• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Legal Templates

Legal Templates
  • Business Forms
    • Business Formation
      • LLC Operating Agreement
      • Articles of Incorporation
      • Shareholder Agreement
      • Partnership Agreement
      • Business Purchase Agreement
      • Joint Venture Agreement
      • Single-Member LLC Operating Agreement
    • Business Operations
      • Letter of Intent
      • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
      • Non-Compete Agreement
      • Invoice Template
      • Purchase Order
      • Hold Harmless Agreement
      • Release of Liability Form (Waiver)
      • Buy-Sell Agreement
      • Construction Contract
      • Licensing Agreement
    • Employment
      • Independent Contractor Agreement
      • Employment Contract
      • Freelance Contract
      • Leave of Absence Letter
      • Leave of Absence Agreement
    • Cease and Desist Letter
      • Copyright Infringement
      • Debt Collection
      • Defamation
      • Harassment
      • Trademark Infringement
  • Real Estate Forms
    • Lease Agreements
      • Lease/Rental Agreement
      • Sublease Agreement
      • Room Rental Agreement
      • Month-to-Month Lease Agreement
      • Commercial Lease Agreement
      • Short Term Lease Agreement
      • Land Lease Agreement
      • Lease Renewal Agreement
      • Lease Amendment
    • Lease Termination Letter
      • Eviction Notice
      • Notice to Vacate
      • Early Lease Termination Letter
      • Late Rent Notice
    • Deeds & Property
      • Warranty Deed
      • Mortgage Deed
      • Quitclaim Deed
      • Deed of Trust
      • Mechanic’s Lien
      • Property Management Agreement
    • Rental Application
    • Real Estate Purchase Agreement
    • Employment Verification Letter
  • Estate Planning Forms
    • Power of Attorney
      • Medical Power of Attorney
      • Durable Power of Attorney
      • Revocation of Power of Attorney
    • Wills
      • Living Will
      • Last Will and Testament
      • Codicil to Will
    • Advance Directive
    • Living Trust
    • DNR Form
  • Finance Forms
    • Loans
      • Promissory Note
      • Loan Agreement
      • IOU
      • Demand For Payment Letter
    • Bill of Sale
      • Vehicle Bill of Sale
      • Boat Bill of Sale
      • Firearm Bill of Sale
      • Horse Bill of Sale
      • Trailer Bill of Sale
    • Sales & Purchases
      • Sales Agreement
      • Purchase Agreement
      • Gift Affidavit
      • Stock Purchase Agreement
  • Personal/Family Forms
    • Affidavits
      • Affidavit of Death
      • Affidavit of Domicile
      • Affidavit of Heirship
      • Affidavit of Identity
      • Affidavit of Residence
      • Affidavit of Service
      • Affidavit of Title
      • Financial Affidavit
      • Gift Affidavit
      • Small Estate Affidavit
    • Marriage
      • Divorce Agreement
      • Prenuptial Agreement
      • Cohabitation Agreement
      • Separation Agreement
      • Postnuptial Agreement Template
    • Child & Pet Forms
      • Child Medical Consent
      • Child Travel Consent Form
      • Child Custody Agreement
      • Pet Care Agreement
    • Medical Records Release Form
  • Resources
    • Legal Dictionary
    • All Legal Documents
    • Article Categories
      • Business
      • Estate Planning
      • Financial
      • Personal & Family
      • Real Estate
  • Help
    • Email Us
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
  • Sign In
  • :email
    • Dashboard Home
    • My Account
    • My Billing History
    • Sign Out
  • Help
    • Contact Us
    • Email Us
    • About Us
    • (855) 335-9779 Monday-Friday, 10AM - 6PM EDT
  • Sign In
  • :email
    • Dashboard Home
    • My Account
    • My Billing History
    • Sign Out

Home Resources Real Estate Rental Scam

How to Spot a Rental Scam

The Legal Templates Team

Published June 19, 2016 | Written by The Legal Templates Team

For those of you looking to make the big move, it can be exciting to find a new home to settle down in. Unfortunately, amidst the high levels of stress that come along with moving to a new place, it can be easy to overlook the possibility of being a victim of a rental scam. Nbot only are rental scams prevalent, they are currently on the rise according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Scammers can swindle hundreds of dollars from you and suddenly vanish without notice. It’s important to be cautious when searching for rental deals because, while some rental listing websites will filter and eradicate these rental scams, a few fraudulent listings may still pass through. By knowing the warning signs that commonly indicate a house rental scam or apartment rental scam, you can better protect yourself.

Rental scams might…

Pressure you

There may be a reason for rushing you to make decisions. This also means a higher possibility for the landlord to quickly disappear after taking your money if anything goes wrong.

Ask for a large upfront fee or security deposit

The scammer’s priority is to get your money – quick. They don’t care about leasing property to you and your housing needs, so when they request payment right away, be alert.

Have a reason for not showing you the property

If the landlord reveals any reason for not being able to show you the property, such as being out of the country, this could be a rental scam. They might even try to accommodate this by saying they could mail the key to you- after you wire them money or make a security deposit. Don’t send any money to someone you have not met in person.

Provide unreliable contact information

Check if the telephone number is disconnected or unusable. You can also conduct a search on the telephone number and the email address to see what kind of results come up. Keep in mind that the scammer could also hack a landlord’s or property manager’s email address as well making them appear credible. It’s important to consider any of your suspicions and follow up on them.

Use broken English and a sob story in their posting

Often times, these listings may include some “sob story” where the landlord is in a remote location. In hopes that you’ll jump on their rental deal faster, these stories may elicit sympathy by involving some family or a financial issue they are involved in. Sometimes they might even claim to be a missionary or doing some sort of work in impoverished nations.

Not give out the rental unit address

The poster may not list the address and say it’s due to vandalism of the property in the past. Some scammers don’t give out addresses because the rental unit doesn’t exist in the first place.

Be willing to skip the credit and background check

Many landlords want to know their tenants are financially reliable and typically require a credit check or sometimes require a rental application so the landlord can run a background check. The process may be strenuous for some potential tenants so cutting the credit and background check can be a relief to some. If the landlord is skipping an important procedure like this, it may just be another reason to entice you more easily and close the deal faster.

Although a situation doesn’t have to meet all of these factors to be a rental scam, it’s important to be proactive and alert while searching for a new home since a lot of financial liabilities come along with it. If a few of these signs do show up, take precautions and use your judgment wisely.

 

housing scam
Take precautions to prevent any rental frauds before it’s too late.

Tips to Avoid Being a Victim of Rental Scams

Visit the apartment first before sending any money

If the landlord is asking you for money without meeting up or checking out the apartment, it’s a reason to be wary. Photos may not be accurate indications of the apartment, and you want to be sure of the rental you’re interested in. On the other hand, the scammer could have also acquired access to a property and pose as a landlord. Be careful if they ask for an immediate down payment.

Hope A. Rising, a Registered Paralegal, shares her experience of “finding the [seemingly] perfect house.”

When I inquired why the rent (that included furniture, water, and electric) was so low, he sent an email stating he wanted to rent to a family that would take care of the property.  He said the water and electric were included because he was looking at it more as a caretaker position, and they were the ‘pay’ for taking care of the property.

Something didn’t sound right, so I went onto the county clerk’s website and learned that on the day the guy posted the ad, he and his wife had actually sold the property.

I took the printed ad, all the emails, the “lease agreement,” and went to the property.

I’m glad I checked – had I not, I would have signed the “lease agreement”, been out $2,800, had no place to live, and no money to put down on another.

Review the expectations and agreement

For any rental, there is always going to be a lease or rental agreement to be signed by both the tenant and the landlord. Ask to take a look at the document to see if it’s fair and if there is anything that seems out of place such as not having a security deposit returned after the lease is over despite no damages.

Deal with landlords that are local

This makes it easier for you to verify their identity and for you to properly assess the authenticity of the property posted. Do some research and make sure they are the actual property manager or landlord.

Are they who they claim to be in person?

Even if you meet face-to-face with the alleged property owner, it is easy for them to go by an alias and claim themselves to be the landlord. Craigslist rental scams are not uncommon situations. There have been cases where the scammer pretends to be the landlord in person and gives the victim access to the property without the real landlord’s permission. After they have you sign the forms and make the necessary payments, they might give you the key for you to check out the apartment where everything seems fine. It’s not until after rent payments and security deposits are made that the “landlord” suddenly disappears without a trace or even a lease termination, and you can’t get ahold of them. If you meet up with them, ask to take a look at their ID and real estate pocket card. Always do research on the property and the landlord you are dealing with.

Carol Sankar, real estate investor, says she has seen her fair share of rental scams during her career.

One of the biggest was a property that I had just acquired with a partner, which was listed and verified as vacant. However, the previous owner had evicted the tenant 90 days prior to the closing through his property manager. Subsequently, the property manager took advantage of the owner, who resided out of state, by placing tenants in the property and was collecting rent without remitting it to the owner. After the sale, we found tenants in the property who had no idea that they had been scammed by the previous property manager for almost $10,000 in rent which he collected. Needless to say, the property manager had also disappeared.

Be vigilant of significantly low rent

If the rent is too good to be true or lower than the expected market price in the area, it’s a good idea to further investigate the rental before making any further decisions. Use rental rate tools to compare and see if the rent is reasonable. In addition, even after signing into a low rent rate, the landlord may decide to bring up a notice of rent increase if they ever wish to in the future.

Don’t give out financial information

This includes your bank account number, credit card number, as well as your social security number. There is no reason for a landlord to obtain this information from you.

Don’t wire funds

Many rental scams might ask you to wire funds via money transfer platforms such as Western Union. They might provide convincing reasons for why this could be the only means of payment. However, when you wire money, the scammer keeps it, and you cannot get it back. It doesn’t matter what the money is stated for; whether it is for an application fee, security deposit, or first month’s rent, you should not wire funds, even if a contract is involved.

Scammers could be after your identity, not just your money

Don’t give out any of your personal information, including driver’s license and bank account, to anyone you don’t trust. Sometimes the landlord may ask you for a credit report and check your credit score, which is standard procedure. However, if the landlord in question sends a link for you to record personal information whether it’s for a credit report or rental application, they could be trying to steal your identity.

If you feel you have encountered an apartment or house rental scam, feel free to file a complaint by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP or you can visit the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) online Complaint Assistant.

For additional information, visit us at LegalTemplates.net, where we equip people with the right tools to be their own legal advocates, using cutting-edge technology to create free legal documents simply and quickly.

The Legal Templates Team

The Legal Templates Team

Staff Writers

The Legal Templates team is a dedicated group of legal counsel, product specialists, and staff writers, who tirelessly work together to provide users the information they need about commonly used...

Related Articles

  • 6 Ways a Renter Can Show Proof of Income & How Landlords Use It
  • Everything You Should Know Before Renting a Room in a House
  • Prorated Rent: Everything You Need to Know
  • The Landlord-Tenant’s Guide to Normal Wear and Tear
  • Lease vs Rent: What is the Difference?

Legal Documents

  • All Legal Forms
  • Bill of Sale Forms
  • Quitclaim Deed
  • Cease and Desist
  • Last Will and Testament
  • Articles of Incorporation

Popular Forms

  • Lease Agreements
  • Power of Attorney Forms
  • Eviction Notice
  • Living Will
  • Non-Disclosure Agreement

Resources

  • Legal Dictionary
  • Business
  • Estate Planning
  • Financial
  • Personal & Family
  • Real Estate

Company

  • Home
  • Pricing
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Partner With Us

Users

  • Account
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Cookie Preferences
McAfee - Together is power.
Trustpilot
BBB Accredited Business

(855) 335-9779, Monday-Friday, 10AM - 6PM EDT

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Copyright 2021 Legal Templates LLC. Legal Templates LLC is not a lawyer, or a law firm and does not engage in the practice of law. Legal Templates cannot and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. All information, software and services provided on the site are for informational purposes and self-help only and are not intended to be a substitute for a lawyer or professional legal advice. Use of this site is subject to our Terms of Use.

Thank you for downloading one of our free legal templates!

Leave us a review?

We hope you've found what you need and are able to avoid the time, costs, and stress associated with dealing with a lawyer.

If you have a moment, a review would mean the world to us (it only takes about 15 seconds).

Thanks again, and good luck!

Leave My Review