KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City woman thought she had found the perfect rental property, but after countless messages, multiple payments, and no keys, she realized she was being ripped off.
Rebecca Quinn had been searching for the perfect rental home for months until one night in January, while searching Facebook Marketplace, she found a property on E. 103rd Terrace in Kansas City.
She said everything looked legit, the photos were real, the house was real, and the owner was real.
Or so she thought.
Quinn contacted the owner on Facebook Messenger. Soon they communicated by phone, and they finally met in person.
“I saw his face; she saw my face,” Quinn said.
Quinn posted a deposit and a first month’s rent, totaling nearly $1,000.
But the day before the move in, Jan. 28, Quinn said she couldn’t get in touch with the landlord.
“She always said, I’m busy right now, I can come later,” Quinn said.
Having faith, Quinn pulled into the driveway of the property on move-in day with her car packed, ready to enjoy her new home.
“I showed up at the house and waited for an hour and a half. She never showed up,” she said.
It was then that Quinn realized she had been scammed.
FOX4 reached out to the property management company that owns the rental home, First Key Homes, to inquire about complaints from other tenants. They haven’t responded, but an online ad for the same house has a footnote from the company warning tenants never to give money to people they don’t know.
Better Business Bureau executives said it was not uncommon.
“It can unfortunately be very easy,” said Nickolas Reese.
Quinn paid by Venmo, a method Reese declared impossible.
“When you make a payment, make a deposit, do it in a way with extra security so that you can have some peace of mind when you pay,” he said.
Quinn now lives in a motel with her husband in Kansas City. They cannot see their 14-year-old child until they find accommodation. Quinn said the issue had taken a toll on her mental and physical health.
Quinn said it’s hard to trust any rental ad she sees, she knows there are still good people out there, who will rent houses no problem.
“There are these bad people who don’t want good things, and it’s really hard to tell sometimes,” Quinn said.
The family has a GoFundMe they say will help them rebuild their lives.
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