My brother saw a listing on Craigslist for a fantastic apt rental, but it sounds fishy. Is the Yahoo Real Estate Protection Program a legitimate escrow program? How does it work?
The person with the apt says he had this apt w/his wife who was American (he’s from Germany) and last year they had a car accident in which she was killed and he lost his hearing, hence he has now returned to Germany and he wants to rent out the apt for an unlimited timeframe (min 1 year). He wants 3 months rent put in escrow before he’ll fly over to show the apt and apparently there’s quite a few folks interested in this apt. How can one check that this is all legit? Supposedly, if my brother puts the $ in the escrow acct and then after seeing the apt decides he doesn’t want it, the $ will be refunded. The $ is to be sent via Western Union . He wants it sent within 48 hours.
The guy did provide the address of the apt, pics and description, and his address in Germany. How should my brother proceed?