How to Rent Safely During the Depression

[Charsee]

How to rent safely during the Depression
By Bob Hoffman April 2008

( Please pass this article along. When I wrote it in April it was not much of an issue. Renters being thrown out of foreclosures are endemic now (Oct 200http://www.ldsavow.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif. Please pass this on as the regular media is ignoring it )

Political Gateway -April 9 2008- Thinking of renting a home or are renting now? Facing foreclosure and want to rent? You may want to do a few things before you hand over your money first.

Historically, each major land bust comes with the ?rental scam.? It is the same one every time and for some reason no one warns you about it until it is too late.

Here is the deal. As a renter you are facing a few situations.

1- Everything is fine, good rental

2- The owner is in foreclosure and in the middle of your lease there may be a sheriff?s note on your door telling you to move.

3- The person you rented it from does not own it. That person just found an empty house in foreclosure and has run off with your money.

The first one above is good. The next two can break you. So, what do you do to protect yourself?

1- Go online and find your property appraiser?s office. Search for the property you want to rent or are renting. Is the person you are dealing with the actual owner? (beware of people claiming to be ?rental agents? or ?management agencies?, demand to meet the owner)

2- Check for any ?lis pendis? or other legal action that may be listed on the deed. This does not mean there is an issue for sure, but it is a first step in finding out. Be wary.

3- If your county website allows it, do a public records search on the property and the owner listed on the deed. Do you see foreclosure recordings? Run away.

4- Do not do a deal with someone who will not give you their driver?s license. Write down the number and make sure it is them. Better yet, copy it.

5- Never do cash. Checks can be traced a lot better than cash.

6- State law forbids landlords from using the ?last month and security? deposit for any reason. It must be kept in an escrow account of some kind. Ask what the name of the escrow account is and make the ?last month and security? out to the escrow agent. The word ?escrow? or ?trust? should be in the name. Check your state laws on this and make sure the landlord follows it. You can win in small claims if they break this law, slam dunk.

7- Do not be afraid to say hi to the neighbors and possibly glean that the real owner left the house to the bank, or that the owner is in trouble, or ?they have never seen that guy before.?

8 - A classified in the newspaper is not a good way to tell if someone is legit.

9 - If using a Real Estate Agent, ask them to get a credit report on the landlord! Or use a service to get one pulled for you. This will help you decide if you want to rent from them!

By doing a little research online or at the property appraiser?s office, you can save ending up homeless and possibly helping police find these crooks.

What about your rental now? You have been in it for a bit. Go to the property appraisers and check out ownership. Then do the public records.

You may find out the house you are in is in foreclosure, the landlord has no insurance for renters, or the person you are paying is not the owner. Just because you have been in it for a while, even a few years, does not mean your landlord is not going belly up.

Renter beware, crooks want to take advantage of you and they know how to talk you into things. Report problems to the police immediately and walk away from the deal.

Super cool renter tip: Pay the day you move in. Pay with cashier?s checks. If you find out you got scammed, you can cancel the checks within 7-14 days (depends on company) and get your money back. Be very wary of someone who does not take cashier?s checks.

Bonus Cashier's Checks are also good to protect yourself from the crooks in the moving industry. Give them their extra cash, in a cashiers check, that they forced you to pay while holding your stuff as leverage, and then cancel the check.

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/141364

[Charsee]

I think this article is important...I know of people that have had "surprise" three day notices even though they were paying their rent on time and faithfully.

Although it is not mentioned, I am a big concerned with banks "calling" mortgages like they did in the 1930's...anyone know if this is legal? I know they are calling loans on businesses that have faithfully paid their payments...

[Charsee]

The fraud and theft that goes on in classifieds amazes me. My son sold his car stereo equipment that he had spent summers earning to a guy who gave him two dollars and then pulled a gun. I really could see people renting houses they don't own to unsuspecting renters.

Some of his other predictions I have seen coming true...like the one about animals. There are a LOT of unwanted dogs from people moving in with family or into apartments. People wanting puppies are OFTEN scammed by people who want hefty deposits to "reserve" their puppy and then disappear or say "their" dog died, etc. People will say send me the money and I will send you the dog...:l0 (17): And even the, "I'll give you a cashier's check for more than the value of the dog and you cash it and send me back the extra money." Just in this one area the fraud is incredible and I can see it going to other areas.

Like the people moving your stuff and then saying, no I didn't say it would be $1,000 I said $5,000, and now they are holding your stuff ransom...etc.

I read today of a woman who has made millions off of the poor people in Chile selling them "kits" to make "expensive ingredients" for perfume in France...of course the product and buyers are completely fraudulant, but she has sold thousands of kits for $400 each.

I also liked his idea of having two safes, a cheap one with a little money in case your home is robbed and a real one with your real assets and papers, if you are rich enough to need this which I am not...

[KF7EEC]

4- Do not do a deal with someone who will not give you their driver?s license. Write down the number and make sure it is them. Better yet, copy it.
....
9 - If using a Real Estate Agent, ask them to get a credit report on the landlord! Or use a service to get one pulled for you. This will help you decide if you want to rent from them!


So I have a couple of rental houses, as does my family. I would not rent to a perpective tenante who wanted a copy of my driver's license and/or a copy of my credit report. Not going to happen. Any other landlords out there? Would you do these for a perpective tenant?

[goldilocks]

Nope , this guy doesn't know what he's talking about when asking the landlord for ID. No one would do that

[BackBlast]

So I have a couple of rental houses, as does my family. I would not rent to a perpective tenante who wanted a copy of my driver's license and/or a copy of my credit report. Not going to happen. Any other landlords out there? Would you do these for a perpective tenant?

I think it's perfectly reasonable to ID your landlord if you're about to hand over a large wad of cash on an initial lease where you've only seen the landlord at the residence. You would do well as a land lord to value people who look after themselves and protect their interests and verify who they're doing business with.

I'd imagine a savvy tennant is less likely to go belly up while in your rental.

Typically, people think nothing of flashing their ID to joe shmoe grocery store cashier who proceeds to write the DL number on a check you wrote with a good deal of your personal information. Yet you won't show your ID to someone you're trusting your house with simply because it's out of the norm? That's kind of backwards isn't it?

IMHO, if you're that uncomfortable showing them ID when asked, you shouldn't rent to them at all, not even candidates.

[BackBlast]

So I have a couple of rental houses, as does my family. I would not rent to a perpective tenante who wanted a copy of my driver's license and/or a copy of my credit report. Not going to happen. Any other landlords out there? Would you do these for a perpective tenant?

Though I might agree with you in respect to the credit report, seems a little over the top. I think it would be a reasonable request to put in the lease that the land lord is required to notify the tenant if he/she falls behind on payments on the residence in question with a stiff penalty for failure to do so. Which would protect the tenant from the "3 day eviction notice" without invading the land lord's personals more than is really necessary.

Typically the tenant is out, at most, a month's rent and a deposit if the land lord disappears and an eviction notice from the bank appears, where the land lord certainly has a much larger investment at risk. The trust levels required are not quite the same. I'd say you're well within your right to refuse a credit report provided you're willing to give notice for being behind on payments.

[signseeker]

I like the idea of getting some ID/credit history on your would-be landlord. There are other ways to verify this, though, isn't there? Asking the landlord for references or looking up some county records to know he is who he says he is? You can see what liens are on the property, if any, and whether his taxes are up to date all at the courthouse, can't you? If the property is paid off, that should satisfy the concerns.

You can always make a copy of your driver's license and black out your birthdate, SS# and whatever else you don't want the renter knowing.

I think it would be a good sign if someone was being careful like that.

P.S. I've gotten a few credit reports with my connections at the bank and no one had any idea about it. And I know lawyers and p.i.'s do it all the time, too. It's really quite easy.