Thank you Pamela for posting this true story. Renters, if a rental is advertised by an individual versus a property Management company, please be aware of another rental scam: homes that are listed For Sale are being copied by scammers and posted For Rent in order to get security deposits from unsuspecting renters.
Scam Alert!! Renter Loses Security Deposit, Forced to Move
True story: A trusting would-be tenant answered an ad on Craigslist to rent a home inHemet, California. She met the owner at advertised home. Loved it, so she signed a lease, turned over security deposit and first month’s rent.
Everything’s going great in her new home. Imagine her surprise after several weeks, the sheriff knocks on her door. Asks her who she is, and what’s she doing there.
She explains, and the sheriff asks to see her lease. She is informed the “real” owner of the home contacted the police department that someone was trespassing and illegally living in their home.
Lucky for the tenant she had paperwork to prove she thought she was renting the home from the owner, and not from a con-artist. This is happening more often than any of us would like to know, and is fraud.The tenant lost her security deposit to the scammer, and had to move. The owner of record was kind enough to help her with moving costs.
If the tenant did not have paperwork to prove her story, she could have been arrested and charged with trespassing.Hope the “real” criminal finds her way behind bars.
Pamela Seley, REALTOR®
Short Sale Resource | CA DRE lic # 01824145
www.temeculavalleyhome.com | Dir 951.491.4063 | Email pamelaseley@gmail.comServing Southwest Riverside County California| Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Winchester, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Corona, Wildomar | Temecula short sale agent
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