As the demand for rental homes increase the likely-hood of a “Rental Scam” becomes inevitable. To avoid being scammed, Applicants / Potential Tenants should stick with homes that can be verified through some means such as a Property Management Company. It’s a good policy to approach by-owner rentals and web classifieds carefully! This is especially true now, with the proliferation of foreclosure scams and the ever common ripoffs happening due to the challenging economic conditions.
Craigslist can be a minefield when trying to separate the good from the bad! One common online scam is the advertising of foreclosed and abandoned homes as “For Rent By Owner - Rental Homes.” The goal of this scam is to take your money and, literally, give you nothing. The typical scam process here is that someone (the scam artist) who does not own the home, will attempt to rent the foreclosed or abandoned home online by posting an online ad to a site like Craigslist. The scam artists will find subject homes by using online advertisement sites, where they will place a property to "rent" advertisement as if they owned it. The scammer then steals the advertisement site content to create their bogus vacation rental ad.
Once a scammer has the interest of a potential renter, they will ask for an Application containing information such as credit card or social security etc., as one might expect when renting a home. The scammer will then process and deposit checks and credit card payments from the customer for the rental. The customer will probably not find out about the scam until they attempt to take possession of the non-existent rental. Once they do, they are left without their money or anywhere to stay. Obviously one way to avoid this problem is to ask to see the home in advance of making your commitment. But unless you live reasonably close to your destination, this is probably not practical. Nonetheless, ask if you can see the home first and take note of any resistance. Quite simply, do not rent from anyone who is not willing to comply with that request.
Many homeowners have made their homes available for rent to stave off foreclosure. But ask yourself, is this really who you want to send your money to? Are you really going to give thousands of dollars to someone on the brink of bankruptcy? Be reasonable with your expectations. Nobody can stay solvent when they are giving everything away. As always it's caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. Again, try to avoid using only price as your criteria. Homes priced too low are likely in distress. A little common sense could save you hundreds of dollars and many nights of headache and distress.
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