.png)
Recently, I saw a local news story about a family that got scammed out of $3,300 trying to rent a home right here in my home county. The family’s story is not unique, but sadly, it is becoming more and more of a growing issue in our society.
Housing-related scams were up nearly 300 percent in 2022 and growing at an alarming rate. With the rental market becoming more and more competitive for families due to rising interest rates, restricted supply, and many other factors, scammers are taking advantage of hard-working families in search of housing.
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way of ensuring that a potential renter is not being scammed; however, there are some simple steps you can take to greatly reduce that risk if you pay attention and look for them.
Always ask for an in-person tour of the home. Most scammers are trying to avoid meeting you at the property. They want you to first send money. This is a big Red Flag. Do not send money; instead, schedule a tour, but don't go alone or take cash with you. If you like the place, offer to go get a cashier’s check (or even take one with you). This will provide an extra layer of protection that can help against physical acts of violence and other criminal acts.
If the rent is too good to be true, then chances are it is. In this competitive rental market, property owners know the value of what they have in a good rental home. If you see a rental price that is too good to be true, then I would suggest doing a little further investigation to ensure its legitimacy. But do not let a person give you the “fear of loss” sales tactic. Do not send any money to hold the house - no matter how good the price - before you get to tour the rental home.
Look the property owner information up in tax records. In this day and age, most information is accessible online. I would suggest getting the name of the person you are working with and then looking up the property tax records (in Kentucky, the Property Valuation Administration, and in Ohio, the Auditor) and seeing if they match up. If the property is owned under a limited liability company name, then you should take the next step to go to the Secretary of State's website and look up who owns that business. This is not always going to match up 100 percent of the time, especially if you are dealing with a management company or a leasing agent. If that is the case, see tip number 4.
If you are working with a management company or leasing agent, verify their credentials. All leasing agents and management companies have to be licensed real estate agents to legally be able to lease and rent property that they do not own. If you are working with one of these folks, get their name and ask them for their license number. You can easily go to the Real Estate Commission office website and look up a licensee online. In Kentucky, it’s called the Kentucky Real Estate Commission; in Ohio, it is the Ohio Real Estate Commission. If they do not own the property nor are licensees, they may be scamming or renting property illegally. So protect yourself by doing your homework.
If the listing details are vague, then do some more investigation. Not every property owner is going to have full details of the home, but you should expect some details. If they just list “ house for rent” or something similar, ask questions. How many bedrooms bathrooms, what is the basement like, etc? The trick here is to find details about the home that only someone familiar with it would know. Questions about school districts and bus routes, etc., can all be found online, so focus on details that only someone who has been to the property would know.
There is no tenant screening process. If someone is willing to let you move into the home without so much as filling out an application, then be concerned! Even small, private owners have access to screening services. With the cost of evictions and missed revenues on the rise, landlords today must be very cautious. So, if you get someone willing to rent to you without some sort of screening, then there is an increased chance that they do not own the property and could be just after your money.
They want you to move into the home right away. If someone is trying to forego a screening process and move you in right away, then chances are they need to move quickly because they do not own the home and are scamming you.
There is no sure-fire way to ensure you are not getting scammed, but if you follow the tips I’ve outlined above, then you can surely greatly reduce the risk. And if you do find that you have been scammed, report it to local law enforcement right away.
In addition to law enforcement, make a screenshot of the advertisement just in case it is taken down before authorities can see it. After you have reported it to law enforcement and saved yourself a digital copy of the ad, then report it to the website you found it on so that they can start their investigation and remove the ad so no one else gets taken advantage of as well.