Rental Scam going on Orange County
More Craig’s List Scammers to take your money! Agents and Renters BEWARE!
It seems like there is another rental scam going on here with our Orange County Real Estate rentals.
Unsuspecting people are looking at houses for rent that seem like a really good deal. In fact, the deal is too good to be true. Some renters are so smart when they drive by the property and they know their market so well. With our for sale sign in front of the property, including the “Bank Owned” sign on top of the post, the tenants saw that the ad content and the sign didn’t match. They were smart to pick up the phone and call us as they knew that the house rental price was below market value.
By coincidence, just the day after we received the call from that very savvy renter, one of our large banks clients whose foreclosures we handle, sent out a notice nationally that there were squatters appearing in their bank owned properties. Maybe these are really the poor unsuspecting tenants who were thinking they were renting from the real owner but instead rented from scammers.
I called the local MLS so they could notify the thousands of agent members, but they were more concerned with setting up for a holiday boutique than notifying the agents. So instead I thought I would let the agent community know that they need to be careful when showing vacant Foreclosure homes as scammers are moving people into these vacant bank owned homes.
What else can we do? If you are an agent take precautions when showing vacant homes as they may have squatters inside. Be aware of your surroundings. Let someone know your showing schedule. Check in with someone on your tour. Have a buddy system for your safety. Don’t park in the driveway. Keep your keys in your fist, with one key sticking out for a quick safety tool! If you hear anything when you enter the house, run out and worry about yourself. You can always call the local police if you suspect you are in danger. Use your intuition in these situations!
Tenant’s need to be extra careful when using Craigslist.org to find rentals.If you are a tenant looking for a home and the price seems too good to be true and you get an email back from the Scam Owner, telling you how much they love their home and will be moving out of the area and they are in a hurry to get your money, chances are it’s a scam. They may tell you they will mail you the keys. They may just send you the photos from the on line listing services.
If you need to find a rental home, use a Realtor as these scam artists are taking lots of deposits and rental money from more than one unsuspecting applicantand then disappearing with multiple deposits, renting out the same house to more than one tenant at a time.
If you do get keys from these rental scam artists in Orange County or elsewhere, you may move in the bank owned home and then have to be evicted. Make sure the house you are looking to rent is priced according to fair market value. Usually the rental deposit is equal to the amount of the first month’s rent so that’s your first clue if it’s a lot less than fair market rent. These scam artists move from market to market with their rental schemes so beware of vacantforeclosed homes advertised for rent. Drive by the house and check it out. You may see a for sale sign by a Realtor. That’s a good sign! Any bank owned home that might be a rental will be represented by a REALTOR!Banks may be renting out homes in some areas of the country so be sure to call the Realtor and check with them to see if it is a rental. Better to be safe than sorry. Don’t get taken by the Craigslist Scam Artists.
