Protect Yourself From This Rent To Own Scam

Renting to own sounds like the perfect solution to many people who might not be able to purchase a home otherwise. Rather than having to come up with a down payment which is far more than a lot of us are able to scrape together, especially during a recession where banks are less willing than ever to extend home loans, renting to own allows consumers to buy their home at a price comparable to what they’re already paying in rent.

Unfortunately, one of the unforeseen consequences of the recession is a growing number of rent to own scam operators looking to fleece unsuspecting would-be home buyers. There are a lot of different types of rent to own scams out there and it’s important to know what to look for in order to avoid being taken in by one of these criminals: the following is one of the most common to watch for.

Given the nearly record high number of foreclosure listings nationwide (and definitely record high in some states), there are a lot of unoccupied homes on the market and a shortage of willing buyers – the ideal conditions for an ambitious criminal to run a rent to own scam. These scam artists will gain entry to a foreclosed home and begin showing it to prospective buyers while representing themselves as the owner of the property. At least for a while, it may seem that everything’s fine, at least until the owner of the property finds a buyer to show it to or lists it with a realtor and the would-be rent to owners are out on the street again.

There are a few signs of this scam to be aware of; the property is usually listed at a price which is substantially (some may say suspiciously) below market price. There may also be some obvious signs of forced entry, with the scam artist mentioning the locks needing to be changed, etc.

There are two things that prospective home buyers can do to protect themselves from this scam. One is to use a reputable source like RealtyStore.com, where rent to own scams are already filtered out by the website's staff. The other is to consult your county clerk’s office of property records in order to make sure that the “owner” trying to rent you their property is who they say they are or if they’re running another rent to own scam.