To wonder if this is a scam?

[Attethersend43]

Young couple want to rent my (nice, large) house. (I say that not to stealth boast but because it seems pretty big for just the two of them and isn't that cheap.) Have offered to pay large proportion of the rent in advance. Nice enough couple but bloke v chatty, big proclamations about working in certain celeb industry.

Estate agent also told me that they had won huge amounts on poker...?! But seemed to not be able to verify this...

Call me an old cynic but something about all this is not ringing true! Obviously will sort credit checks and referencing. They want to move in early next week too.

Could this be a scam and if so what? I feel awful thinking like this and obviously gave been perfectly polite to their faces but have been burnt quite a lot as a naive and trusting LL!

I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

Obviously poker player doesn't mean drug dealer! It's just the sort of job you're not going to get references for and its not secure

Credit checks won't tell you anything.

Obviously I'm not criticising or suspicious of the fact they are poker players. It was more the husband's inability to stick to a story coupled with the fact they want to pay so much rent in advance - seems to be good to be true!

Really Dontyou We have nothing but excellent references and you clearly no nothing about the industry so don't spout rubbish about it not being secure. Very rude statement to make and my lifestyle begs to differ... ignorant!

Atte we always paid up front as it was easier to just have it all paid for - we put down 6-12 months worth. You can always ask for an extra character reference for your reassurance or ask for his poker screen name and check him out on hendonmob... it's a poker data base showing/declaring winnings.

If they're anything like myself and hubby they'll be the best tennants you've ever had

I think this dismissal of your prospective tenants is a bit mean.

My DH and I were quite young (22/23) when we started renting, and we'd usually offer to pay 6 months' rent in advance (even when the London rent was £1500+ a month!) to show the LL we were trustworthy and invested in the place. We were both earning, and we'd both spent our summers before graduating saving every penny we could. Not loaded by any means, but careful with our budget. We didn't want to buy in London as the long-term plan was to move back to Scotland after we'd got some experience under our belts.

Your tenants will be credit checked and referenced (and likely paying for the privilege), have explained their future plans, and you know you won't be out of pocket for the rent if they pay upfront. I don't see what they've done to deserve being treated with such suspicion.

I am so very glad to no longer be renting and thus no longer being treated like some second-class citizen.

And as far as I know, any clause in tenancy contracts about regular inspections is a bit redundant in the UK really. Any such clause is superseded by tenants' basic right to refuse entry to anyone into their (albeit temporary) home, including LL/agent - unless in case of emergency, of course. Tenants can legally change the locks, in fact.

Rmrf - I've rented for many years myself and I'm not dismissing them due to their youth. As you can see from my posts, it's because of the husband's quite overblown stories (lots of talk about celeb industry this, celeb industry that) and insistence to move in in the next four days, as well as guarantee to provide 6 months' rental upfront. They could be 60 year old professional retirees - I would still feel the same. It's really nothing to do with their age or otherwise! But my spidey sense are tingling!

If your gut feeling is no then go with that.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Go with your gut feeling.

I provided an employer reference to a LL once, as evidence of stable position/income. Could you not ask for that?

My first thoughts were cannabis farm. There have been several in my street, but I do know that growers now seek " posh" areas as they are not so obviously on the radar.
Another thing is why they want to pay so much up front?
If they've got cash to burn why not invest in buying a place instead of renting.
There are so many scams going on with subletting, money laundering etc.
I would not let to these people.

I'm a landlord and I don't care what people tell me when it comes to gut instinct. The only time I went against mine my flat got trashed - by a high earning, successful, charming young guy. I trusted the references and up front rent rather than my instinct.

If something is telling you not to rent to them then don't rent to them. Pushing to move in so quickly is an alarm bell for me. Four days doesn't give you time to thoroughly check references. Also google the referees - I had a prospective tenant I was iffy about and when I googled the referee and found their actual phone number they gave a terrible reference. The number I had been given was obviously a fake one. I only double checked because something didn't ring true in the guys story.

I think it is not implausible that a professional gambler has won a fortune. If they cannot substantiate this claim, I would have huge doubts.
The can pay up a year in advance, and in that year trash your house to the cost of tens of thousands.
The story given by the letting agent is laughable.
Change your agent.

No one has said poker player = drug dealer!

Poker win = "convenient excuse to pay cash upfront to tempt owner to ignore gut instinct" more like

Never ignore gut instinct.

If they pay the money, then let them move in? I've a friend who is a professional poker player and they clear about £100k a year - give or take. And they knock about with celebs, because they're loaded sometimes!

But orwellschild can you not appreciate why I'm a bit wary?

If he tells s lot of lies how do you know the offer of six months rent is not another lie?

Well because if he doesn't pay that, he won't get the house!