Rent to Own Scams to Watch Out For.

Renting to own a home can be a good option if you are relocating and testing out an area of town, if you don’t have the money to put down a big down payment, or if your credit is damaged. When planning to rent to own a home it is important to avoid the plethora of scams emerging from the internet. While the internet is a convenient and popular place to post ads and browse rent to own house you should always be sure of the identity of home owners providing the financing before you close the deal.

Fraudulent Homeowner Scams

If you’re not careful you could end up with a fraudulent homeowner scam. These often happen to people looking to move out of state because they cannot drive to the residence and make sure the person they are communicating with actually owns it. Some of these scams start out with classified ads on the internet. When a person responds, they can be sent a fake rent to own agreement and fake keys for mailing in a deposit. Often the fraudulent homeowner has a fake ID. To avoid fraudulent homeowner scams, first be wary of rent to own homes that are set at too cheap a price for a prominent area and owners who claim to be from another country. Many Nigerian scams use this excuse for grammatical errors, even though if they’re really from the UK or Ireland they would know fluent English. If you choose to buy the property, visit it before you pay the deposit to make sure the keys fit the locks. Pay for the deposit with a check, not cash. Never do all of your business transactions online; sometimes scammers will assume the identity of a legitimate realtor.

Nonexistent Homes

Another common scam has to do with people posting ads for cheap rent to own houses without a picture of the property. If the description of the home is detailed enough, some might believe the landlord may not have had time to post pictures. The first thing you can do to avoid this scam is to do an online search through our certified database of rent to own homes. Search for the property to find its true owner and full details. If the ad and what you find don’t match up, avoid this rent to own property at all costs. Avoid doing business with an owner who asks you to wire money or claims to be out of the country. If you think the deal is legitimate, ask the owner to give you a tour of the home. This will allow you to see it, know that the keys fit the locks and give you an idea of whether or not the landlord actually owns the home. When inside the home and look for broken locks or windows. Sometimes con artists break into homes and pretend to be the home owner. Also, ask the neighbors about the owner they should have an idea of who he or she is and may be able to identify a scam.