The five most common rental scams

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Finding a place to rent is quite a stressful process: searching for a suitable apartment, competition, paying an advance payment, etc. But sometimes this process turns into a real nightmare if the tenant encounters scammers.

Edition Trulia gathered 5 most common rental scams and tips on how to avoid them.

Fictitious real estate agent services

The most common option is to form a list of objects for the client with the right of redemption or lease during a personal meeting or online. Usually it looks quite attractive, because it is cheaper than the standard agent services, but in most cases the list is fictitious or expired, and payment for such services is always taken in advance.

To avoid becoming a victim of such a scam, just avoid such services, because in the lion’s share of cases they are fictitious.

Request for payment before apartment inspection

If you found on the Internet the housing you like, in some cases you may be asked to pay an advance for the rent. This may not seem entirely unfounded, because you are in a competitive market. Moreover, a rental ad may also look quite trustworthy, often fraudsters just steal a real ad from another site.

But you should never pay an advance payment before a personal inspection of the apartment. Another obvious sign of fraud is to deposit the amount by money transfer, since this type of payment cannot be canceled, unlike a check or credit card payment.

Copied rental ad

Often there are cases when a legal landlord publishes on the Internet a description of a real free apartment for rent, and a scammer simply copies all the data, significantly reducing the price, which causes wide interest. This scam is primarily aimed at those who are busy or renting housing from abroad, and therefore ready to transfer money before inspecting the rented premises. Therefore, if you see 2 identical ads with different prices and contacts, do not trust them.

Another sign of fraud can be a request for an unusually high bail, as the fraudster is trying to get as much money from his victim as possible.

Avoiding landlord

Often a scammer is looking for a building that either belongs to a bank, is either empty, or maybe even rented by a scammer who plans to “retake” it for rent a few more times. Then the scheme works easier. But if such a property cannot be found, then after the appearance of a potential tenant, the fraudsters cannot show him an apartment because they do not have access to it, and therefore they report that they left the country, fell ill or were otherwise restricted and could not show the tenant housing, but still want to get the first, last and security deposit. Do not send them money. Regardless of where the legal landlord or property manager lives, they will always find a way to show housing to a potential tenant before they require payment.

Security deposit

Your landlord behaves appropriately throughout the tenancy. But be careful about the security deposit when you decide to move out of the apartment. He may claim that he will send you a check (which most likely never arrives) or start looking for opportunities to claim damages you caused, even if you left the place in perfect condition. To avoid this, be sure to take photographs before you leave, and ideally when you move into the apartment, to prove that you have not degraded the condition of the property. You can also submit a formal request for the return of the deposit or even go to court if the landlord stubbornly refuses to return it.

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