Greg's Corner

Just how bad are rental scams today?

By Greg Collier

Ever since real estate listings have been online, there have been rental scammers. The rental scam in real estate is where scammers pose as landlords or property managers to trick prospective tenants into paying money upfront for a rental property that they do not own or have no authority to rent out.

The scam usually begins with an advertisement for a property that is below market value, making it attractive to prospective renters. Once a victim expresses interest in the property, the scammer may request payment of a security deposit or the first month’s rent before the victim has seen the property. After the payment is made, the scammer may become difficult to reach or disappear entirely, leaving the victim without a rental property and out of money.

The rental scam is also one of the more common scams we’ve discussed on this blog. Much like the jury duty scam, hardly a day goes by where we don’t see a rental scam story in the news. However, the scam may be much worse than we originally thought.

For example, a homeless family in Atlanta thought they had found a home that they could afford. They paid $3000 to someone they thought was the property owner. The family was even given two sets of keys to the property. They weren’t staying in the home long before the real property manager showed up and allowed them 24 hours to vacate the premises.

When a local news station spoke with the property management company, the company said it’s part of their job to visit their vacant properties that have been illegally occupied. The company also commented that this happens around 15 times a week. And that’s just one property management company in one city. Now just imagine how often situations like this happen not only across the country, but in your area as well.

Thankfully, the property management company tries to help the victims they’ve encountered, but when someone has just lost all the money they had to scammers, it’s hard to imagine how much help can really be offered.

To avoid falling victim to a rental scam, it is important to do your research and verify the legitimacy of the property and the person claiming to be the landlord or property manager. Always insist on viewing the property before making any payments, and be wary of any requests for personal or financial information that seem unnecessary or suspicious.