8 Red Flags To Spot A Fake Rental
- This post will help you avoid falling victim to online fake rentals by knowing the most common tricks. Here are 8 red flags to spot a fake rental.
- Here are the major red flags that can help you identify fake rentals:
- The MLS Photos Have A Watermark
- The Listing Description Is Vague
- They Don’t Want to Show You the Place First
- No Application Form Needed
- They’re Out Of The Country
- They Want You To Sign Before Seeing The Rental
- The Rental Amount Is Extremely Low For The Area
- They Want You To Wire The Funds
- There are a few simple steps that you should consider if you became involved in a rental scam:
- This post will help you avoid falling victim to online fake rentals by knowing the most common tricks. Here are 8 red flags to spot a fake rental.
- Here are the major red flags that can help you identify fake rentals:
- The MLS Photos Have A Watermark
- The Listing Description Is Vague
- They Don’t Want to Show You the Place First
- No Application Form Needed
- They’re Out Of The Country
- They Want You To Sign Before Seeing The Rental
- The Rental Amount Is Extremely Low For The Area
- They Want You To Wire The Funds
- There are a few simple steps that you should consider if you became involved in a rental scam:
- LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!
This post will help you avoid falling victim to online fake rentals by knowing the most common tricks. Here are 8 red flags to spot a fake rental.
With just about every rental search these days starting online, it’s a reality that rental scam artists are going to try to take advantage of willing customers. Combine fake listings with rental scammers looking to pull lower-quality or higher-rent rental bait-and-switch operations, and you will have a hard time believing which listings are genuine.
Here are the major red flags that can help you identify fake rentals:
The MLS Photos Have A Watermark
If the photographs of the rental listing sport a watermark, used to label the photo owner, proceed with caution. Scammers often illegally pull images from the local multiple listing service, where real estate professionals list properties for sale. The person who posted the rental does not have the original photo when a photo appears with an MLS watermark, since he or she is not currently affiliated with the house.
The FTC warns that a rental advertisement word-for-word would also be widely copied by scammers, simply modifying the email address or phone number associated with the listing and posting it on a different site. Just ask the owner of Metro Brokers in Littleton, Colorado, Kaeti Bancroft.
Upon arrival at a vacant rental property she owns to show it to a prospective tenant, she noticed a woman in the backyard shed storing items. The stranger claimed that after sending $500 for the first month’s rent, her granddaughter had just leased the place and was ready to move in.
The Listing Description Is Vague
Not everyone is great at writing a rental description, but it’s probably because the person who posted the property has never been there if simple information appear overly vague or don’t quite make sense.
Omitting information about services or listing an attraction that is more than a mile away as being within walking distance can mean that the poster is not or does not expect you to be familiar with the area.
They Don’t Want to Show You the Place First
Consider it a telltale sign that he or she has no connection with the property if you reach out to an online rental listing and the person who answers does not immediately ask to show you the available space or at least discuss options for a virtual or video tour.
Scammers may even claim to be a renter with a small-time landlord interested in a sublease or lease, trying to get financial details. It could be a scam if they have no interest in learning anything about the property or coming to see it first.
No Application Form Needed
You want a property manager or landlord who is searching for reliable tenants. If you are asked by a supposed landlord to sign a lease with only email contact and no financial stability history, he or she is possibly hoping to collect a one-time payment from you and could vanish before you move.
Before you sign a lease and visit the landlord in person, the FTC advises against paying a security deposit or the first month’s rent. If you have verified the room is open, the person you are dealing with is affiliated with the house, and the contract makes you the legal tenant, you can never apply any amount above an application fee.
{READ: 6 Ways To Invest In Real Estate With Little Or No Money}
They’re Out Of The Country
The reason many scammers say they can’t reach you in person is that they’re out of the country temporarily. Scammers can also make it sound believable, as the FTC reports on its website: “It might even involve a lawyer or a ‘agent’ working on their behalf. Some scammers even create fake keys,” and send them to you in the mail.
They Want You To Sign Before Seeing The Rental
To avoid scammers looking to trick you into paying them a fee for an apartment they falsely advertised, don’t agree to sign anything before you’ve seen the place that was promised.
The Rental Amount Is Extremely Low For The Area
Con artists will hook many victims with the promise of rent that can almost seem too good to be true. “That stuff is just all over everywhere,” Bancroft says.
If you’re looking at rentals in a certain neighborhood and spot one for a few hundred dollars less than the rest, proceed cautiously. Chances are it’s either a fake listing or a fake rental rate to try to draw you in.
They Want You To Wire The Funds
Nigerian prince or not, a sure indication of a scam is any order for you to wire the security deposit or first month’s rent. There’s no way for you to get it back after the money has been collected, and the person you thought you were in touch with will quickly vanish.
There are a few simple steps that you should consider if you became involved in a rental scam:
- Call the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center toll-free hotline: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357)
- Fill in the FTC online complaint form
- File a complaint on the Internet Crime Complaint Center
- Call the police and give them all the details you have on the deal you had and the person that turned out to be a scammer
- Contact your legal advisor or a lawyer who handles these issues
- Leave a negative review on this ad to make sure that no one else will fall into this trap
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