Staying safe
Renting space means a stranger comes to a private property, or you go to one. That is worth a few minutes of thought.
The one rule that matters most
Never send money to someone you have not met, for a space you have not seen. Every scam on a marketplace like this one ends with a deposit wired to somebody who was never going to show up.
If you are renting space
- See it before you pay anything.No photo, video call or “certificate” substitutes for standing in the space.
- Be suspicious of urgency.“Three other people want it, send the deposit today” is the oldest pressure tactic there is.
- Be suspicious of an owner who cannot meet you. Out of the country, deployed overseas, dealing with a family emergency — these are the standard cover stories for a space that does not exist.
- Prefer payment methods with recourse. Wire transfers, gift cards and crypto are irreversible, which is exactly why scammers ask for them.
- Bring someone, or tell someone. At minimum, tell a friend the address and when you expect to be back.
- Get it in writing. Even a short written agreement covering price, term, access hours and what is stored protects both of you.
If you are letting space
- Meet the person before handing over a key or a code.
- Be clear about what may and may not be stored. Fuel, chemicals, anything running a generator — decide before, not after.
- Check your insurance.A homeowner's policy usually does not cover a tenant's property, and may have something to say about renting out space at all.
- Check local rules. Some municipalities and most HOAs restrict renting out parking, storage or dock space.
- Keep the conversation on GRBO until you are comfortable. There is no reason to give out a phone number in the first message.
What GRBO does
- Every published listing has a successfully charged payment card behind it.
- Every listing address is verified as real and mailable before it goes live.
- Exact addresses are never published. Public pages show an offset marker and a neighbourhood.
- The same address cannot be listed twice by different people.
- Photos are fingerprinted and checked against other listings.
- Prices that are wild outliers for their ZIP code get flagged for review.
- Messaging is rate-limited so nobody can blast every listing on the site, and a person reads every report.
What GRBO does not do
We are a listing and introduction platform. We do not screen tenants, run background checks, verify anyone's identity beyond a charged card, inspect properties, hold deposits, or guarantee that any arrangement made through the site works out. We are not a party to your agreement.
Report anything that feels wrong
Every listing and every conversation has a report link. Reporting is anonymous to the person you are reporting, and we would much rather look at ten things that turn out to be fine than miss the one that was not.