cleveland housing "phone" - craigslist (2024)

FAQs

How do I respond to an apartment ad on Craigslist? ›

Many of the scams start with a generic inquiry asking if the item is still available or if you are the original owner. The reason for this is to quickly test to see if the seller is responsive. There's generally no mention of the item you're selling or any questions specific to the item.

Read the email you receive in response to your Craigslist ad very carefully. Look for poor grammar, misspelled words or strange phrases. Many scam artists are from outside the country and may not speak or write English well. They typically send form letters stuffed with big promises hundreds or thousands of times.

Mention specific things from the ad.

If they said they have a massive kitchen, talk about how much you love cooking five-course meals for your roommates. If they mention that the available room comes with a shared bathroom, mention how quick your showers are, or how spotless your current bathroom is!

When you reply directly from Craigslist, your email address will be visible to the recipient. To reply anonymously, you need to create a free Web-based email address, which does not contain identifiable information.

Avoid adding any personal information in the posting, including your name, real phone number or real email address. Always use the generated email address on your Craigslist posts.

A Craigslist flag marks Craigslist advertising as inappropriate, and if enough people flag the ad, it will be automatically removed. You can also contact Craigslist about inappropriate content – or recommend posts for Best of Craigslist, a kind of Craigslist Hall of Fame.

By writing it out people avoid the system testing to restrict sharing. To avoid being flagged. The rules of posting say not to use phone numbers but there is no proof that anyone is policing the site to delete ads that do so.

Pay close attention to the Craigslist ad description

If the image doesn't match, that's not a good sign. In addition, avoid ads that use vague or overly generalized language. Genuine sellers typically provide a wealth of information to describe the item and its condition.

Can I just reply to a Craigslist email? ›

To reply to a Craigslist post, just click the reply button. To use your device's default email app, select the first link. Otherwise, select the web-based email you use (like Gmail or Yahoo) or copy and paste the email address at the bottom of the window into a new email manually.

To respond to a job listing on Craigslist you must email the poster. You can navigate to the email from the job posting. In your email, you should introduce yourself, express your interest in the job, and briefly touch on the skills, experience, and qualifications that you possess.

The property either doesn't exist or the scammer does not own it and has no right to rent it. In either case, they try to get you to send a deposit before you ever see the property. Or they are using the rental ad to steal personal information. A rental scam can occur anywhere.

Craigslist provides proxy email addresses to sellers, and it's a good idea to use them so browsers can't spam your actual email address. Once a potential buyer is truly interested, however, it's okay to switch communication to your cell phone; most buyers appreciate being able to text.