Could this be a scam (Bay Area)
I saw a rental property yesterday. It was an open house, and the owner was present. I visited the property with my spouse and kids, although I did not verify the owner's identity. I had applied through Zillow before visiting the property and shared my name and phone number with the landlord at the time of the visit.
I exchanged the following text messages with him, and some of them kind of hit on the red flags mentioned on Zillow. The name on the Zillow listing matches the name on the county property record. Again, I assumed the person present at the open house was the owner and did not ask for an ID.
If this was a scam, I can't figure out how the guy managed to keep the rental posted on Zillow for 5 days and also get the keys to a vacant house to arrange an open house.
Am I missing out on a great deal by not paying the advance rent before signing the lease, or did I just save myself from a scam?
Note: Zelle name also matches the name on the property record. Not sure, why or how owners would scam us. But also don’t understand the urgent need to send payment via zelle before lease signing