How to Avoid Today’s Top Tenant Scams

There are a lot of crooked people in this world and the rental world is definitely not immune to these. As a matter of fact, you might have heard of horror stories from friends or family members regarding tenant scams or have experienced this kind of racket firsthand.

You might believe that you are well equipped to deal with such tomfoolery but the fact remains that you can never be too prepared when it comes to protecting yourself from these scam artists. Fortunately, there are different ways and means that you can secure yourself from shams — whether it is the simple ones or the more complicated rip-offs.

Read on below to learn what the most common tenant scams are today and how to best avoid these:

1) Copied Listings

If by chance, you come upon a listing on a rental website that just sounds too good to be true, get your guard up already. Why? Because chances are, that listing is really too good to be genuine. What scammers usually do is copy popular listings, use these as their own and draw in unsuspecting victims by putting up a really low price, making you believe that the home of your dreams can be had at such a remarkable rate. 

What to Look Out For: 

The scam artist would often tell you that there is massive interest in the unit and in order to acquire it, you need to hand over a deposit. At times, the scammer might also not show you the unit until some kind of payment is made.

How to Deal With It: 

A surefire way to avoid being scammed like this is to make sure that you take a look at the apartment before even considering of giving some sort of payment. In addition, be wary of the many different excuses scam artists give out, ranging from the landlord being out on a trip abroad or indisposed due to a personal emergency. The bottom line is: never shell out money without personally meeting with the landlord, property manager or realtor, or paying a visit to the unit itself.

2) Costly Background Check

It’s common practice for landlords to conduct an extensive background check, credit check or tenant screening on all their prospective tenants. After all, landlords need to be doubly sure that the people they are dealing with are precisely who they claim to be. Most times, the application fee would include the payment for a background check. However, this is where scam artists often make their move as they would try to ask for an inordinate amount and claim that this would be the payment for the background check.

What to Look Out For:

If the person you are dealing with demands for anything more than $60, chances are, this is a sham.

How to Deal With This: 

It’s crucial that you don’t just fork over money for a background check. Always choose to work with an established or a reputable real estate agent so that you would have someone who has both experience and knowledge watching over your back during the process.

3) No Lease

Always remember that when it comes to renting an apartment, never ever settle for a verbal agreement. Always demand for a lease or a rental agreement that you and the landlord would sign. Any agreement without a lease has all the makings of trouble.

What to Look Out For:

The landlord would always offer some excuse whenever you ask to see the rental agreement.

How to Deal With This: 

Do not commit to renting an apartment or a unit without a lease or a rental agreement. You might come off as being too assertive but demanding to see a lease would go a long way to protecting yourself from potential fraud.

This post is provided by Verify Tenant., helping landlords and property managers reduce the risks of renting with fraud prevention tools that include Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Checks, (U.S. ,Canada and Global), as well as Criminal Background Checks, and Eviction Reports (U.S. only).