Unlawful Eviction i was scammed and now homeless

[missjennylee]

On the 28th of august 2014 i met with a lady which i thought to be the property manager , she had the business card that said she worked for remax gold she had the keys to the property, she had all the paperwork that would go along with the lease agreement. I signed them she signed them i gave her a deposit of$500 and a partial rent payment of$200 my total rent was$700 so she had me sign an agreement stating i would fix up the property for the remainder of the rent . So i started moving all my belongings that same day. On the following Tuesday the guy from best air came out i paid him$290 to look at the ac unit. And at about 11 am the cops came with a lady that said she was the realtor and i had only a few hours to move out. She had said that i was scammed and there was nothing that could be done about it, . The actual realtor wouldn't even give me the money back that i had just paid to get the ac unit fixed. They have me till 4pm that same day to get every thing out. So now I'm homeless, out the money i had paid for rent, deposit, repairs . Is there nothing that can be done to help me and my situation?? Please if any one can please give me some in sight is what they did legal?

 

[army judge]

Sorry, this happens all of the time.
Before you give anyone money, it's wise to investigate them.
That means you look at more than a business card.
You can report the matter to the police.
They'll investigate.
Most legitimate landlords or their agents don't take payments until they've run background checks.
You should also do the same.
Most rarely take cash payments on site.
That was also a clue.

 

[mightymoose]

Do you have receipts for your payments to the scammer? Do you have the means to locate the scammer?
If so contact that person and demand a refund then go to small claims court when they refuse.
I suspect you have no receipts and no contact info though...

 

[disagreeable]

How did you come to meet this mysterious property manager? A normal rental involves calling a number on the unit to get a response. It could be you orchestrated this entire thing for free rent expecting it to run for a long time. Your recourse is to file a report with the police and see if they catch this mysterious person.

 

[cbg]

Why should the realtor give you back the money you paid to have the ac fixed? She isn't the one who has it. Why should she be out the money?

I'm sorry for your situation but the only one with any legal responsibility to you is the one who scammed you. You can file a police report.

You should also report what happened to the corporate headquarters of the realty company. It's not impossible that they may provide at least some of a refund.