[Updated Apr 2022] VIDEO: Avoid Rental Fraud | blog residential.rent (2023)

FAQs

How can I avoid fraud when renting a house? ›

Get the terms of your rental in writing, including fees, rent, and maintenance. Get a copy of the lease, signed by both you and the property owner/manager. Do a search on the owner, real estate management company, and listing. If you find the same ad listed under a different name, that's a clue it may be a scam.

Red flags for rental scams include prices that seem too good to be true, requests to send money via a wire transfer or the inability to tour a rental unit before signing a lease.

If your landlord utilizes Schedule My Rent as their rental management software and you are enrolled with Zelle® directly through your financial institution, you can choose to pay your monthly rent with Zelle®.

Many landlords are willing to overlook a poor rental history if you can find a close friend or relative with good credit to co-sign the lease with you. A co-signer doesn't actually live with you like a roommate but simply agrees to be held responsible as well if you damage the property or fail to pay your rent.

To deny a tenant application, you need to let the prospective tenant know that you will not be selecting their application by sending them an adverse action letter. This letter informs the tenant why they are being denied, and if there is any way that their application can be reconsidered.

Keep in mind that there aren't any protections for landlords or tenants when sending rent money through Venmo. If a tenant sends their rent to the wrong person, Venmo won't refund the money to the tenant or redirect it to the landlord.

How do I know if an apartment is good? ›

If you're handy, good with yard work, or like to clean, these are good qualities to mention to your landlord. They're especially great skills to have if you have to negotiate your lease. This way, your landlord knows that you might have something to offer on top of being a great tenant for their rental apartment.

What Is A Real Estate Scam? Real estate fraud happens when scammers use real estate as a cover to steal your money. According to the FBI, more than 13,600 people were victims of real estate or rental fraud last year alone. Real estate scams play out in various ways, and some of the most common are mortgage scams.

Key points. Renting a property is often referred to as throwing away money. That's because, unlike with a mortgage loan, renting doesn't help you build equity. Renting isn't necessarily the wrong move for everyone though.

These fake rentals try to lure you in with misleading pictures and too-good-to-be-true rent prices. You might even be asked to pay additional fees for supposed background checks, charges that are illegal and are just an attempt to extort you.

If you're looking for a quick, easy, and free way for tenants to pay rent online, Zelle can be a good option. All tenants need is the landlord's email address or mobile phone number. They can even set up recurring payments, so tenants never have to worry about forgetting to pay rent on time again.

Long story short: Zelle's setup, which uses direct bank-to-bank transactions, is not subject to the IRS's 1099-K reporting rules. Other peer-to-peer payment apps are considered “third-party settlement organizations” and are bound by stricter tax rules.

Cash App: Overview. Both Cash App and Baselane offer online rent collection for landlords, making it easier for tenants to pay on time with multiple payment options.

Why do people post fake rentals on Craigslist? People post fake rental ads on Craigslist because they are scammers and are looking for easy money. Plus, some potential renters who may be looking for a new home may be a little desperate as well, because everyone needs a place to live in, of course.

Can you call the police if you get scammed on Craigslist? ›

Report the scam to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint. Contact your local police department, especially if you met the scammer in person.

If you don't make 3 times the rent, you can still try to get the apartment by putting up a larger security deposit, finding a guarantor, or demonstrating your fiscal responsibility by showing your potential landlord bank statements that show you being responsible with your money and discretionary spending.

Invalid Reasons to Reject Tenants

You cannot reject a tenant based on discrimination. According to Fair Housing laws, housing discrimination occurs if you reject a tenant based on their protected class: Race. Religion.

If it's the former and your actual landlord is ignoring you, it could be because: They are busy and haven't gotten around to answering you yet. They can't fix your problem, or it isn't their problem to fix. They are a bad landlord.

Because rent payments are not peer-to-peer, they are classified as business transactions. Business transactions come with a 3% fee. While using an online payment provider may seem a bit unsafe to some, Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App are all secure and safe methods to pay rent.

PayPal is far from the ideal online platform for paying rent. You as a tenant must realize that this type of transaction needs to be transparent, legal, and free for both parties – you and your landlord (or property manager). That's why you should talk about your payment options with the landlord at the very beginning.

Zelle is owned and operated by Early Warning Services, LLC, which is co-owned by seven of the nation's big banks. The payment app launched in 2017 as competition in the peer-to-peer space began heating up with PayPal's Venmo and Block's Cash App.

This is perhaps the biggest and most obvious red flag of them all—never sign a lease for a property you have not been allowed to view. More often than not, this means they know there is something wrong with the property and they are hoping to get you locked into a contract before you have the chance to back out.

A slumlord (or slum landlord) is a slang term for a landlord, generally an absentee landlord with more than one property, who attempts to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, often in deteriorating neighborhoods, and to tenants that they can intimidate.

What is the meaning of slumlord? ›

: a landlord who receives unusually large profits from substandard, poorly maintained properties.

One of the first ways to determine who gets the larger room is by figuring out who has more (or bigger) furniture. Naturally the person who has accumulated the most will need more square footage to store it. If furniture isn't going to settle the debate, consider taking into account each roommate's social life.

Try the 30% rule. One popular rule of thumb is the 30% rule, which says to spend around 30% of your gross income on rent. So if you earn $3,200 per month before taxes, you should spend about $960 per month on rent. This is a solid guideline, but it's not one-size-fits-all advice.

Respectful Behavior

Pay rent on time. Follow lease terms. Refrain from causing problems with other tenants or neighbors. Keep from damaging your property beyond normal wear and tear.

Florida law prohibits landlords from evicting tenants without going through the court system (self-help evictions). Your landlord can't evict you without a judge's order. And if the sheriff shows up to evict you, he also must have a court order. The only exception to this is if you have legally abandoned your place.

All listings on homes.rently.com are real listings from verified property management companies. Make sure the listing price is within a close range to other similar rentals in the area. Scammers will often post the property for a much lower price to make a quick profit.

Venmo is easy to use for receiving rent as long as a tenant and landlord are using the Venmo mobile app. Tenants can pay rent with any accepted U.S. bank account or debit card.

Is Rentdrop really free? ›

Rentdrop is a free app that allows tenants to pay rent online for free. Landlords can set up automatic payment reminders, charge late fees, and block partial payments.

Because rent payments are not peer-to-peer, they are classified as business transactions. Business transactions come with a 3% fee. While using an online payment provider may seem a bit unsafe to some, Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App are all secure and safe methods to pay rent.

Nonpayment of Rent

If the tenant does not pay the rent or vacate, the landlord may begin legal action to evict. For the landlord to gain payment of rent or possession of the dwelling, they must file suit in county court. The clerk of the county court will then send the tenant notification by summons.

In Florida, there is no limit to how much you can raise the rent as a landlord. This means that the landlord that owns your property can raise the rent amount by any number that they choose.

Now in Florida we have what's called the 'two party consent law' and that means that both parties have to consent to a recording.

Google's Safe Browsing technology examines billions of URLs per day looking for unsafe websites. Every day, we discover thousands of new unsafe sites, many of which are legitimate websites that have been compromised.

Whenever you see a little padlock in the address bar of your internet browser, as well as when you use apps, email and messaging, you're relying on something called 'transport layer security' or TLS. It's a protocol that keeps us safe online.

scamadviser helps identify if a webshop is fraudulent or infected with malware, or conducts phishing, fraud, scam and spam activities.

Realtor.com has the most reliable app because of the influence and needs of the National Association of Realtors and because the data is mined from the MLS. Available for Android and iOS, this home buying app provides property listings sourced directly from over 800 MLSs.

Fake rental scams

You can find some great rentals on Facebook Marketplace. However, you can also run into plenty of phony listings. These fake rentals try to lure you in with misleading pictures and too-good-to-be-true rent prices.

Is TurboTenant a good website? ›

TurboTenant is not a scam. They provide a free property management software to landlords and property owners. Because the service is free to landlords, the rental applicants pay for the application and background checks.