RentandLeaseHousing’s Blog

Criminals in this day and age are not just lurking in dark stairways or waiting in desolate parking garages. A lot of devious criminals are hiding behind a computer screen. From Craigslist pimps to the Nigerian man who wants to offer you millions of dollars if you send him a couple thousand. Web users need to be web savvy and realize that somethings on the internet are just too good to be true.

So what does this have to do with you renting a property? There are some not so nice folks that want to scam your security deposit and run off. For example, 12 or so families were scammed in Covina, California on a rental property posted on Craigslist.org. Those families gave the scum bag upfront money to rent the property, and he ran off. The Covina rental scam is just one of several rental scams that have popped up recently.

So what are some steps you can take to make sure that you do not end up a victim of a rental property scam? Well, you know that a landlord will check on you before you rent their property, so shouldn’t you check on your landlord before you rent from them? Here are some tips to help you protect yourself:

Tip 1 – Get to know your landlord

I am not suggesting that you invite your landlord over for a BBQ and a beer, and find out about his golf game and how many kids he has. I am suggesting that you do some legwork to find out some credible information about the landlord. You can actually find out a lot about a landlord by just looking at their rental ad listing. Here are some simple steps to find out information about your landlord:

a) In a rental ad listing, a good quality landlord will provide a phone number. Use Yellowpages.com to do a reverse look up to see who owns the number:

www.yellowpages.com/?section=phone

If the phone number matches the landlord’s name, you know at least the phone company has record of this person.

b) In a rental ad listing, a good quality landlord will provide an email address. If there is a domain name that is unique (this won’t work for gmail.com, yahoo.com, hotmail.com, etc.), check out the website. For example, if you see pbray@rentandleasehousing.com, copy the domain name rentandleasehousing.com to check out the website. Then see if you can locate the landlord’s information on the webpage.

c) Type the rental property address in a local real property data search to see who owns the property. For example, a prospective renter in Maryland can go to the state of Maryland’s real property search and type in the rental property address. See if the landlord’s name in the rental ad listing matches the person who owns the property. If it does not, ask the person who posted the rental ad listing who owns the property.

d) Ask the landlord if he or she owns any other rental properties and if he or she is a real estate professional? If so, what company do they work for?

e) If the county or state requires rental properties to be registered with the county or state, see if the property has been properly registered.

Tip 2 - Map the property and do a drive by

Some scams are so poorly put together that a simple Google map or drive by will reveal the rental property does not even exist. If you do discover a property that does not exist, please contact the website that is supplying the rental ad, so it can be removed. Contacting the local authorities is a good follow up move too.

Tip 3 – Pay by Check

If you do not have a checking account, please set up a free checking account. You do not want to pay a prospective landlord in cash. Pay your monthly rent and security deposit by check (See Safeguard Your Security Deposit). A check creates a paper trail and if you catch a problem early enough, you might be able to place a stop payment on the check.

Also, NEVER wire money to someone outside the country.  Meet the landlord face to face and give them the check in person.

Tip 4 – Use common sense and your best judgment

If a prospective landlord insists on upfront cash and seems very pushy, walk away. There are plenty of properties for rent. Usually your intuition can save your from making a costly mistake.

Also, check out Housing Scams to stay on top of the stories that are happening around the country regarding recent rentals scams.