Real estate scams are everywhere and the most recent one is celebrity homes' addresses are being used to lure buyers. According to New York Post, these celebrity homes, including those of Vogue chief Anna Wintour's plush Greenwich Village estate, are being used in a classic bait-and-switch and some online ads which promise cheap apartments at different storied addresses. However, prospective renters are then steered to less fancy units.
One reporter allegedly posed as a prospective tenant and responded to some ads listed on Street Easy and Trulia. Every time the reporter tried to see the advertised apartment, the scammers reportedly had excuses, saying that the apartments were not available for viewing or that they were suddenly taken off the market.
Reports say that prospect tenants were usually directed to less than fashionable spaces and then were ushered to the officer of St. Marks Place Realty at 36 St. Marks Place. There they would meet with its sole licensed broker named Jordan Marshall.
According to reports, this person dressed in a cheap suit would offer a place in East Third Street. He would pressure the prospect tenants into signing a deal with them, saying that in order to not lose the place, the clients would need to pay $100 and sign the forms. He would also add that his fee would be 11 percent of the year's rent or roughly $4,150, which he claimed is 4 percent lower than the rival firm.
Although his ads never mention the name of the Vogue chief, he lists her exact address, Tony Sullivan Street, where the fashion magazine chief's four-story mansion stands. Wintour's spokesperson apparently told the website that it is considered false listing.
Aside from Anna Wintour, the ads also list acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky's East Village town house, which he bought for $3.4 million back in 2005. Sources of the reports confirmed that the director has not put up his home for rent or sale.
