( ) street and ( ) avenue with all utilities included
Broker
718-xxx-xxxx
There are a few problems with this listing, aside from the fact that it is illegally posted.
First, most basement rentals are illegal, but even if this is a rare legal basement rental, there's another problem. It says "Broker", but the brokerage and license status aren't revealed. This is blind advertising, and one of three things is likely going on:
- It's not really posted by a broker
- It is, but the broker isn't up to date with the latest regulations and may not be up to date with other recent rent reforms (for example related to fair housing, application fee caps and security deposits.)
- The broker knows what he or she is doing, but has a "no one really cares about these petty rules" attitude.
I decided to google the phone number for fun. The good news: The person definitely claims to be a broker, but none of the party's websites have sufficient information to confirm their license status. This is problematic, because by stating that he or she is a broker, it's likely that the person is going to request money from the person who responds to ad. If it's a scam, the person will likely request the money be sent to a his or her private account (another violation of real estate law) and will request for it to be sent my Zelle in which case the money will be virtually irretrievable.
Here's where things get heartbreaking: The City has been putting in a significant amount of effort trying to motivate people report illegally rented apartments.
This "broker" has opted to plaster the neighborhood with advertisements for a dubious listing that's likely located on a block of nosy neighbors, of which in only takes on neighbor to call 311 or fill out a form that's readily available on the City's website, get inspectors out and possibly get the tenant evicted.
Check out this 7 On Your Side report and you'll see why it's best to steer as clear as possible from this and other illegal rental options no matter how money saving they seem to be.
