Really sad.

I agree, sad story, hope they were able to find something.

That is a sad story. I feel bad for the tourists but buyers beware.

I think this is less a lesson about New York apartments than it is a reminder not to wire money to any individual for any reason when you don't have his address or phone number. I'm always puzzled who would rent an apartment from someone when they don't know his name, address, or phone number. By the way, it's interesting that the individual they sent the money to also probably has THEIR address and knows that they are in a foreign country. So easy to rob!

nytraveler:

Thanks for taking the time to post. Your warning may help someone considering doing this.

Sandy

NYT

Thank you for the warning, we hate hotels and probably would have attempted this in the future.

NeoP

An awful lot of what goes on around VRBO and Homeaway is based on trust. The sites themselves don't seem to give two tosses about the renters. We have been let down twice and both sites avoided our issues. There are still many good landlords out there who charge less than agencies and trust in the good nature of the renters to preserve their well maintained properties. Our recent rental in Charleston is an example of this

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p171417

Incredible place, with a fast effecient landlord.

It is so easy to leave yourself open when renting.

While you can run into problems with any rental, the specifics of the situation in NYC make it more difficult to rent with confidence. Simply put, it's illegal, giving you no recourse if something goes wrong. It usually doesn't, but when it does you're just stuck. A credit card will not dispute a claim when the purchase or service is illegal, as renting an apartment for less than 30 days in NYC almost always is.