HOW would you like to live it up in a million-dollar Brighton East townhouse with all the bells and whistles, a flash fully furnished St Kilda apartment offering sweeping views of the esplanade and water, or a brand new Hampton penthouse boasting a private rooftop terrace - all without paying anything for the privilege?
Interested tenants need only a talent for deception, an ability to stay one step ahead of the court system and police, and the willingness to fleece tens of thousands of dollars from home owners using an elaborate rental scam.
Convicted conman Joshua Peter McIntosh has spent nearly five months living for free in luxury homes in the city's bayside suburbs, skipping out on rent bills totalling $22,589, according to court records.
Police alerted the Real Estate Institute of Victoria to the scam earlier this year, but disgruntled home owners and estate agents claim investigators have shown little interest in pursuing any potential criminal cases.
Advertisement The REIV issued warnings to its members about Mr McIntosh - also known as Peter Mills, Michael Playford and Peter Bradley - who is described as having the 'airs, graces and trappings of a person of substance' and could be operating around Armadale, Brighton, Prahran, South Yarra and Toorak.
'[He] is very good at his chosen profession, having well and truly sucked in some experienced property managers and at least one landlord along the way, ' the REIV wrote in documents obtained by The Sunday Age.
The REIV alleges BPAY or credit cards are used to pay the bond and first month's rent but the transaction is cancelled after obtaining the keys. Another method is to 'sweet talk' the agent into getting access to the home after claiming the funds aren't immediately available due to a processing delay or a family tragedy, the memos say.
The estate agent is then forced to spend weeks chasing the missing funds and accumulating rent and, eventually, must apply to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a possession order and payment.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.Au/victoria/scam-gets-renter-luxury-for-nothing-and-views-for-free0519-1yxt4.html#ixzz2DIywRZ7i
He basily ran this scam at my property which has costed me about 10 weeks lost rent.
0 comments