If you think it won't happen to you, think again. Scammers' job is to convince people to give them money and they will study hard to look real and professional. Most apartments in Brickell are listed by Realtors but how many tenants take the time to check if such real estate agent is really licensed? Do you even know how to check a licensee? Keep reading, we'll give you some tips to avoid scammers.
What are common red flags?
-
The most obvious is the offering of a unit for rent at a discounted price.
If something seems to good to be true... Trust your guts and do your homework. Search how much are similar units listed for in the building and ask questions. Scammers look for easy targets. When you ask a lot of questions, they normally back off, never reply to you, or tell you they already rented the unit out. Scammers know that if they push enough, people get ansious when they are under the impression that they may lose out a good deal. I am not talking about $100 discount or first month free. Those could be legit promotions. I am talking about an apartmemnt that normally rents for $2,000 and they offer it to you for $1,000. Be aware! Landlords don't do that, they have expenses to cover and renting out at any price doesn't work for them -
Request to wire money before having a lease agreement is signed.
Although it is customary that landlords ask for the deposit upon signing the lease agreement, they rarely do the request before evaluating you as a tenant. The normal process is that you have to submit a tenant application with supporting documents such as pay stubs, picture ID, etc and any application fee to run background and/or credit check. After that, if you are accepted, you move forward with the lease agreement and payment of the deposit. If someone is rushing you to pay some money before asking you to fill out a tenant application, be careful. -
Scammers may impersonate legitimate listings services, even real estate agents.
If you are facing a situation similar to the ones described in the previous two points and the person claims to be a real estate agent, make sure you verify that person's license with the Department of Business and Professional Regulations (or DBPR) Ask that person for their license number and verify if their name matches the license number given to you.
Verify their social media, real agents are always posting their listings in facebook, instagram, etc. Those are free advertising venues that a legit real estate agent uses frequently.
Call their office and get a physical description of the agent so you know if you are giving your money to the right person. 10 minutes could save you a lot of money and headaches.
Verify their websites, anyone can build a website with fake properties in minutes but a real agent website has thousands of listings because it is fed by Realtor's MLS (called IDX) and to have that, agents must have an active license and membership with their Board of Realtors. How to know if the site is powered by an IDX feed? Pay attention at the number of listings returned on a search on the website. If there are thousands of listings, it is probably fed by an automatic source rather than entered manually.
Most listings coming from the IDX have a disclaimer similar to this one:
©2020 MIAMI Association of REALTORS MLS. All rights reserved. The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site is the copyrighted and proprietary database of the Multiple Listing Service of the MIAMI Association of REALTORS MLS Listing courtesy of ABC Real Estate, LLC.. The properties displayed may not be all of the properties in the MLS' database, or all of the properties listed with Brokers participating in the cooperative data exchange program. Properties listed by Brokers other than are marked with BR logo and include the name of the listing Brokers. Information provided is thought to be reliable but is not guaranteed to be accurate; buyers are advised to verify facts before making the decision to purchase a property. No warranties, expressed or implied, are provided for the data herein, or for their use or interpretation by the user. Information provided is for consumer's personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. This site will be monitored for 'scraping' and any use of search facilities of data on the site other than by a consumer looking to purchase real estate, is prohibited. Listing broker has attempted to offer accurate data, but buyers are advised to confirm all items. Last updated October 29, 2020 @ 8:27 pm EST
-
Drama, drama, drama.
The landlord has received a job assignment abroad and must rent the unit ASAP. You are invited to drive by the building, but no one can show it to you because everyone is already living abroad. And you need to commit in the next 24 hours because dozens of people are waiting to sign the lease. A legitimate landlord / real estate agent will meet you in person and allow you to tour the property before asking for a deposit to secure the rental. This screams spam, run! -
Can’t or won’t meet in person.
For whatever reason, the landlord/agent refuses to meet you in person at the property. They may even send you an access code to unlock an electronic lockbox to gain entry by yourself to the house, condo or apartment you are looking to rent. Believe it or not, some scammers even change the locks and "rent the property" to several people before the real landlord or agent can even realize of what happened.
But don't panic! fortunately, there are many honest professional agents that you can count on. Just be aware and be cautions. Always remember, if it is too good to be true... it probably isn't .png)