BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County Association of REALTORS® want to make area residents aware of rental scams especially in this tight housing market.
The Association’s Sandy Duvendack says this is not a new scam but people continue to fall for it.
Duvendack says, “My members continue to receive calls from people stating they saw a house for rent on social media and wired a security deposit / first & last months rent but now they can not get a hold of the “landlord” to get the keys to their new place.”
Duvendack went on to the say that with the housing market so tight right now, people feel pressured to hurry to seal the deal before someone else beats them to it.
You should take the necessary precautions to ensure you are actually dealing with the home owner or landlord before you wire money to an unknown account for a house or apartment that you have not gone into yet.
The web site Avail.com, which is part of the Realtor.com network, says there are several red flags about potential scams such as the person who placed the rental ad does not want to meet you in person and they want you to move in immediately without ever seeing the property. They would also ask for rent or a security deposit before a lease is signed. In addition, the price might be to good to be true, the listing has typos, poor grammer or excessive punctuation, there is no screening process and they want you to sign an incomplete lease
If you think you are a victim of a rental scam, call Branch County Central Dispatch’s non-emergency number 517-278-3091 to file a complaint, contact the listing website, report it to the Federal Trade Commission and/or file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
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