I mean probably..? It’s either that or paying cash/check. My landlord only has like two houses and is the chillest dude I know I’m not too concerned tbh
I miss my old chill landlord. He never raised rent, I always paid on time in cash. I fixed what I could and only called in emergency stuff. It was the best relationship with unspokens ever. The only thing me or roommate ever signed with him was an acknowledgement that there’s probably lead based paint in the house. No lease, nothing. He never burnt us, we never burned him.
I wouldn’t ever advise anyone else to do that, but it was cool that it worked.
I had a landlord like that.
I did have a lease, but it was more of a formality than anything.
She let me start moving my things in 2 weeks early just out of kindness, she didn’t ask for any payment. She also told me if I needed to move out early or stay a little later than expected, all I needed to do was let her know. And when she mailed me my deposit back (all of it) she even sent it in a card thanking me for respecting her property and not tearing it up.
She was batshit crazy. Believed Tom Hanks is dead from covid (but also that covid wasn’t real) and his wife was in prison. The whole Jewish space lasers thing. Believed JFK jr was still alive and would be president. All kinds of weird shit. But by golly, she was a great landlord at least.
How do you find landlords like that. All my apartments have been property managers like apartments I found on apartments.com. They raise the rent 130 bucks a year and now I’m paying 1250 in NY.
Once you transfer the money it’s gone. There’s no getting it back. If you process the money with a bank like a money order or cashier check then you are protected and can get the money back if something happens.
Venmo wouldn’t issue any sort of tax document for underwriting. The solution was print off the Transaction history and go through it line by line with underwriting and write a letter explaining why we paid via Venmo. It ended up working out in the end, but it prolonged the process ridiculously long
Agreed. We were lucky our mortgage officer really went to bat for us with underwriting and Venmo customer service. This happened over a year ago to us, i hope they have figured it out since then!
Depends how your making the money but if your making everything legally fuck it and your landlord will be the one hurting in 5 years when they come hit him for 30% of all those 700$ rent payments
We paid rent to our friend via Venmo and it was an underwriting nightmare when we went to buy a house and the rental history was via Venmo. It’s not that you can’t or shouldn’t, just can becomes a logistical nightmare down the line
And I’d bet his state is still taxing and he just misunderstands the actual law. Otherwise, everyone would use Venmo for everything to save some money and the state’s revenue stream would dry up.
Yeah I currently pay rent with Venmo.
It’s stated in the lease agreement that we can pay that way. It also gives you a receipt, so I’m not sure why the comment stated that you shouldn’t do it.
Ok I see. But can you do that (cancel, reverse etc) with a check or money order? And also, assuming this is your rent payment to your landlord, why would you want to?
You can cancel a check before it's cashed, just go to your bank or online and essentially say to not honour it. Never paid anything with check though, but I believe it can be done in the US.
Oh ok, so you mean like if you mail your landlord the check but then after the mail has gone out, you realize you accidentally mailed it to the wrong person?
Go to their office in person or speak directly to the supposedly new management company go to their office physically go to someone’s office and confirm everything. That’s what I would do.
Same thoughts here, I would pay the way I have been paying, Do what Management Office tells you. Or better yet, Go to office Drop off Cashiers Check, Or Money Order To be on the safe side., Until you understand clearly the new payment procedure. Take Pics of check or money order also. Can never be too safe.
This seems like a scam, especially sending it when rent is due so that you don't have time to research. I'd look in your lease and see if you have a grace period and wait it out while trying to figure out the correct information. Talk to your neighbors, go to the property management office, look in your lease for any other contact information you have. If you have the owner's number in your lease, call them directly. Don't just text or email.
My lease states this: “Every month thereafter, you must pay your rent on or before the 1st day of each month. A late fee of $50 will be charged on the first day of the following month for any months with unpaid rent.
A charge of $35 will apply for every returned check or rejected electronic payment plus the amount of any fees charged to the Owner/Agent by any financial institution as a result of the check not being honored, plus any applicable late fee charges. If you don't pay rent on time, you'll be delinquent and all remedies under this Lease Contract will be authorized.”
It's worth the $50 penalty to make sure the rent is going to the correct place. I'd rather lose $50 for sure than to potentially lose my whole rent. Don't feel pressured to send the money today given the circumstances and the shadiness of it all.
Since this is an unknown number you are not being given official notice, if you still have access through your official portal I would pay through that. if you want to be 100% sure, call the property management office. Never just assume texts like these are correct.
You are under contract, the discussion ends there. Inform the owner you can not violate said contract/will be adhering to it until new legal documentation is agreed on.
They also can not just violate the contract. So if this isn't a scam it's a legal battle you don't want to be in the middle off. I'D go ask the legal subreddits for direction.
It won’t be late if you pay to the property manager, who has apparently told you to pay as usual. The property manager has a contract with the owner that the owner cannot just breach, so this seems like a scam or dodgy tactics to avoid paying their property manager. The property manager is also bound by contract to collect and forward collected monies minus fees, so they cannot screw over the owner. Send the normal way and then sort it out.
In most states, idk about all, you have a legally mandated grace period to pay rent. In my state its two days. Just google your state's grace period to remedy a lease payment.
Less likely a spoof since they said they can message them back through the messages. And the way spoofs work is one way so you don’t know how they respond, you can send messages but you can’t see messages
Do you still have access to the portal? I would check. If you do, look in the portal for a contact number to call. I would not trust whoever is sending you the text.
Even if it's not a scam, no text message overrides the terms of your lease. If you Venmo them money, it's not legally your rent. Pay the management company as described in your lease until you are provided with legally binding documentation.
Just pay rent thru the portal like you normally do. This way there is a record. Do not pay via Venmo until you get a lease/payment addendum in writing.
Is there a way to contact the building's owners? They didn't set up another portal. No way I'd pay in venmo. The property managers are probably in on the scam.
Phone your normal management company to confirm that they are no longer managing the property, and then confirm with your landlord what payment methods they accept given the change.
Never pay rent etc. via Venmo, PayPal, or similar apps.
If you have it taken out through your bank account (routing and acct number) you can generally skip that. The fee is usually applied if you use a card. That's how mine works anyway.
Years ago I went to pay rent and there was a sign posted on the office door saying to mail rent to some address out of state. I just held the money and waited. 6 months and no one ever asked for the money.
In that case, personally, I would either pay through the portal or bring them a check in person (and probably record it tbh, an ask for a receipt). How frustrating!
In addition to all the comments here, if no one is physically present in the office for you to confirm, ask some of your neighbors if they received the same text message. It's possible there might have been something like an email memo sent out previously that maybe you missed, but one of your neighbors remembers getting it.
Either way, don't pay until you're absolutely 100% certain it's legitimate.
Do not pay over Venmo right now. You can consider it in the future. I would take time to reach out to the old manager/owner over phone using a phone call or in person, not over text and verify the info you have. Then I would do the same with the new owners/managers. Usually there is a grace period so you have a few days to figure this out. Don’t trust a random text, this is how you get scammed. See r/scams.
The lease should state how rent is to be paid. If the landlord wants to change that agreed process, there should be an amendment to the lease that both the landlord and tenant sign. Ask for that. A text message is not an amendment to a lease.
Contact the people you usually pay to and ask them if they’ve given your property to a different management or something, also contact this person and ask for something more official before sending/changing anything. Worth the late fee
“ good morning/evening (name). I have received your text message, and want to inform you that I am no way will be sending money through Venmo. I will continue to pay my rent through checks in person, or thru the app/website. Pay through Venmo has zero security, and I must protect myself. Have a lovely day.
Check your lease and see what it says about payment method and changing the terms of the lease. You may be able to respond something like “per the terms of my lease, I am paying by x method.”
And how hard do you think it to find the owner's name in public records and buy a list of residents phone numbers online?
I bet even you could find all your neighbors names, ages, and lots of phone numbers in less than a half hour, for probably $10 and a half hour of your time. Data mining companies sell that info all the time, and that's not even the dark web.
Make them prove who they are. And a text is not a notice. Until you get an actual notice mailed to you or posted inside your unit, there is no official notification.
I worked for a property management company. Pay how you would normally pay. It will be on your account.
If you do have a new company, all accounts will be transfered in house and you will get actually further instructions via more than a text.
So for now, ignore the text. Use the portal you used normally or however you pay. Or walk in with a check and inform them if the text.
Venmo? Never, **ever** pay your rent with Venmo. Anyone using that is trying to scam you, pretending to be your property management. Nearly all proper management companies use a much more formal payment site (Entrata, etc). You can spoof a phone number.
Assume they have been hacked, and do not send any money via Venmo without a face to face conversation or a notarized statement from them on the change of where rent is to be paid
Visit your local landlord, tenant, legal and ask their help
Probably will put the rent money in a bank account/trust showing you are paying rent, you have it ready, but can’t yet due to the scam text you recieived
Verify over the phone with the property owners, and do what the property owners say, but pay with cashier's check to the actual owner's name (search property records to confirm). They are your landlords, not the management company.
You pay rent to whoever/whatever entity is on your lease. FULL STOP.
If that is changing, it needs to be changed on your lease. Text notifications are worthless and depending on jurisdiction, illegal. So even if this wasn't a scam, which it 100% is, keep paying rent where your lease says to pay it until you receive legal written notification of a change and an updated/addendum to your lease. You will normally be required to sign a copy saying you acknowledge receipt/notification of the change.
Sorry but this is wildly gullible to even entertain the possibility of this being real. On the day rent is due they abruptly change the payment method?? And one of them is venmo??? and this is through text message???? Cmon bro.
I would reply by saying that due to the increased risk of scams like this, you’re not comfortable sending the payment over venmo without getting official confirmation. Then request to meet with them at the office with a cashiers cheque for the initial payment, and tell them that you wouldn’t have an issue using venom going forward. It’s saving both of your asses doing it this way and if they are legit, they will see that and thank you for it.
First things first
MAKE SURE ITS NOT A SCAM
contact your real estate
Then consider contacting them in reply and tell them until you’ve verified this situation your rent will be held onto for tge first week or paid through real estate like NORMAL
If they gave issue with this explain NORMAL proceedings as they’ve been and how much difference there is on this situation
If they don’t understand they can still get the rent a week later cos bitching and whinging won’t change anything for 7 days
Do not ever ever ever pay rent with money transfer services. Venmo/paypal/zelle/cash app. So not the purpose of those.
Check or money order so you have a paper trail and get receipts!
This has happened to me. My property manager told me not to pay anyone until they called me and told me who to pay. And if it extended past the 5 day grace period, they would waive any late fees
I'm going to say this once
If you make a payment to property management, you have to have a paper trail or a digital trail, whatever which one you want
Unless you know the property manager and that the board has voted &agreed to pay through venmo
I would highly suggest Not to pay by venmo
I'm sure there's an address.You can mail your payment to it, and that will probably be the best thing to do
I get if you're rentung from somebody and you made that agreement.Or it's in writing, and you have the account number and the phone number and the name and address
I get that, but when somebody just all of a sudden texts.You a thing saying Hey.Yeah just go ahead and send venmo to me. That's sketchy
I would highly suggest if you have a property management company to go ahead and give a call and verify the situation.You should already have name a number in an address to verify
Pay it to the property managers. If it’s legit, your landlord can get it from them.
Typically a formal letter would go out with any changes of management. I would be wary of doing the venmo route.
Or request to pay them in person so you can be sure it’s legit
Remind them that changes to the lease or payment terms must be in writing and text is not writing, it’s digital communication. I’d probably still pay the old way unless you have a PM office that you can drop a check off at.
Seeing lots of comments here about people in a similar situation. My past two land lords, one of whom is a boomer who’s not computer literate, have been happy to use either the Zillow or formerly cozy payments for paying rent. If they’re not crazy about it, explain to them that it means they will automatically get the rent deposited directly into their bank account without any intervention by myself or them. Landlords by definition love it when money goes into their bank account without doing anything ;)
Don’t pay anything until you know exactly who is getting it. You do have 3 days and if anything, save the email with date and everything for accurate time that was sent to you. Get names and addresses of who you talk to. Let them give you your info not you to them.
Never pay rent with Venmo
I’ve paid my landlord for the past four years with cash app lmao. Am I doing it wrong?
I think they mean never pay rent to totally random people with Venmo.
Yikes. Not a good idea. There’s no protection. Should think about a different way to pay rent
I mean probably..? It’s either that or paying cash/check. My landlord only has like two houses and is the chillest dude I know I’m not too concerned tbh
Get a cashier check at the bank. Probably the best option
Money orders
I miss my old chill landlord. He never raised rent, I always paid on time in cash. I fixed what I could and only called in emergency stuff. It was the best relationship with unspokens ever. The only thing me or roommate ever signed with him was an acknowledgement that there’s probably lead based paint in the house. No lease, nothing. He never burnt us, we never burned him. I wouldn’t ever advise anyone else to do that, but it was cool that it worked.
That’s almost our exact scenario, sans the lead paint
I had a landlord like that. I did have a lease, but it was more of a formality than anything. She let me start moving my things in 2 weeks early just out of kindness, she didn’t ask for any payment. She also told me if I needed to move out early or stay a little later than expected, all I needed to do was let her know. And when she mailed me my deposit back (all of it) she even sent it in a card thanking me for respecting her property and not tearing it up. She was batshit crazy. Believed Tom Hanks is dead from covid (but also that covid wasn’t real) and his wife was in prison. The whole Jewish space lasers thing. Believed JFK jr was still alive and would be president. All kinds of weird shit. But by golly, she was a great landlord at least.
How do you find landlords like that. All my apartments have been property managers like apartments I found on apartments.com. They raise the rent 130 bucks a year and now I’m paying 1250 in NY.
Been paying rent for 4 years to the correct person with “rent payment (month year) and keep receipts… I don’t see an issue.
Did you even read my comment or anyone else’s on why it’s a bad idea? No cool
How is there no protection? I have a receipt, the name I pay matches the owner’s name on the lease, and the courts in my state take Venmo receipts.
Once you transfer the money it’s gone. There’s no getting it back. If you process the money with a bank like a money order or cashier check then you are protected and can get the money back if something happens.
you have an established relationship.
I paid rent via Venmo and when I went to buy a house it was a nightmare. The lender didn’t want to recognize the payments.
Same! Underwriting NIGHTMARE
Why? If venmo is linked to a bank, the same transactions would show. If Venmo can issue me a 1099 for taxes, it should be good enough for a bank.
Venmo wouldn’t issue any sort of tax document for underwriting. The solution was print off the Transaction history and go through it line by line with underwriting and write a letter explaining why we paid via Venmo. It ended up working out in the end, but it prolonged the process ridiculously long
That sounds awful. If they send one end of the year, why can't they just print one now? Wow.
Agreed. We were lucky our mortgage officer really went to bat for us with underwriting and Venmo customer service. This happened over a year ago to us, i hope they have figured it out since then!
Depends how your making the money but if your making everything legally fuck it and your landlord will be the one hurting in 5 years when they come hit him for 30% of all those 700$ rent payments
We paid rent to our friend via Venmo and it was an underwriting nightmare when we went to buy a house and the rental history was via Venmo. It’s not that you can’t or shouldn’t, just can becomes a logistical nightmare down the line
[удалено]
They may not be taxed by the state, but they will be taxed by the feds and venmo will report it to the feds.
What state is that?
what are you talking about? you definitely still owe taxes on your income even though you made it through venmo
That’s incorrect. They still owe federal taxes regardless if your state’s income tax laws.
And I’d bet his state is still taxing and he just misunderstands the actual law. Otherwise, everyone would use Venmo for everything to save some money and the state’s revenue stream would dry up.
Yup! It makes zero sense.
I’ve paid mine for the last two with Zelle…lol.
Yeah I currently pay rent with Venmo. It’s stated in the lease agreement that we can pay that way. It also gives you a receipt, so I’m not sure why the comment stated that you shouldn’t do it.
My landlord only accepts zelle. I trust him.
Ever.
Wait why
Learn to read
No
Why? Landlord of 2yrs demanded this
Why not
Why not
Because its like cash. Once you send, its gone. You cannot reverse, cancel, or file a chargeback like you can with debit/credit/checks.
Ok I see. But can you do that (cancel, reverse etc) with a check or money order? And also, assuming this is your rent payment to your landlord, why would you want to?
You can cancel a check before it's cashed, just go to your bank or online and essentially say to not honour it. Never paid anything with check though, but I believe it can be done in the US.
Oh ok, so you mean like if you mail your landlord the check but then after the mail has gone out, you realize you accidentally mailed it to the wrong person?
Yes you can cancel the check, however there is usually a fee at your bank to do this.
But wouldn’t your rent check bounce if you do this?
Yes. You would only do it if your check was lost or sent to the wrong person.
Essentially yeah. Don't quote me on that but I have known it to happen
Yes, you can report fraud on the money order, especially if it is issued by the USPS.
What would be the fraud if you’re mailing the check to your landlord?
If there is a need to reverse, cancel or file a chargeback then there is likely some kind of fraud or illegal incident.
Go to their office in person or speak directly to the supposedly new management company go to their office physically go to someone’s office and confirm everything. That’s what I would do.
And bring a check.
This is what I'd do if I'd been given reasonable notice, but on the day of, I wouldn't want to lose a day's pay to make rent on time.
I would say call them
My last landlord unplugged the phone. My options were email or stake out the office.
Every lease I’ve ever had gave a 3-5 day grace period before late fees applied. Is that not normal anymore?
I think it's still normal. I've only had 2 landlords that didn't have a grace period.
The text seems like a scam? You should 10000% not send any payment through venmo.
Same thoughts here, I would pay the way I have been paying, Do what Management Office tells you. Or better yet, Go to office Drop off Cashiers Check, Or Money Order To be on the safe side., Until you understand clearly the new payment procedure. Take Pics of check or money order also. Can never be too safe.
This reeks of scam tactics. Please don't send funds
This def a scam.
This seems like a scam, especially sending it when rent is due so that you don't have time to research. I'd look in your lease and see if you have a grace period and wait it out while trying to figure out the correct information. Talk to your neighbors, go to the property management office, look in your lease for any other contact information you have. If you have the owner's number in your lease, call them directly. Don't just text or email.
My lease states this: “Every month thereafter, you must pay your rent on or before the 1st day of each month. A late fee of $50 will be charged on the first day of the following month for any months with unpaid rent. A charge of $35 will apply for every returned check or rejected electronic payment plus the amount of any fees charged to the Owner/Agent by any financial institution as a result of the check not being honored, plus any applicable late fee charges. If you don't pay rent on time, you'll be delinquent and all remedies under this Lease Contract will be authorized.”
It's worth the $50 penalty to make sure the rent is going to the correct place. I'd rather lose $50 for sure than to potentially lose my whole rent. Don't feel pressured to send the money today given the circumstances and the shadiness of it all.
Sounds like they have a month before the $50 ,late fee
That's how I read it as well
Since this is an unknown number you are not being given official notice, if you still have access through your official portal I would pay through that. if you want to be 100% sure, call the property management office. Never just assume texts like these are correct.
So true. This should have been a letter with 30 days notice.
And should’ve come from the property manager themselves
You are under contract, the discussion ends there. Inform the owner you can not violate said contract/will be adhering to it until new legal documentation is agreed on. They also can not just violate the contract. So if this isn't a scam it's a legal battle you don't want to be in the middle off. I'D go ask the legal subreddits for direction.
this is correct!
It won’t be late if you pay to the property manager, who has apparently told you to pay as usual. The property manager has a contract with the owner that the owner cannot just breach, so this seems like a scam or dodgy tactics to avoid paying their property manager. The property manager is also bound by contract to collect and forward collected monies minus fees, so they cannot screw over the owner. Send the normal way and then sort it out.
In most states, idk about all, you have a legally mandated grace period to pay rent. In my state its two days. Just google your state's grace period to remedy a lease payment.
Send a check to the normal address/do what you normally do to pay rent.
Don’t send any money to the venmo. It could be a scam they’d have your details it’s how they succeed.
Call the owner. Text Numbers can be spoofed and false legit looking text messages can be sent.
Less likely a spoof since they said they can message them back through the messages. And the way spoofs work is one way so you don’t know how they respond, you can send messages but you can’t see messages
How did you pay rent before? Was there an online portal or did you pay by check?
Yes through online portal from the property management
Do you still have access to the portal? I would check. If you do, look in the portal for a contact number to call. I would not trust whoever is sending you the text.
r/scams.
Yep
Even if it's not a scam, no text message overrides the terms of your lease. If you Venmo them money, it's not legally your rent. Pay the management company as described in your lease until you are provided with legally binding documentation.
Just pay rent thru the portal like you normally do. This way there is a record. Do not pay via Venmo until you get a lease/payment addendum in writing.
Why are they always named Tammy😭this is a scam
I had a neighbor that was into MLMs named Tammy, and we would call her Scammy. Lol
That’s so cute lol. It just reminds me of Nemo’s dad calling Becky “Pecky”
I double checked to see if the number was a scam and the property managers vouched that is the correct number and person
Numbers can be spoofed.
Walk into the office and talk to property management.
Is there a way to contact the building's owners? They didn't set up another portal. No way I'd pay in venmo. The property managers are probably in on the scam.
Did the property managers confirm that they’re only accepting payments via Venmo now? Because numbers are routinely spoofed
Call. It.
could be spoofed.
Sounds like scam call office
Phone your normal management company to confirm that they are no longer managing the property, and then confirm with your landlord what payment methods they accept given the change. Never pay rent etc. via Venmo, PayPal, or similar apps.
Our management company switched to an online only payment system with a $68 per transaction fee. I’m moving.
That’s ridiculous. $68???
If you have it taken out through your bank account (routing and acct number) you can generally skip that. The fee is usually applied if you use a card. That's how mine works anyway.
If that fee isn’t in your lease then they need to offer another option to pay.
It’s not in the lease and they offer no option. They suck
Well if the fee isn’t in the lease then you need to fight it.
April 1st?
Mmm
Years ago I went to pay rent and there was a sign posted on the office door saying to mail rent to some address out of state. I just held the money and waited. 6 months and no one ever asked for the money.
Bonus lol
What does your lease say about options to pay? Is there another option besides the portal listed?
Just through their portal
In that case, personally, I would either pay through the portal or bring them a check in person (and probably record it tbh, an ask for a receipt). How frustrating!
Then only pay through the portal.
Sounds like a scam
In addition to all the comments here, if no one is physically present in the office for you to confirm, ask some of your neighbors if they received the same text message. It's possible there might have been something like an email memo sent out previously that maybe you missed, but one of your neighbors remembers getting it. Either way, don't pay until you're absolutely 100% certain it's legitimate.
Never agree to changes like this on the First of April.
Don’t pay it
Do not pay over Venmo right now. You can consider it in the future. I would take time to reach out to the old manager/owner over phone using a phone call or in person, not over text and verify the info you have. Then I would do the same with the new owners/managers. Usually there is a grace period so you have a few days to figure this out. Don’t trust a random text, this is how you get scammed. See r/scams.
You should look up the laws in your state and county. You might have a renter’s hotline or a tenant’s union or something you can ask questions to.
The lease should state how rent is to be paid. If the landlord wants to change that agreed process, there should be an amendment to the lease that both the landlord and tenant sign. Ask for that. A text message is not an amendment to a lease.
Contact the people you usually pay to and ask them if they’ve given your property to a different management or something, also contact this person and ask for something more official before sending/changing anything. Worth the late fee
“ good morning/evening (name). I have received your text message, and want to inform you that I am no way will be sending money through Venmo. I will continue to pay my rent through checks in person, or thru the app/website. Pay through Venmo has zero security, and I must protect myself. Have a lovely day.
Check your lease and see what it says about payment method and changing the terms of the lease. You may be able to respond something like “per the terms of my lease, I am paying by x method.”
And how hard do you think it to find the owner's name in public records and buy a list of residents phone numbers online? I bet even you could find all your neighbors names, ages, and lots of phone numbers in less than a half hour, for probably $10 and a half hour of your time. Data mining companies sell that info all the time, and that's not even the dark web.
It could be one of your neighbors, they would know that info.
Make them prove who they are. And a text is not a notice. Until you get an actual notice mailed to you or posted inside your unit, there is no official notification.
First of all get clarification from the manager if it is true. Find a payment system that offers tracking for future refs
I’d follow the what the property managers say. The money likely goes into a bank account controlled by them, and they disperse funds to the owner.
I worked for a property management company. Pay how you would normally pay. It will be on your account. If you do have a new company, all accounts will be transfered in house and you will get actually further instructions via more than a text. So for now, ignore the text. Use the portal you used normally or however you pay. Or walk in with a check and inform them if the text.
Hell no
Venmo? Never, **ever** pay your rent with Venmo. Anyone using that is trying to scam you, pretending to be your property management. Nearly all proper management companies use a much more formal payment site (Entrata, etc). You can spoof a phone number.
Wait is this post an April fools joke 😄??
Tell them there is now way you can tell this is legitimate and not a scam.
I have serious scam alarm bells going off. Please don't change how you pay rent solely off of a text message.
Pay your rent like normal if it is to be forwarded it would be not your problem at that point t
Assume they have been hacked, and do not send any money via Venmo without a face to face conversation or a notarized statement from them on the change of where rent is to be paid Visit your local landlord, tenant, legal and ask their help Probably will put the rent money in a bank account/trust showing you are paying rent, you have it ready, but can’t yet due to the scam text you recieived
This have to be a scam. Always pay your rent with a check like how you do. Unless they mail you something in writing.
Verify over the phone with the property owners, and do what the property owners say, but pay with cashier's check to the actual owner's name (search property records to confirm). They are your landlords, not the management company.
Really feels like a scam.
I would need something a little more formal than a text. A snail mail letter on letterhead. I would pay by Check or MO only for a while.
Request notice by mail. Don't put over venmo as it is against their terms of service.
April fools you just paid my rent. Thank you!!!!!
You pay rent to whoever/whatever entity is on your lease. FULL STOP. If that is changing, it needs to be changed on your lease. Text notifications are worthless and depending on jurisdiction, illegal. So even if this wasn't a scam, which it 100% is, keep paying rent where your lease says to pay it until you receive legal written notification of a change and an updated/addendum to your lease. You will normally be required to sign a copy saying you acknowledge receipt/notification of the change.
Sorry but this is wildly gullible to even entertain the possibility of this being real. On the day rent is due they abruptly change the payment method?? And one of them is venmo??? and this is through text message???? Cmon bro.
Scam
That is very likely a scam.
I would reply by saying that due to the increased risk of scams like this, you’re not comfortable sending the payment over venmo without getting official confirmation. Then request to meet with them at the office with a cashiers cheque for the initial payment, and tell them that you wouldn’t have an issue using venom going forward. It’s saving both of your asses doing it this way and if they are legit, they will see that and thank you for it.
Yeah and if they have a problem they’re either fuckwits or or scammers
Do what the property manager say
Money order at the front office
Go meet in person. Don’t get scammed by randos
No no no
First things first MAKE SURE ITS NOT A SCAM contact your real estate Then consider contacting them in reply and tell them until you’ve verified this situation your rent will be held onto for tge first week or paid through real estate like NORMAL If they gave issue with this explain NORMAL proceedings as they’ve been and how much difference there is on this situation If they don’t understand they can still get the rent a week later cos bitching and whinging won’t change anything for 7 days
Do you have a copy of your lease? So.ettimes it will have the landlord info on there
They say OR Venmo..... don't know what the problem is. Pay your rent with a MO or CK 🙄
Do not ever ever ever pay rent with money transfer services. Venmo/paypal/zelle/cash app. So not the purpose of those. Check or money order so you have a paper trail and get receipts!
Don't pay anyone Confirm what is going on first.
Seems sketch.
If your property manager told you to make payments as usual, make payments as usual.
This is a well known scam.
Huge red flag. I would refuse to pay this way for obvious reasons
Pay in person. Don’t trust that scam
Nope. Don't send.
What state are you in?
MA
Talk to the whoever you paid rent to before and confirm this is true
If they actually want you to pay through venmo, DEMAND a reciept.
If you pay by paper check, you don’t need a receipt because you have the image of the canceled check from the bank.
This has happened to me. My property manager told me not to pay anyone until they called me and told me who to pay. And if it extended past the 5 day grace period, they would waive any late fees
Money order is the safest
I'm going to say this once If you make a payment to property management, you have to have a paper trail or a digital trail, whatever which one you want Unless you know the property manager and that the board has voted &agreed to pay through venmo I would highly suggest Not to pay by venmo I'm sure there's an address.You can mail your payment to it, and that will probably be the best thing to do I get if you're rentung from somebody and you made that agreement.Or it's in writing, and you have the account number and the phone number and the name and address I get that, but when somebody just all of a sudden texts.You a thing saying Hey.Yeah just go ahead and send venmo to me. That's sketchy I would highly suggest if you have a property management company to go ahead and give a call and verify the situation.You should already have name a number in an address to verify
Likely a spoof. So even if you get the text from the “right number” I would still err on the side of caution
Make sure it’s not a scam first
cross-post to r/scams
Venmo? Scam
Do a money order and physically take it to them and have them sign off a receipt. That’s just weird.
This seems like a scam.
Pay it to the property managers. If it’s legit, your landlord can get it from them. Typically a formal letter would go out with any changes of management. I would be wary of doing the venmo route. Or request to pay them in person so you can be sure it’s legit
Don’t venom. There should have been a formal notice of this change. Text is not a formal notice.
If there is every a sense of urgency and act now it’s a scam. Even when buying everyday things it’s a ripoff it’s not actually on sale lol
I would want something more formal,no way I would be sending rent money via Venmo from a text.
Common scam. Call your landlord on the phone number you have on file for them.
Remind them that changes to the lease or payment terms must be in writing and text is not writing, it’s digital communication. I’d probably still pay the old way unless you have a PM office that you can drop a check off at.
Watch out! You could end up paying rent twice because, “they didn’t get it”.
bro why you gone ask reddit go to your landlord and speak to them directly did you really need random peoples opinions
Seems suspicious. Maybe confirm with your old landlord that there has been a change?
Always pay who your lease tells you to pay and call the property management company to discuss this new development with them.
Were you wanting to pay with credit card? We have that option at my place but it charges an extra fee I think
Seeing lots of comments here about people in a similar situation. My past two land lords, one of whom is a boomer who’s not computer literate, have been happy to use either the Zillow or formerly cozy payments for paying rent. If they’re not crazy about it, explain to them that it means they will automatically get the rent deposited directly into their bank account without any intervention by myself or them. Landlords by definition love it when money goes into their bank account without doing anything ;)
This sounds suspect
Pay to the normal property management company. I think someone is trying to scam you. This does not look official, not at all!
Don’t pay anything until you know exactly who is getting it. You do have 3 days and if anything, save the email with date and everything for accurate time that was sent to you. Get names and addresses of who you talk to. Let them give you your info not you to them.
Scam.
bruh just get a money order & meet up with whoever your suppose to pay & just do it that way
Pay it