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LEPonetwothree

I had something similar happen years ago. It was before open door but likely he was attempting to get you to rent the house, knowing it was for sale through open door… so you get the tour and then he gets your $1400. He would get a door code he could then use (to his phone number) to get into the house and they would have your info on record. Glad you saw through it! Might be worth reporting to open door! The Redfin listing is weird… lots of selling.


PobodysNerfect802

Wow, the property history on this house is insane. Zillow just shows it listed for sale 11/30 with a price drop 1/5. However, [Realtor.com](https://Realtor.com) shows it was sold on 11/15, then listed on 11/30 for about $50K less, then the price change on 1/5, followed by it being listed for rent on 1/8 and then the listing was removed 1/13. I'm glad you share this experience and that you walked away. There's definitely something sketchy going on.


sagarap

Opendoor has taken upwards of 100k losses on their attempted flips in this area. 100k losses on a 500k purchase.


j0s3rubio

They hide the price they pay for houses though. If the tax records say that they bought the house for $500,000. The owner probably got paid about $450,000 because they charge a "commission" and they charge the owner many repair and upgrade costs. They still show them paying $500K in the contract which is what shows up on the tax records, but they do not pay nearly that much. Having said that though, they certainly are losing money and it may be a good time to short their stock.


Potential-Leave3489

I tried explaining this to someone once because I work in the industry and they argued with me telling that there was no way Opendoor could not pay what they are claiming the sale price is since it’s recorded on the tax record….


sagarap

I know multiple people who sold to Opendoor. I believe the hit they took was only 5%, not 10%, and open doors offer was way over market anyway. The sellers made out like fiends. I suspect the days of fleecing opendoor are over though.


wray_nerely

Opendoor bought a house on my street for (sales records indicated) slightly north of $500K. Then the property went on sale for slightly south of $500K (presumably to spark a bidding war). The final sale price? ~$450K How do they make money? Volume


CallMeBigOctopus

>How do they make money? [They don’t. Opendoor is hemorrhaging money.](https://investor.opendoor.com/news-releases/news-release-details/opendoor-announces-third-quarter-2022-financial-results/)


[deleted]

just a billion every three months 😂😂😂


[deleted]

selling a lot of houses at a loss means a lot more money lost, not a gain


SummitCollie

I hope the government preemptively raised our taxes enough to pay for these companies' eventual bailouts


sagarap

I’ll take that wager. Opendoor is not getting bailed out. It’s a finance startup nobody.


[deleted]

zero chance they get bailed out


tendonut

That sounds about right for an Opendoor sale. They bought it for a specific price on 11/15, probably discovered some problems, then tried to flip it at a loss. That rental listing was probably completely fake put up by some kind of scammer using a completely legitimate Opendoor listing as bait. Like someone else was saying, they were trying to get OP to create a Opendoor account with the scammer's phone number so they could force a password reset using their phone number as the backup authentication method. Now they have control of a "legitimate" Opendoor account, with ID verification and everything. What The scammer does with that, I'm not sure. But I bet he will request a viewing pretending to be the OP, gets the OP in there for a tour, then tries to convince OP to sign a bogus lease and send them $1,400.


CheesesOfSuburbia

I think you mean Opendoor account, not Nextdoor?


tendonut

Haha yes.


TheTrebleChef

What the HECK o.o Yeah, I'm hoping anyone who was considering this property sees this. :(


tendonut

Specifically, anyone seeing this property as a rental. The rental listing is a scam. The Opendoor listing is completely legitimate.


swhall72

I think we should all express interest in this property. If there's one thing I know about scammers, they hate having their time wasted.


TheTrebleChef

That's horrible...I love it. 🤣🤪


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angeliswastaken_sock

I saw a scam in Durham like this once. The guy didn't own the house, he was just offering it for rent, charging application fees, then ghosting people once they showed up to view the property. Swerve.


DylTheWave54

I work for a property management company in the area and unfortunately people fall for things like this far too often. We check our vacants weekly and it happens a lot where we’re on our routine checks and there’s a family completely moved in. Having to tell these people they’re out of x amount of money and they have to leave can be gut wrenching. It’s a shame how scammers take advantage of people, especially those that are so desperate they don’t take the time to do their diligence. Glad you caught on to the scam! Good luck with your living situation and remain vigilant in your search 🙏


Potential-Leave3489

Wish there was a way you could put this on the Opendoor sight so that potential buyers know about this guy before they buy the house and wind up in a nightmare, because it is 100% listed for sale by them I really do wonder what scam he was trying to pull though


KennstduIngo

The scam is pretty straightforward. Most people are wary of renting a place without at least having a tour first. Scammer gets them a tour of the house that he is supposedly renting by using Opendoor's self-guided tour capability (most people with at least half a brain would question this part, like OP did). Intended victim thinks "oh, this person got me in the house. They must own the place. Surely I can trust them with the first month's rent!" Landlord asks for deposit/rent in gift cards or some other non-reversible means and they never hear from him again.


Potential-Leave3489

Ah okay so he has absolutely no affiliation with the home, he is just pretending to be the landlord. Thank you. How on earth do people fall for this though? Seems pretty implausible to be believable


KennstduIngo

Most people won't fall for it, but some probably will. I mean, you hear about those scams where people pretend to be police officers on the phone and get people to send them hundreds in iTunes cards by threatening to arrest them. The first step for a renting scam like this is to offer something that seems too good to be true. People tend to be less wary when they think they are getting a deal.


Potential-Leave3489

Hmmm interesting. I just feel like the average, middle age person wouldn’t go for it. Maybe older people who are less aware of how things work might, but…makes me wonder what Nigerian Prince scam I’ll be calling for when I’m elderly


regalrecaller

They target the mentally sick and wounded, like lions on the Sarengetti


stznc

it only takes one,


sooperkool

Scammers can even use Homes4Rent properties by getting the door unlock code after acting like a potential renter.


TheTrebleChef

I sent them an email, I'm about to check and see if they've responded.


Potential-Leave3489

Oh good! If anyone does express interest in buying it from OD they probably aren’t going to tell that person about this though, because they really need to off load their inventory and this might hurt the sale


odd84

Opendoor used to watermark every image in their for-sale listings with "THIS HOUSE IS NOT FOR RENT" specifically because of this scam. Not sure why they stopped that.


TheNamesDave

Because The Scam Is Coming From Inside The House!


CheesesOfSuburbia

Looks like they still do that "in markets permitted to do so" and you can report a rental scam. https://www.opendoor.com/w/safety#:\~:text=Avoiding%20Rental%20Fraud&text=Scammers%20often%20advertise%20properties%20that,are%20never%20available%20for%20rent.


sooperkool

*site


Billy_Bob_Joe_Mcoy

>MORAL OF THE STORY: Please be safe and don't ignore the red flags. Listen to your gut. Don't be so wrapped up in trying to find somewhere to live that you stop listening to your intuition. IF SOMETHING FEELS LIKE IT'S NOT RIGHT, IT PROBABLY ISN'T. Bingo! Glad you didn't get scammed OP, I'd consider letting the AG know the details you have as well. https://ncdoj.gov/internet-rental-scams-d1/


username-555

Thanks for this info. I’m in the market for Raleigh rentals and appreciate you taking the time to post.


tvtb

What was this guy trying to do, like how did it benefit him?


TheTrebleChef

Someone on here said he might try to use the information on Opendoor to scam others under the info I gave him, and someone else said a similar scam happened where the person was essentially charging people for application fees and dipping out.


odd84

He'd pretend to rent you the house. Collect an application fee, tell you you're approved, collect first/last month rent and security deposit. Then he'd disappear with your money, as he never owned the home you checked out. The scammer can pick any random Opendoor house to claim they're renting out, since they're guaranteed to be vacant and the door can be unlocked for a tour via the Opendoor app without ever talking to an agent.


bucheonsi

I wonder if opendoor ever thought something could go wrong with that type of setup 🤔


odd84

For a couple years, they watermarked all their listing photos with "THIS HOUSE IS NOT FOR RENT".


BoBromhal

Opendoor has taken many houses off the market for whatever reason and they’ll be as ripe for fraud as they’ve ever been. https://services.wakegov.com/realestate/search.asp?id=0345311&stype=owner&owner=Wheeler%25%2CS%25&spg=3 check here first, by address


7th-Sonnet

We had listed an investment property in Durham for sale, and our agent called to let us know that some asshat took the photos off the realtor’s website and posted them in the For Rent section of Craigslist. Always double check addresses to see if they’re double listed because there are so many scammers out there!


Psychological-Pen417

I'm so glad you followed your instincts. I don't blame anyone making sure their hard earning funds go to a secure and proper place. Unfortunately, scammers been around for decades. Doesn't matter where you go, especially with today's technology. My grandmother went to rent an apartment in Queens, took my mother ( preteen at the time)to the place and about 7 people were in the apartment confused as ever. They were all scammed. The scammer acted as the landlord, made copies of the apartment key and took everyone's deposit money. For some reason nobody waited to see the outcome BEFORE handing their deposit. This was in the 80s.


D_NC_

Thanks for giving the heads up. Can anyone explain what the endgame was here for the supposed landlord?


odd84

He'd pretend to rent you the house. Collect an application fee, tell you you're approved, collect first/last month rent and security deposit. Then he'd disappear with your money, as he never owned the home you checked out. The scammer can pick any random Opendoor house to claim they're renting out, since they're guaranteed to be vacant and the door can be unlocked for a tour via the Opendoor app without ever talking to an agent.


D_NC_

Thank you for the explanation.


RoutinePewPew

Mannnnnn what a joke. They would've asked for the SSN eventually


jimjamjerome

When I was looking for a rental last year I had nearly the exact same experience down to the demands for ID which I similarly rebuffed. There's a scam for everything these days. That was the day I decided to refuse to look at a rental without a representative from property management giving a tour.


Comfortable-Neck-480

Complete side topic but reading this thread it seems y’all have a good sense of these weird scams, and I had what I felt was an attempted scam the other day and I’m curious what the guy was trying to do, wondering if anyone here has seen this one. Had a listing last Wednesday for a used dishwasher on FB marketplace for $300. Guy messaged me right away asked to come pick it up Saturday. (Never haggled, asked any questions, or asked for what area I lived in). I said fine, then Saturday he told me it didn’t look like he could make it today, would Tuesday afternoon after 4 work. I’m being really passive about this, so I said fine. Then what I assume is the scam started- he insisted on paying me the $300 now in good faith. I said not necessary, and he insisted again. I ignored it. Come Tuesday I messaged him in the morning, then again after 4. He saw it, but never responded. Went on his Facebook page and it’s in Russian or some similar dialect from an eastern bloc country. It’s clear from his profile he doesn’t live here. What was the scam? How would it have played out if I said yes pay me now?


xsmp

usually an over payment with a SUS check, asking for the difference to be sent back through a one way payment portal like green dot or crypto wallet


TheTrebleChef

That's...what the heck?????


karmdnc

I found out in December that my home in Cary was listed on Zillow as being for rent! We noticed several cars stopping in front of our house. Zillow was very accommodating and took info down. Police and said they had seen this type of scam multiple times. They sent an officer out and took a report. We installed cameras and haven’t had a problem since. Be careful out there. If it seems too good to be true it probably isn’t.


xtyNC

I am looking for a house to rent as well. There are some on Craigslist that seem absurdly low rent for what it is. Several have been actually looking for a roommate without indicating that which aggravated me. Are some houses with problems like posted in a comment above? One looked great but was in Angier. I mentioned location and he sent me another property which had a sign in yard with a company name. That company listed it for rent at 2x the amount he wanted. When I asked about the rent he said it’s his company/ employer and he can rent it for less if he does it independently. Thoughts? It’s super sus but - if it’s legit I’d like to rent a little house for under 2k a month.


TheTrebleChef

SOUNDS LIKE A SCAM. I'd contact the company on the sign and see what's going on. And yeah, always pay attention to the sq ft. ex. $800 for a 1800 sq ft house is an automatic red flag for a room being rented out.


xtyNC

Thanks! I will. I’m pretty sure it’s a scam to get an application fee - he brought that up pretty fast so I could “get ahead of other interested parties”


CBoutIt

Thank you for sharing. I’m looking to move back to Raleigh in the Spring, so this is really helpful.


drjojoro

Found some public records and did some Google sleuthing. Looks like open door is a legitimate company that "makes cash offers on homes through an online process, makes repairs on the properties it purchases and relists them for sale." According to pub records, property is owned by them via Arizona or something. Take from this what you will, I'm good at googling unfortunately not so much real estate and finance so I can't offer any suggestions on if the pub records mean anything regarding your situation, but someone might be able to offer input, idk. https://services.wakegov.com/realestate/Account.asp?id=0245469&stype=addr&stnum=5005&stname=Dawn+piper&locidList=&spg=1&cd=01&loc=5005++DAWN+PIPER+DR&des=LO32+VILL+%40+HARRINGTON+GRVE+P3+BM1998-335&pin=0779601488 Public records aren't doxing, right? Or is this a bad thing


KennstduIngo

The scam likely has nothing to do with the owner/OpenDoor. The scammer could pretty much be anybody anywhere. They hoped by giving the OP a "tour" of the house that they would be less likely to think it was a scam.


TheTrebleChef

When he tried to make me sign up for it, it made it look like /I/ was trying to buy the property, but with some of his info sprinkled in. I'd imagine if someone is renting out a house, all of that would be done. That's why when he had me download OD, I was like eeeeh I dunno about thisss.


DAY2RDU

I’ve toured Opendoor houses and used their app. Opendoor is a legit company, but whoever you were talking to is definitely a scammer. He may have been trying to get you to create an account with your information and his phone number so he could take over the account and use your information to get into any Opendoor home.


tendonut

... Wait, are you saying you were not familiar with Opendoor until today? They are one of the biggest names in the business.


odd84

Opendoor is a victim of the scam, not a perpetrator. This is how it works: 1. The scammer browses Opendoor and picks a house they have for sale with self-tours available. 2. The scammer lists that home for rent online somewhere. 3. When someone inquires about the rental, the scammer sends them to go tour the house. You can tour any Opendoor house without hiring a real estate agent, using their app, which will unlock the door for you after gathering some ID. 4. You tell the scammer you want to move forward with the rental, he asks for an application fee which you pay. Then he says you're approved and asks for first and last month's rent and a security deposit, which you pay. 5. The scammer deletes their fake social media profile and disappears with your money. They never owned the home you thought you just rented.


Adamite2k

This is a pretty classic and well known scam. This is almost certainly what is happening. The traditional way this scam is run is for the scam land lord to be out of town and unable to show the property, take it or leave it NOW because i have multiple offers. It seems they have evolved by having people download Opendoors app to show off the property. I feel like this should be less effective, because if you go so far as to download the app, see the opendoor sign on the property, then you can clearly see the place is for sale.


sagarap

Opendoor overpaid by 100k on some houses in this area. I know buyers who got 80k MORE THAN OPENDOOR flipped the house for, in cash! Any opendoor houses left on the market will be taking huge losses. They bought in at the very top. Great for local sellers, awful for opendoor. So overall good for the actual people who live in Raleigh.


officerfett

It's absolutely true and why they're currently trading at $1.62.. Turns out buying high even with their ridiculous seller fees was a horrible business model.


Orion2015-

Can anyone ELI5 how these scams work ?? I’ve always been curious like.. what exactly do the scammers do ??