Have your eye on the perfect rental in a historic downtown district? Or hoping for a good deal on a for-sale-by-owner house in the burbs? Heck, you might be ready to pounce on that affordable rent-to-own deal.
Whether you’re renting or buying, put the brakes on before you sign any dotted lines or plunk down any deposits. First, you’ve got to do a bit of detective work and verify who owns the property.
If the listing is fake, you could not only lose the house you want but also a ton of money in the process. Here’s what to watch out for—and how to confirm that someone owns the home they say they do.
Housing scams can look real
Unscrupulous people may be morally bankrupt, but they’re sometimes smart. They know how hard it is these days to find an affordable rental or a home to call your own. Buyers or renters can be so driven to get a house, they miss the subtle signs of a scam.
This is especially true because scammers often hijack legitimate rental or real estate listings, change a few details like contact information, and then use the modified ad to lure you in. Other scammers take a more creative approach and invent listings for houses that aren’t theirs, let alone on the market to buy or rent.
Signs you may need to confirm ownership
Is the rental or purchase price too good to be true? Are there a lot of grammatical errors or overuse of capital letters? Do you notice uncommon spellings of words like “favour” instead of “favor”? These are all red flags that a listing is probably fake.
Also, keep your eyes out for an accelerated application process with suspicious fees. For example, alarm bells should go off if the supposed homeowner asks for an upfront fee to pay for credit checks before you even see the property.
And be very skeptical if you can’t view a property because the owner says there’s another tenant in it or there’s a renovation in progress.
Never give away your money
Be wary of owners who claim to be out of the country but will happily…