<Thread>
<ThreadID>60763_5_1889841</ThreadID>
<Title>Homeaway / Metrodwelling apartment rental 177725 - Garden</Title>
<InitPost>
<UserID>cheekyroty</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 3:45</Date>
<icontent>     I have been searching for an apartment to rent, Radio City is full and Affinia is a bit above my budget. My time of stay is 12/27 - 01/03   I have found a nice apartment on Homeaway site, the person who emailed back is Veronica at Metrodwelling. I have looked into this and as far as i can see it is a legit site...but i am in the Uk so dont know much difference.  Does anyone know of this Company and apartment...is it ok?   To book this they request an $850 credit card deposit via a link on their website.   thanks for any advise   </icontent>
</InitPost>
<Post>
<UserID>explorer3</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 3:57</Date>
<rcontent>     Going to homeaway&#39;s site and entering the number you just gave brought me to a beautiful place in Massachusetts. Is your number correct?   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>cheekyroty</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 3:59</Date>
<rcontent>     Oh god no, sorry my typo its 177275.  thanks   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>TallulahB</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 4:00</Date>
<rcontent>     Have you read about the apartment scams on Trip Advisor?    RENTERS BEWARE! Apartment and house vacation rentals are not common in NYC. In fact, most are scams. Even if they are not outright scams, you could end up in an illegal rental and not even know it. Use a hotel instead.      tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1563270…    I believe Homeaway may have a policy that allows you to get money back from them if you register your booking with them after you&#39;ve made it but in my mind that&#39;s risky.    It also seems a little weird this person &quot;Veronica&quot; won&#39;t list her last name on the website especially if she has multiple units. Also she doesn&#39;t list the addresses so its hard to tell if these are real places and who owns them or if they are zoned for rentals like this etc...   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>TallulahB</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 4:02</Date>
<rcontent>     When googling the company Metro Dwellings LLC&quot;    This guy comes up  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/3/85B/3B4    No Veronica.   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>TallulahB</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 4:03</Date>
<rcontent>     Ok this gets a little more suspect.    A separate listing as a subsidiary of Metro Dwellings with different contact info, no business address.    http://centralpark-rentals.com/contactus.html    Me personally I would be suspect of this. But that&#39;s my New Yorker nature.  :)   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>cheekyroty</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 4:14</Date>
<rcontent>     I have read all the posts regarding scams, but surely there are some legit rentals???  We didnt even think about the illegal rents etc just naively assumed an apartment would be like renting a hotel room.   thank you for your help   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>TallulahB</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 4:34</Date>
<rcontent>     Well since NY is a tight rental based market to begin with its not as easy as it is in other cities. There is high demand and little supply. We also have a lot of tightly regulated housing. Anyhoo...    I believe nyhabitat.com is a recommended company to go through.    There is also one in the UK. apartments2book.com that people have used before.  tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1430798…    There was a post confirmed recently of a residence in Queens that is really nice. If you want to feel like a local, this would be the way to do it.  http://www.collectionofresidences.com/    I believe if you search the forum you can see some places that people have confirmed are legit. But they appear to be few and far between.   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>nywhiz</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 4:35</Date>
<rcontent>     &quot;We didnt even think about the illegal rents etc just naively assumed an apartment would be like renting a hotel room.&quot;    How is an apartment like renting a hotel room? Hotels are usually companies that can be checked. Ever heard of Hilton, Holiday Inn, Marriott? Hotels have reviews on this website and elsewhere. You can usually see a website from the hotel.    Home Away supposedly has insurance now should you get scammed, but that won&#39;t help if you don&#39;t wind up with a place to stay.  tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1694796…    You are actually considering giving a co. you know little about $850 now for a stay in Dec. If that makes sense to you, go ahead.   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>iLornaD</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 5:14</Date>
<rcontent>      I&#39;ve looked into this place just a little bit, and so far I think it is legit. Not entirely sure of the quality level, though the neighborhood is nice. There is a hotel across the street from the 71st St location.     I am quite sure this used to be a nurse&#39;s residence, whether for nursing students or just to house nurses while working at hospitals in Manhattan I do not know.     Veronica is the local agent/reservationist. I don&#39;t (yet) know her connection with the guy who owns the building (and it is an entire building)-- whether she just works for him or may be related. I find nothing negative on the owner or his wife.     They just started listing with homeaway in Janaury, and list no direct reviews there yet. One of the favorable reviews from (apparently) repeat customers on their own site is from a history professor at Cornell. If I were seriously considering a stay with them I&#39;d probably take a chance and email him an inquiry first if I could find no other connection.    </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>explorer3</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 7:09</Date>
<rcontent>     Well, funny it is advertised on a site for travel nurses. (what is a travel nurse?) Anyway it&#39;s here:  http://www.housingtravelnurses.com I can&#39;t give the entire URL because TA says it&#39;s too long. You can also look up the phone number...that&#39;s all I did and it&#39;s at this site for &#39;travel nurse&#39; housing. The phone number is a cell phone.    </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>nywhiz</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 7:28</Date>
<rcontent>     I don&#39;t see the same apt. there. I see another apt. on 71 st. but not this one.    Try going to tinyurl.com and putting in the whole URL.   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>AlicePalace</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 7:33</Date>
<rcontent>     &quot;I have read all the posts regarding scams, but surely there are some legit rentals???  We didnt even think about the illegal rents etc just naively assumed an apartment would be like renting a hotel room.&quot;    If you had read all the posts regarding scams, you would have seen that there are very few legit rentals, and by very few, I mean very, VERY few.     Some members of this forum have done a great job of compliling lists of hotel rooms offering apartment-like amenities, so you would do best to look into those.     I have to say, though- how could anyone, no matter how naive, imagine that renting an apartment would be like renting a hotel? You see this sentiment again and again on this forum, but I can&#39;t imagine that any of the people asking would take kindly to a random assortment of strangers traipsing in and out of their living space on a daily basis.     I&#39;m aware that this is a more common practice in Europe, but I&#39;ve seen many complaints toward this practice in many cities there, as well.     Does anyone have experience living in the same building as one of these transient hotel spaces? I&#39;m really curious as to how it could possibly work in a beneficial manner to the involved parties not getting a direct cut of the action.    </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>broadwaynyc</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 7:57</Date>
<rcontent>     For all of those so keen on renting an apartment,  READ the FAQs.    The policy here should be to point them to the FAQs and leave it at that.    If they want *verification* of legitimacy, have them PAY someone to spend the time and effort to check it out. I am no longer going to bother to even click on any link from some website.    Enough is enough!   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>explorer3</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 10:42</Date>
<rcontent>     Lynn, the &quot;housing for travel nurses&quot;, which seems to be housing for medical personnel, is on 71st. There are options for a few sizes of apts.  They have the same contact and phone number....sarahu@mindspring. On her Central Park Rentals site she seems to have 9.  On vacationrentals she&#39;s advertising a 71st St. one.  Cheek, I don&#39;t get a great feeling about this. Some of her sites are nicely done, great photos, including one of the Dakota, I guess to let people know what&#39;s nearby, lots of info on the area...and yet no last name. Someone with this many rentals and pretty good sites and her rentals on numerous web pages is running a business and therefore should have a last name. And preferrably a first name matching the email name.   And such a presence and yet no reviews...hmmmm.  See if you can do a word search in the little empty box on top of these topics and find something more suitable. You are coming at a peak week. Good luck.   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>imjustagirlto...</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 11:48</Date>
<rcontent>     Someone asked what travel nursing was. Basically, it&#39;s exactly what it sounds like. They fill in during nursing shortages. If there is a temporary staffing shortage, or an opening/expansion of a medical facility, travel nurses will come in for a few weeks or months and fill that void. Typically housing is provided by the hosting hospital/facility.    </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>explorer3</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 19:53</Date>
<rcontent>     Felt I should add that it used to be that vrbo was totally trustworthy...maybe a disorganized odd owner here and there but hadn&#39;t heard of anything illegal in the areas I was concerned with...beaches, mountains, smaller towns.  But now, just this year, I&#39;m hearing a tiny bit more here and there about if-y situations, mildly suspicious requests being made by owners. Just a little here and there but anything at all can make one suspicious of all the rest. Afterall, this involves money and one&#39;s vacation and family. Too bad.    </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>kiawahvilla</UserID>
<Date>12 April 2008, 21:57</Date>
<rcontent>     explorer3 -    You are correct. It is all too common that scammers will find ways to piggyback on established, but open, advertising sites. I know quite a few people who list wonderful properties on VRBO. It is sad that the scammers may give the entire site a bad name and ruin the site&#39;s usefullness for all of us.   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>BobbyC</UserID>
<Date>08 June 2008, 22:06</Date>
<rcontent>     -:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-TripAdvisor staff removed this post either because the author requested it, or because it did not meet TripAdvisor's forum guidelines.To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.htmlWe remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.Removed on: 23 June 2008, 10:39   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID></UserID>
<Date>09 June 2008, 7:37</Date>
<rcontent>     First post ever defending a questionable rental, must say I&#39;m a bit suspicious.   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>Frank3</UserID>
<Date>10 June 2008, 18:40</Date>
<rcontent>     Ahhh...that clears that up. Thanks   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>jggeb</UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 8:15</Date>
<rcontent>     HI--I was wondering if you ended up renting the apartment from Metrodwellings. i used a different website and even though I was skeptical, I decieded to do it. However, I haven&#39;t completed it yet and saw this forum. Please let me know asap what happened with you---thanks!   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>AlicePalace</UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 9:13</Date>
<rcontent>     -:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-TripAdvisor staff removed this post either because the author requested it, or because it did not meet TripAdvisor's forum guidelines.To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.htmlWe remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.Removed on: 23 June 2008, 10:39   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>broadwaynyc</UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 11:35</Date>
<rcontent>     If this vacation apartment is so legitimate, what is the address?    </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>broadwaynyc</UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 17:38</Date>
<rcontent>     -:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-TripAdvisor staff removed this post either because the author requested it, or because it did not meet TripAdvisor's forum guidelines.To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.htmlWe remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.Removed on: 23 June 2008, 10:36   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>AlicePalace</UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 18:43</Date>
<rcontent>     That is an ILLEGAL apartment.    Read this NY Times article.    query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html…    Vernoica Muth is the criminal in question   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>AlicePalace</UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 18:43</Date>
<rcontent>     By the way, her name is mentioned on page 2 of that three page NY Times article.   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID>broadwaynyc</UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 18:49</Date>
<rcontent>     Here&#39;s the expense of your &quot;positive&quot; experience:      33 WEST 71 STREET   Illegal commercial use- rent stabilized apartments being used as bed and breakfast.     Illegal converted apartments to SRO transient rooms.      Owner: MUTH, VERONICA      </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID></UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 18:56</Date>
<rcontent>     Veronica Muth should be ashamed of herself.     From the Times article:     &quot;Mr. Cohen, who has lived in his sunny rent-controlled apartment for more than 30 years, said he watched with growing anxiety as his landlord, Veronica Muth, who bought the building and another one down the street in 1996, began to convert apartments in both places into hotel-like rooms.    Of the nine apartments in his building, Mr. Cohen believes five are being used for tourists and short-term corporate tenants, who are usually charged about $100 a night, depending on the length of stay and size of the apartment. (That would mean a monthly income per apartment of about $3,000 -- much more than the regulated rent -- if the apartment was booked every night.)    So Mr. Cohen has transformed himself into a kind of detective, keeping not only a video record of tourists coming and going, but also still photos of apartments being renovated and audiotapes of tourists talking about their accommodations. He wants these records in case he ever has to show in court how his building is being used.&quot;   </rcontent>
</Post>
<Post>
<UserID></UserID>
<Date>23 June 2008, 19:22</Date>
<rcontent>     -:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-TripAdvisor staff removed this post because it did not meet TripAdvisor's forum posting guidelines with regards to family-friendly language and/or subject matter. We will remove messages or topics that contain objectionable language and images (avatars or links to pornography), including but not limited to profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, pornographic literature, racial slurs, hate speech, personal insults, hostile comments and threatening language.To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.htmlWe remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.Removed on: 23 June 2008, 10:35   </rcontent>
</Post>

</Thread>