A friend of mine had just been duped by a fake agent.According to him,his pastor had introduced him to the agent who promised to secure a place for him.True to his words,the agent took him to the house located in surulere and immediately, my friend payed him one hundred and fifty thousand including agent fee for a room apartment. Unknown to him,the house had already been sold and to make matter worst,the land lord is abroad. This happened about two months ago and up till now the agent have refused picking calls from known numbers. Need I say that over twenty people (both new and old tenants were duped). From the above tale,I would like to drop my 2 cents concerning the matter. Before giving any agent Money, the following should be observed;
* Make sure the agent has a physical office.Also,ask people around the area if the agent is trustworthy. *Make sure you make friends with one or two neighbours at the place you are about to rent. Get as much information concerning the state of the house. If my friend had done his research may be he could have been hinted that the house had been sold. *Meet the landlord/care taker in person before renting. One of the red flags for me when I'm about to rent a house is when I'm told the landlord is abroad. This leaves a lot of suspicion in ones mind because you may not know the intention of those running the affair of his property back home.so,for me,when I'm not having the opportunity to meet the landlord or care taker,then I'm not giving in. *make friends with the agent.you can go as far as trying to visit him in his house(even though most of them wouldn't want you to.) You can carry out private investigation by tracking him down. . *do not part with your money just yet even though I know how tempting it can be to quickly secure an apartment.It is necessary to be patient enough and carry out your investigation first so as not to fall prey. A lot of fake agents try to rush people to pay up quickly and even go as far as threatening that someone else could claim the place if you don't pay fast.please, don't bug. I hope I've educated someone today. Thank you!

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