Renting and leasing properties
Renting a property? Read this!
It might be tempting to sign a deal on a desirable house before doing your homework, whether you’re looking for a rental home in your present city or another state. This makes it much more crucial to be vigilant for possible fraud, especially if you have a short window of time in which to choose a place. A well-known method of identity theft is the rental scam, which causes victims to lose thousands of dollars by paying fictitious businesses. Whether you’re looking for a home to rent in your current city or another state, it can be enticing to take advantage of an alluring property before taking the time to do your research. However, anyone can become a victim of a rental scam because many of the perpetrators are sophisticated and convincing. It might be tempting to sign a deal on a desirable house before doing your homework, whether you’re looking for a rental home in your present city or another state. This makes it much more crucial to be vigilant for possible fraud, especially if you have a short window of time in which to choose a place.
A well-known method of identity theft is the rental scam, which causes victims to lose thousands of dollars by paying fictitious businesses. A rental scam may affect anybody; many of its offenders are cunning and persuasive. Establish “must-haves” — requirements you won’t settle for — before searching for a rental. If too many concessions are made throughout the search, you can obtain an unsuitable location.
Here are five things to consider and advice for making sure your rental procedure is secure to help you see potential red flags of dishonest individuals in the rental industry.
1. Does this listing exist?
If you see the same ad for a rental online under a different name, it may be a sign it’s a fraud. A legitimate rental or real estate listing may be hijacked by scammers without actual properties to tour and the email address or other contact details changed. To draw tenants, they will subsequently post the amended ad on another listing website.
What you should do: Check other websites to see whether listings you’re interested in seeing are available elsewhere. Make sure the listing has the same contact information, landlord name, address, and other essential information if the property is published on popular rental listing websites.
2. Are there any red flags with the monthly rent?
A rental fee that is excessively cheap for the area might be a sign of fraud. There can be an issue if you find a cheap apartment in your ideal neighbourhood, but the rent is much lower than what others are asking. First-time tenants, interstate migrants, and those who are desperate to locate a house fast are common targets for scammers. A scammer may promote that they have a unique chance that might go quickly to pressure victims into making fake transactions. Keep in mind that fraudsters prey on people’s desire for a good deal.
What you should do: Check local rental rates for the type of property and amenities you want to avoid falling for the “too good to be true” scam. As a guideline for what you could anticipate paying for the rental. Ask the landlord or property management why the rent is so low for the area up front if you’re interested in a listing where the rental price is shockingly low, and retain copies of all your correspondence.
3. Is this legitimate or fake property?
Another scam includes showing potential tenants houses that don’t truly exist to trick them into giving the fraudster their security deposit. Sometimes a con artist may take advantage of online queries by promising a virtual tour of a house even though the residence isn’t genuinely available for rent.
What you should do: Ask someone you trust, such as a friend, agent, or co-worker if you’re relocating because of a job offer, to visit an apartment or house in person for you if you’re looking for rentals remotely and are unable to do it yourself.
As early in the process as possible, make sure to arrange a face-to-face or online meeting with your potential landlord. The county clerk or local assessor’s office can give property records if you feel the need to conduct more research on the property. Verify all of the listed names, websites, and phone numbers. Read reviews if the property manager has a website to identify any potential warning signs in advance.
4. How is payment sought after?
If a landlord or property management asks you to pay with cash, a wire transfer, or money order, you should be wary. Money sent through wire transfer or money order cannot be tracked once it has been delivered.
What you should do: Generally speaking, using an electronic bank account deposit is the best way to pay any kind of rental. This may be arranged with your bank. This leaves a transparent, accessible trail of where your money was spent. You can also use a paper check or a credit card (with interest) (if you still have some). Many large, contemporary homes include a website with a resident portal where you may make payments.
5. Before visiting the property, are you being required to supply any personal information?
A tour should be requested before completing a rental application or otherwise revealing personal identifiers like your credit card information, social security number, or date of birth. You should be permitted to see the property before making any type of payment. The majority of con artists lack a real rental property. You may ensure that the rental is real by physically inspecting it.
What you should do: Visit the property as soon as you can. If you can’t see the rental in person, ask for an online tour or think about asking a friend or agent to see it for you. It might be a warning sign if the landlord says they can’t show the house to you or demands that you provide them with critical personal information in advance.
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