Right in the middle of the prostitution/drug dealing part of town...

Sorry for the bad news, but it looks like a scam: have this "lady" explain why you find the same pic (the 2nd one) used for advertising a property in Australia.

That's exactly what prompted me to start this thread. However, when you click those links the image doesn't appear. Some images show similar looking apartments, but it's common that developers have similar style buildings in different cities.

Anyway, I emailed the website I found the listing on and they've confirmed that it is a fraud, so I guess this post should change to WARNING: If you see 21 Rue de Monthoux for rent, don't go near it :) 

Streetview on Google maps

https://www.google.ch/maps/place/Rue+de+Monthoux+21/@46.210542,6.1484,3a,75y,205.42h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1snBzTteKSTPGUHGcM4ZNhdA!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x478c6524219ab065:0x93a0cf06f17af44c!6m1!1e1?hl=en

Ok it is in the red light.  BUT it is the swiss red light districts.  These are cool and trendy places to live.  Depending where your windows face will depend if its noisey or not, ie on the main street noisey but if you have ones facing the back its ok.

So the area is ok, I like it. 

However, the pictures show an amazing apartment.  Not sure the price tag on it but I suppose close to 3k would be accurate for a place like that in that area.  It sounds almost certainly like a scam.  Anyone that asks for money up front before a viewing, or if anything sounds to good to be true, the chances are its a scam

Ok it is in the red light.  BUT it is the swiss red light districts.  These are cool and trendy places to live.  Depending where your windows face will depend if its noisey or not, ie on the main street noisey but if you have ones facing the back its ok.

So the area is ok, I like it.

I would have said the exact same thing... 10-15 years ago...

no way its a great scam . i lived in rue de monthoux 21. second floor for 2 years .2010 to 2012.so i know the place pretty well.All the apartments in that building are studios and are cream in colour.the apartments are just one single room,small kitchen and bathroom/toilet mostly rented by students.

Good luck in your search for a nice apartment but dont fall for this scam

Thanks so much for the useful info everyone!! 

and let me guess: the owner couldn't show you the place because he happened to be abroad right now, and he asked you to wire him the first months' rent by Western Union. Is that right?

As a rule thumb for renting in Geneva, if you can't see the place and the owner in person, it's high risk. If you're in town and you need someone to go see places for you, I can recommend a few people (who do it for a fee)

Haha no, it was quite an elaborate scam actually.

Because I'm abroad and couldn't see it in person, I think it made it easier for them, because she could pretend that she was worried about ME. They had a third party company called MTK Transport that they had acting as middle man so it seemed legitimate and cautious. 

The arrangement was that "she" would give the keys to the MTK company who also collects the money from me, but they don't release it to her until I've received the keys and approved the apartment. Only once I agreed would the funds be released to her instead of refunded back to me. It's actually a great idea IF the company was real but alas, it showed up on scamwarners.com etc.

Oh well live and learn!

Damn them scammers! Good move from you to seek help from us, glocals trustworthy herault of justice. The good news is that I have a flat for you! Very reasonable rent, very nice, close to all ngos in Geneva. Pics to follow. In the meantime, PM me with all your banking data (IBAN, CODE, PIN...) so we can move fast and recapture this wasted time with these awful scammers.

Casuistik: i have something for you too. I happen to own the Mont Blanc bridge in Geneva (honestly), and am willing to sell it to you at a great price. PM me for more details. 

Nir

PS: I'm not in town so can't show it to you in person, but if you just wire me CHF 1000, I promise to reserve the bridge for you even if I get better offers. 

Nir,

Wow! So cool... I'm interested... of course.

Can you PM Genevieve to wire the money on your account from hers on my behalf. Thanks.

Genevieve! Good news: Nir has found a very cool and original way for you to pay for the caution of your flat! You name may even appear in the local newspapers.

PM him for the details.

Nir,

That scam is over hundred years old, when Brooklin bridge was build in 1883, everyone has tried to sell it off.

quote 'References to "selling the Brooklyn Bridge" abound in American culture, sometimes as examples of rural gullibility but more often in connection with an idea that strains credulity. For example, "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you." George C. Parker and William McCloundy are two early 20th-century con-men who had (allegedly) successfully perpetrated this scam on unwitting tourists.[62] The 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon Bowery Bugs is a joking reference to Bugs "selling" a story of the Brooklyn Bridge to a naïve tourist.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge

Casuistik, can you tell me how you can do a search for matching images?

Go to Google Image search and click on the camera icon at the right end of the input textfield. There you can either insert the URL of an image, or upload an image that you have on your hard drive. The search will return identical or similar images that are on the Web.

or -get chrome and right click - search google for this image.