Scam Alert -- Renters Beware of Getting Scammed by Fake Landlords!

I’m a believer in being decent to investors and renters alike. Usually my videos and blogs are geared toward investors because I sell renovated houses to investors. I’m always looking for new investors to buy our investment properties. I rarely struggle to find good tenants to rent our houses. But most of my days are spent speaking to tenants and I hear horror stories of how they’ve been scammed. So this video is for the tenants out there to hopefully learn a trick or two to not get scammed! I want the world to be a better place!

Look up the Landlord on Social Media

This is what I do with tenants. I can tell a lot just from their Facebook profile photos. Oftentimes a landlord is also a small business owner. If you can figure out what business they own, look up their reviews. They will treat you the same way they treat their customers. If the landlord is a visible person, it is easier to damage them by posting negative things about the landlord. I’m very visible because of my Youtube channel. It would be pretty stupid to be a bad landlord when my profile is so public.

I do see bad reviews of property management companies all the time though. It’s not uncommon for a tenant who is being evicted to seek revenge with a bad review. Just read through all the comments and look for patterns. A bad review may just be an outlier. I think I have a bad review on Facebook from a squatter I evicted. I don’t have very many reviews. I don’t seek them out and happy renters aren’t usually the ones who give reviews.

Craigslist Scam

A fake landlord will go to my ad that is posted on Zillow (which feeds to Trulia and Hotpads) and copy my photos and repost the house for rent on Craigslist for a lot less money. Then the fake landlord will meet at the house and apologize they can’t get in but tell the applicant that they need to put money down and they can have the house. Or the fake landlord will ask for money up front in exchange for keys. Beware!

Rental Price Does Not Match Market Price

If the rental price is below market, BEWARE! That could very well be a scam. Or it could be that the house isn’t well maintained and the landlord doesn’t plan on doing future maintenance either because you aren’t paying enough for that service. It’s common and it may be your choice. But figure out if they’re even the real landlord if the price is just too good to be true.

Rental Criteria is Fishy

Landlords typically have some criteria beyond just the money. They should be asking you questions about your rental history, paystubs, whether or not you are self-employed if you have pets. Something!

Weird Wording in Ad

Do they call the house an apartment? Do they use the word “Inquiry”? That’s not the vernacular we use in the USA. Does that ad ask you to “kindly” do something? Who says that? Beware!

Google the Address of the House

If you look up the address on Google, you will see where it is posted for rent. Remember if it’s on Zillow, then it is automatically on Hotpads and Trulia. Is the asking rental price the same? Is there a property manager listed in one of the ads and not the other? What else can you learn about the house? Does Google show an owner name?

Use Public Record

In your county, there will be an office where deeds are kept. Google your county and the word deeds and you will find the phone number. Ask them how you can search public record for an address. In Detroit it’s www.waynecountylandrecords.com. It costs $6.40 to do a search for 15 minutes. You’d be amazed at what you can learn in 15 minutes. You will see who owns the house, when it was purchased, for how much, if there is a mortgage on the house, which bank holds the mortgage, if the house was bought in a tax auction (sheriff’s deed), what the taxpayer address (which is usually the owner’s address) is on the deed. Take notes so you can ask the landlord to verify any of it.

How to Verify What You Found on Public Record

Explain to the landlord how you’ve been scammed or you know people who have been scammed. Say that you don’t mean this in a prying manner, but you just need verification that the landlord is the actual owner, or the property manager knows the actual owner. I ask these questions when I interview landlords as tenant references. “Can you tell me the city of the taxpayer address, or the year the house was purchased, or if it was purchased at an auction, or how long you’ve owned the house, or what is the company name that owns the house?” Any of those questions are fair game because they are all PUBLIC RECORD. The landlord or property manager should have no problem answering those if they have nothing to hide.

Ask a Neighbor about the Owner

Neighbors usually love to talk because they want to get to know who will be living next to them. Explain to the neighbor that you’ve been scammed or know someone who has. “What can you tell me about the owner of this house?” It’s an open-ended question that could lead to all kinds of good information for you.

Ask for Other Photos of the House

I learned this one from an applicant. Brilliant! Ask the landlord if they can send a different photo than what was in the ad because you know how people steal ads. You just need to verify the owner is the real owner.

Ask for a Tenant Reference

Ask gently. Say you are leaving a horrible slumlord and you can tell this person is not one, but it would be reassuring if you could talk to another tenant. Ask for a reference of someone who has had a repair need or some challenge. It’s perfectly fine to tell the landlord that you are trying to learn how challenges are handled.

I wouldn’t ask the landlord this one unless you are pretty sure that the landlord really wants you as a tenant already. This isn’t the question you ask the first time you are meeting the landlord. Wait until you are qualified at least.

Ask for a Receipt

Once you give them that downpayment for the house, be sure you are getting it with a good receipt. A good receipt will include an address (that you already know from your public record search) of where you could serve that person if you have to take them to small claims court for running off with your money and not actually giving you the house. You can’t sue someone if you don’t have their address.

Final Tips…

I don’t rent to people who are rude or aggressive or treat me as though I’m the one on trial. “Rude” is not a protected class. As an applicant in a housing market that is currently the hardest it’s ever been for tenants, I’d say to stick with the least offensive ways of checking out the landlord as possible. Be gentle, honest, decent, kind, easy to work with, responsive, interested. Offer for the landlord to come see how you live now. Tell them you can Facetime them to show them your house and how well you take care of it. That would sell me! No one ever offers that to me. I have to ask. Be the person who stands out!

Let me know if there is any other subject you wish I would share with you.