Former KTN actress Ruth Maingi has opened up about being conned twice while house hunting.
In a video shared on Thursday, June 25, the talented actress who appeared on the station's riveting soap Lies That Bind, disclosed that the first con occurred even before she saw the house she was paying for.
After meeting the dubious landlord, Maingi noted that she made a downpayment for the house in Hurlingham after which she was taken into circles.
"There was an advertisement in a newspaper and I was looking for a small house because I was by myself. It was in a very nice environment in Hurlingham.
"This SQ (Servant's Quarter) was going for Ksh6,500. I called the 'owner' and we planned for a meeting at a restaurant in River Road. He told me that the house belonged to his daughter and she was leaving the country. There was a fridge and table and I was free to use them," stated Maingi.
She was later handed a seemingly sensible deal in which she was to pay the deposit in advance and complete that month's rent when she moved into the house.
"I asked for an [Lease] agreement but he told me that he did not really need the money, he just wanted the house to be vacant. He looked wealthy and was not in any lack so I said there was no problem," she narrated disclosing that she was assured the SQ was hers.
The last hurdle was to look for the person who had the key to the SQ so she could view the house.
"When we walked out of the restaurant, she told me, 'let me pick the keys from this shop here.' That was how that guy disappeared. I tried calling the number and it never went through," she added.
In the second instance, she was conned roughly Ksh6,000 from a man who posed as an agent of a Ksh75,000 rental she was eying.
The conman offered to rent out the house to her for Ksh35,000 and sweetened the deal by promising to have the owner reduce the rental fee to Ksh28,000 if she paid him the agency fee instantly.
"I was looking for a bigger house and I searched for an agent on OLX. He showed me different houses and there was this beautiful house.
"My budget was around Ksh20,000 to Ksh30,000 and we were taken to this huge house which had everything. He then said, 'You have to give me the full amount for my agency so that the next time you come, you do not even have to deal with me,'" she added.
She paid the money and then went to the house the following day only to find that the rent was Ksh75,000.
When she brought up the agent and his promises, the owners of the house told her that she had not engaged them.
"I tried to call (the man) and he did not pick," she concluded before advising Kenyans to take caution when purchasing or renting properties in Nairobi.
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