Suncoast MLS Reference Center

With every crisis or economic downturn you see an increase in fraud and scam artists seeking to prey on the individual who already is in a weak and vulnerable position. The property manager needs to be keenly aware of what is happening in the online world and how it can affect them and the property owner. The popular website craigslist.org and others have been a fertile breeding ground for scammers, and with the increase in foreclosures and vacant homes, new and improved scams are appearing.

Ads for your rentals at a lower rent amount!

Some property manager have actually found photos, descriptions, addresses and prices of the homes they have on the rental market appear online on other classified ad websites. Often the rent price listed is lower than on the property manager’s site. The scammer takes action when an individual interested in the home contacts them. They have the interested party send money to them for the deposit, first month’s rent, last month’s rent, etc. Some scams involve the “landlord” being out of town, and the prospective tenant is asked to send a small sum to the landlord for the keys to be overnighted so the tenant can check out the property for himself. The scammer then simply takes off with the money, and the prospective “tenant” finds out he has been ripped off. Some of the scammers even go as far as physically showing the home to the prospective tenants, taking phony applications, deposits, etc., and do this multiple times on the same property. Beside the fact that there is fraud, you are now competing with phony ads making it appear your prices are inflated.

The problem

If an individual is ripped off by a scam artist, it is really not your problem or that of the property owner, UNLESS the “tenant” goes as far as moving into the home. Fake landlords seek out vacant homes and are actually placing tenants in these homes. You discover there is a family residing in the home, call the police, and the police refuse to get involved.

Why will the police not get involved?

While the police may be interested in the fraudulent aspect of the matter, you cannot depend upon them or expect them to remove the tenant, who as far as you are concerned is trespassing in the unit. Law enforcement is extremely cautious not to get involved with being “used” by a landlord to evict a tenant, and the standard response is, “It is a civil matter,” which means you have to hire an attorney to file some type of dispossession action.

Protecting your owners

Some desperate owners, upon discovering that there is a tenant in their home, will actually seek to cut a deal with the tenant and have the tenant sign a lease with them, thinking that at least they now have a tenant. We advise against this. The owners have no idea whether the “tenant” has been scammed or is in fact a scammer himself. The simple act of trying to cut a deal validates the tenant’s occupancy in the unit and complicates the issue further.

Although it may seem burdensome, it is crucial that you constantly inspect your vacant homes for signs of entry or lock tampering. Some property managers have increased their charges to their owner, due to the necessity of the homes being checked more often. The faster it is determined that someone has entered a unit or has taken up residence in a unit, the easier it will be to have them removed. Although law enforcement does not want to get involved, they will be of some help, especially if it can be proven that the person has not been in the unit for any length of time and has absolutely no legal right to be there. Being able to show clear and concise records and inspection reports to law enforcement will assist in having law enforcement at least question the tenant in the unit, and they may encourage the tenants to leave without the necessity of legal action. Keep an eye on craigslist.org for your area and notify them and law enforcement immediately if you see your homes posted on the website.