The call happens more often than I’d like to admit. “James, can you confirm if this is a scam or not?” Honestly — by the time that question comes across my phone, it’s usually too late. Honestly, it’s a hard part of my job. Feeling helpless knowing I’m about to drop some seriously bad news to someone struggling with the weight of what they likely know to be a bad decision already.

Let it first be said, you can always send me a rental listing if you’re not sure! I’d rather field a dumb question than hear another sad story. But, if you’re reading this now, there is still hope! Share this article so your friends can also avoid falling prey to some seriously scummy scammers.

The best way to avoid rental scams, is simply to just buy a home! If you have questions, reach out here to chat!

The next best thing are remembering these THREE red flags — don’t forget to share this with your friends!

🚩Red Flag number 1: How visible is this listing?

The first thing I do when someone sends me a rental listing is I verify if I can readily find this home online. Landlords are either A. Renting the unit themselves, or B. Hiring a professional to do it for them. Most people know that Zillow is the most trafficked source for real estate listings. If I search the home’s address online, multiple websites should immediately appear showing the listing. Take this listing for example: I went to Facebook marketplace and property rentals, and then just grabbed one of the first homes I found. I took the sketchy one with the image of a living room for $2230. After searching the listing, I noted that the address was 500 Sunrise Dr in Casselberry, so I searched that in Google and look, the first 4 results are all for a home for RENT . That’s a really good indicator that this home may actually be for rent and not a scam. A home that is a scam, if you type in the address, it will still likely show a Zillow link, but it will say “this home is not for sale”. It will also have other oddball links that wouldn’t make sense for a home that is getting tons of market attention and love from online trawlers — links like Spokeo, Voter Records, and other information about the occupants of the home rather than the home itself.

🚩Red Flag number 2: Do the names match up?

As I mentioned before, 99% of the time the rental will be managed by one of two people — the ACTUAL owner. Or a licensed professional, like myself, representing the seller. If it’s an agent, it is legally required to disclose phone numbers, brokerage names, etc. For instance, on any of my posts directly advertising a property, you’ll see typically a logo, brokerage, and DEFINITELY a phone number. This should make sense — agents want to talk to you. It’s how we make money.

But what if it’s just the homeowner managing their own property? 🤔

The first thing, once you start a communication ask WHO you are speaking with. An agent is legally obligated to disclose they’re an agent. A homeowner will typically identify as such. From there, you have a name! Go to the county property appraiser website and search the home. If they say their name is Mike Smith and the property appraiser’s website says it’s Finlay O’hara, then you’re probably not talking to the owner — and most likely a scammer.

🚩Red Flag number 3: Ask for money or unsupervised showings

Renting a home follows a similar process to purchasing a home. First someone shows interest in the home, you schedule a showing, and then you start the paperwork. If your “prospective landlord” is asking for money upfront, is incredibly pushy about getting money, and wants you to pay money before seeing the home, be cautious! I see this all the time where people, who are desperate for a place to live, will pay $1300 just to “secure their spot” on a home they’ve never seen. Listen, unless you have a darn good reason, you should never purchase or rent a home you haven’t personally seen. And “the seller is in a rush” is NOT a good reason.

You also shouldn’t be able to do unsupervised showings. Think about that for a second — as a Realtor, would I let someone in my client’s home unsupervised knowing my license and reputation is on the line? And would a seller allow some random internet stranger to just go to their home on good faith alone? No!

🚩bonus tip: what’s the tax status?

A quick thing you can also look for is if the home shows homestead status (like photoed below). In this case, the home shows homesteaded — which means it’s receiving special tax privileges because a HOMEOWNER CURRENTLY LIVES IN THE HOME! Now, some people do move out and rent their “primary home” and don’t remove the status. But legally speaking, they’re supposed to. I just had a call the other day where a scammer said they were the homeowner, and when I looked up the home it showed homestead and the owner’s name (which didn’t match up — helloooooo Red Flag number 2!). This information didn’t match with what the person was telling me. Unfortunately for that call — they called me after they transferred money ! Always call me first!

Remember You have the kilted team!

Rental scams are, unfortunately, just part of our transactional world these days, so you MUST inform yourself and others. In 2021, over $350 MILLION was lost in these sort of scams - and, as most never report their losses, the numbers are likely much, much higher! So, share the information! And stay cautious.

And as always, I always have 15 minutes to be nice and help you spot a rental scam. I’d rather you ask a dumb question then send me a sad text after the fact.