UKC

I am looking at going to Mexico next year and renting a place for 3.5 months, I have been looking on facebook market place and i can get much better value there than with airbnb.   Of course Marketplace doesn't offer anything like the security of airbnb and I am worried about being scammed,  everybody wants a large deposit when you book the place. 

I would be interested what would be some good proofs i should ask for to verify that the people I'm talking too actually own the property and are genuine.

Thanks for any ideas, Ben

Couldn't you go over to something short-term but safe (from fraud) like a 5-7 day hostel/hotel/airBnB booking and then once over there liaise in person with potential renter-outers on Marketplace, if there is plenty on the market you could potentially still get in quickly and make an overall saving whilst still protecting yourself from being scammed.

I can't think of any way in which an international bank transfer based on Facebook communication could be protected from fraud, though having said that I did transfer about $1000AUD to someone in Australia to reserve a room we wanted to rent in their house, based purely on a phone call and an advert we'd seen on GumTree. But he sounded like a trustworthy guy! (and fortunately he was). It's not something I would recommend though.

Reviews from previous tenants. Research both them and the landlord as much as you can on the net to assess whether they are genuine. There's often a lot to be gleaned. 

Maybe Airbnb for a week and then if you like the place stike a cash deal with the landlord? 

thanks for your replies, I have found a guy who has sent me photos of himself working in the local school and then he video called me from the apartment later that evening.  I am paying a third party( an agent who is selling a different house) to go and visit the house sometime this week and call me from the house.  I think I will take the chance after this.  if you pay full taxes and go through airbnb in mexico you are looking at around 25% i guess this is why they can do it much cheaper outside of airbnb.

when you want to book for 3.5 months if you leave it until the last minute you will have very few properties that are completely unbooked for the next 3 months.