My husband and I were looking to rent an apartment during our holiday in Sri Lanka and found an apartment posted by Noeline Leelasena online at the site listed above as well as as at: http://www.lankapropertyweb.com/rentals/property_details-2719.html
She appears to have severeal rental properties in Sri Lanka and advertises them through these sites (there maybe other sites as well).
We contacted Noeline through email and she gave us some information regarding the apartment, but when we asked for additional pictures of bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen, she said she does not have any and that she lives in England and her brother who manages the apartment (and lives in Sri Lanka) does not know how to take and send pictures by email! We felt this was a little strange because if she owns it, she must have some additional pictures of it or have at least one friend/ relative who can take pictures and send.
We thought we'd take the risk without the pictures and asked her about the process of renting and she said that a security deposit has to be transferred to her account in the UK. Before sending the money, we asked her to provide us with proof that she is the rightful owner of the apartment (i.e. a scanned copy of the deed etc.) and written policies regarding refund of the security deposit etc. She wrote back and said that she doesn't have a copy of the deed and that she "doesn't have time or the means to scan it". (This surprised us that someone living in England doesn't have access to a scanner!), and that the only proof of payment she can send is an email saying she received the money, but no written documents on the return of the security deposit etc.
She had also told us that when we arrive there, her brother will be there and that we need to pay cash for our whole stay on the first day. We agreed to that if we could see a copy of the lease we'd be sigining, but she completely ignored that request too.
Despite the fact that she'd been emailing us regularly before when we asked questions about the lcoation and apartment, after we asked for proof and documentation, she didn't email us for weeks, and only said she doesn't have acces. I sent her two emails after that asking for some sort of policies/ guidelines that would guarantee the return of the security deposit and contact information for her "brother" so we can talk to him directly and see what the deal was. We also asked for the exact address of the apartment to see if we could send a friend to see it, and ever since then, she's been missing in action!
Luckily, we'd decided not to send money until we got some documentation, so we were saved before got ripped off. We just want to warn other poetntial travellers to Sri Lanka who might fall into this trap since she appears to be "renting out" several apartments in various locations in Sri Lanka. She also doesn't advertise the exact locations of the apartments and her full name didn't appear in the listings (I found out when I emailed her), so look out for her email address: [email protected].
0 comments