# Helping in subletting a condo



## rookie (Mar 19, 2010)

I have been asked by a friend to help his daughter in subletting her condo. She listed her ad in a few websites and has found a person coming in from England and has given the contact details of her local rep. my friends daughter is asking my help to finalize the deal. is it fair/common to ask the following:

1) police clearance
2) previous rental references
3) income statements/tax returns
4) occupation
5) intentions of coming to canada and the duration of stay
6) visa/residency status
7) personal habits since they will be sharing the accomodation
8) marital status

Since she is a student, i do not want her to end up dealing with landlord problems. this is my first time doing this, i am not sure at what point is it considered being careful and when the line is being crossed.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

Firstly I would warn his daughter to be VERY careful dealing with internet people claiming to be moving from abroad. It could be true but it is an often-used scam tactic. 

As for your questions:
1) police clearance - not common to ask for, I would be shocked if someone asked for this.
2) previous rental references - common/fair
3) income statements/tax returns - not sure. I think common/fair to ask for proof of employment, but not to see the actual income statements/tax returns.
4) occupation - don't know
5) intentions of coming to canada and the duration of stay - very fair to ask in my opinion
6) visa/residency status - don't think this one matters, why would you want to ask it?
7) personal habits since they will be sharing the accomodation - common/fair
8) marital status - I think this one would be better phrased as "will you have overnight guests", but if they're going to be roommates then I don't think it's out of line to ask marital status.


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## rookie (Mar 19, 2010)

she has handled local tenants previously and this is the first time she is getting an itnernational response. so scam is exactly what she was wondering. visa/residency status is important as it might affect the duration of stay. police clearance because her previous roommate was caught stealing trifles from her condo - like cosmetics, medicine etc.


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

rookie said:


> police clearance because her previous roommate was caught stealing trifles from her condo - like cosmetics, medicine etc.


I doubt a police clearance would absolve her of that concern. I assume if she is renting the entire unit she would move out her personal items. If just renting the room, one needs to set up what is shared and what is not, with most of what is not on an "ask first" basis.

International is very concerning. I would probably walk away just to be safe. One would think that just being careful would protect her. The scammers expect people to be careful, so whatever plan they have to fleece her will most likely get around that.


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## Potato (Apr 3, 2009)

The most common way the scam with the international student works is to offer to pay (or seemingly actually pay) way more up front than is common -- say a full year's rent up front instead of first and last. Then they ask for some of it back to cover some unexpected expense. You give them 6 months worth of rent back, figuring you still have 6 months worth in your pocket, only to find their payment bounces 30 days later and they're long gone with your money. If they offer a lot up front without being asked, or if it seems too good to be true in other ways, then just walk away.


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## Zoombie (Jan 10, 2012)

I had the situation Potato describes with an "international student" coming from Spain who was going to send a bunch of money up front for damage deposit/etc. Just wasted my time in the end but definitely something to be wary of.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

I would be more concerned with personal safety than money , if she presented herself as a single person looking to rent out a room, some person could make an appointment with bad intentions.


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

Just want to clarify what you mean by sublet. At first I thought it would be someone taking over the unit (landlord-tenant relationship), but then you mention they'll be sharing, so it's more of a roommate thing? Also what province are they in? I believe there are differences in what type of info people can ask for depending on province.

On occupation, just ask for a letter of employment which states the occupation and salary and how long they've been with the company. It's fairly standard practice in Ontario (not sure about other provinces). 

If it's as roommates, then there are no real rules and she can ask for whatever she wants. The police clearance seems really unusual and I don't believe you can do that in Ontario as a landlord but as a roommate, she can do whatever she wants. But if she's renting out the entire unit, some restrictions will apply. They may have had to do the police clearance as part of their visa application so it may be readily available actually.


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## rookie (Mar 19, 2010)

seems she is coming here to study. and the situation is more of a roommate.

i am getting more and more wary about this candidate and guess i'll advise not to go with her...


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

There's a different version of the scam where people want to send their stuff over first. 
The way to bust scam like this is to ask for who their employer/university will be and call them to verify that they have a job/class with them. I've had international people renting and things worked out.


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