There were reports in 2010 about people who advertise rental properties that do not legally belong to them according to Home For Sale Saint Louis experts. And it hasn\’t gone away.

The way this usually works is that they advertise this home saying how gorgeous it is which psychologically gets your mouth watering ending with requesting you to ask for an application.

Upon further reading, you notice the ad turns negative as they carefully and succinctly describe their unfortunate lives at this time and the fact that they cannot seem to sell their home due to the economy. So, they have decided to rent this house.

They go on to suggest that they did not like the real estate agent or company who was trying to sell their home and have decided to take it off the market.

But the clincher is you as the new renter must submit an application with the down payment and first month\’s rent and then do the homeowner a big favor the removal of the \”for sale\” sign off the lawn.

This real estate hoax has not gone away. The perpetrators utilize better forms of advertising and prey upon the sympathies of those needing a home who may not be able to get a St Louis loan.

Rental fraud can be avoided by heeding these important tips:

1. When you look for a home to rent, look at the reply letter. If it looks like a \”form\” letter, red flags should go up immediately.

2. Take the time to reply to their e-mail with questions about the house. If you receive no reply, it may be a fraudulent ad.

3. Once you ascertain the address of the property, type it into Google with the zip code if possible. You will definitely pull up listings on the search engines about this property such as is it listed \”for sale.\” Jot down the real estate agent\’s phone number and call about this property for rent. If the agent says it is not, you were a target of rental fraud from an anonymous person. Report this to the agent and where you saw this property advertised for rent.

4. Never, ever meet someone at a different location other than the address of the rental property after you have done your due diligence on the Internet and made any phone calls necessary.

5. The supposed homeowner should be able to meet you at the rental property location and let you in the house to view it. If not, run, don\’t walk.

6. And don\’t forget, never give cash or send cash to someone that is in another town as this definitely sounds like rental fraud. And never remove a \”for sale\” sign from the property.

A local writer for the St. Louis Real Estate website had an interesting comment for those wanting to rent.

Renters need to know that scammers duplicate postings from legitimate real estate sites, alters them, and reposts them. Often, the scammers use the broker\’s real name to create a fake e-mail address, which gives the fraud more legitimacy. When the victim sends an e-mail through the website inquiring about the home, they receive a response from someone claiming to be the owner.

Many say they are doing some type of missionary work and need to rent their former home out. They then ask you to send money to them at their foreign address and thus you lose your money.

Although it takes some time, real estate agents or their assistants may also want to briefly check the places where they advertise their properties as to avoid any future complaints from those who may have fallen victim to these fraudulent ads.

You can check out any type of property very easily nowadays if you have access to the Internet.

Keep in mind that you may need to sit back and look at this logically instead of emotionally. Although the house my be tempting to jump at, think twice before putting your money at risk.

These tips that are recommended by St Louis mortgage brokers and real estate agents will help you avoid losing your money and valuable time.

Author Bio: Here\’s hot to get a St Louis refinancing loan while rates are low. Also visit www.StLouisMortgageGroup.com for a Loan Audit. A St Louis mortgage loan expert can help get you a great home loan or save you from foreclosure with a principal reduction program. Call us at 314-334-0210 or 877-334-0210.

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: st louis mortgage,st louis loan,st louis refinancing,st louis home loan,st louis lending,rentals