VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A landlord and four residents of a home fell victim to a possible scam after someone re-rented out the rooms under false pretenses of owning the property.

People looking for a place to rent thought the man they were paying was the real landlord. As it turns out, he was just renting it. The realtor who owns the property calls this a warning for prospective renters.

Demolition work is underway at the four-bedroom home in Virginia Beach. Realtor Dee Carstens rented the property in late 2023. Rent was paid on time, at first, but around December, rent stopped coming and communication stopped. Carstens believes she was the victim of a scam.

“Fortunately, it only took me two months,” Carstens said. “Some people, this can happen a lot longer.”

With no rent paid for two months, she gave the man until January to vacate. She stopped by in February to found locks placed on individual bedroom doors, and four strangers living inside. They were surprised to see Carstens, and even more surprised to hear she was the actual owner of the property.

“Just trying to figure the whole thing out,” Carstens said. “So, after we figured out who we were, we realized we’ve both been scammed by this person.”

Carstens found out that the man she rented the place to listed individual bedrooms to people on Craigslist. His own rent was about $2,000 per month.

“He was collecting, probably 750 per room times four, and wasn’t paying me for two months,” Carstens said.

She still has the Craigslist screenshots, showing the man put up these listings up under a different name.

“You have to put a name and age, and I’m not sure who Deanna is,” Carstens said. “My name is Dee, maybe he was trying to relate it.”

Carstens told 10 On Your Side, the home was trashed. She said she had to get the Craigslist tenants out of the house, and has to renovate it again before re-listing the rental.

“When the utilities were turned off at the end of January, the other tenants moved out,” Carstens said. “The young girl that stayed behind, she didn’t have anything lined up, she didn’t know what was going on. She worked 12 hour days, come home, do her thing and leave.”

Carstens believes the four other tenants are victims of the scams too. Her advice to renters — do your research on who you are renting from.

She still has not been able to find or contact the man behind all this. She pulled an address through her real estate network for this man. When 10 On Your Side knocked on the door, we had no response. Neighbors in that area tell us they have not heard of the man.

Carstens plans on taking legal action.

Check with WAVY.com for updates.

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