Helpful Tips To Avoid Being Scammed While Looking For An Apartment

Posted by Michael Griffin on February 11th, 2020

If you’re renting for the first time then you should be aware of the various apartment scams that go around. You do not want your renting experience to turn out to be a disaster and so you need to prepare well and avoid certain things to not get scammed.

If you’re looking for apts for rent in Denver then here are some tips that will help you avoid scams while apartment hunting.

Sign a written lease

The lease for an apartment rental should always be in the written form and you should accept no other form of agreement. Scammers often tend to stick on a verbal agreement and while it’s legal in some states, you should still opt for a written lease with the sign of the landlord and you should also get a copy of the contract.

Do not deal in cash

The shady operations always use cash-only transactions and scammers often prefer to deal in cash because the money cannot be traced back. So be wary of any proposals from any landlord where you are asked for a complete cash transaction.

Do not rent without visiting the actual property

Getting to check out the place that you’re going to rent should be the number one priority and landlords that are really looking to rent their apartment are always ready to give you a look around the place. If any landlord refuses to show you the place then skip that apartment and move on to the next one.

Identify the property owner

Now before you go ahead and sign a lease, it is necessary that you identify the owner of the property. Ask the landlord to provide documents that prove the ownership of the home. These documents or the lack thereof can prove whether the deal is a legit one or not.

Meet the landlord in person

Even you are using an online platform to look for apartments, it is still essential that you meet the landlord in person. A landlord who is out there to scam people often avoid showing you the property or interact with you in person or sign any kind of agreement. This is a big indicator of a shady operation.

Know if the renting platform verifies users

If you’re using an apartment finder in Denver to look for an apartment then make sure that the platform you’re searching the apartment in verifies all the users both the owners and the tenants. If you stumble upon a website that does not have any verification method then you should steer clear of these sites.

Subleasing is a bad idea

Subleasing an apartment is the shakiest and dangerous way to get scammed. If the original tenant who is subleasing the apartment does not have the right to sub-lease then both of you can be evicted from the apartment.

The lease should identify the owner

Check the lease agreement if it contains the name of the owner or not. The presence of the owner’s name means that the apartment is rented legally and if it does not contain the name of the owner then you should not go ahead with the deal.

Beware of all the third party

Always be cautious of the middlemen in a house rental deal. You are looking through online classifieds or ads and you find an ad that showcases a nice property at a reasonable price, you call the number and someone tells you that they are the one that’s handling the deal. In such cases, usually, the property is real but they do not have access to the property. If you are going to rent a property then you should be able to meet the owner and not sign an agreement through a third party.

Talk with previous or current tenants

One sure way to find out if the landlord is reliable or not is to talk to previous or current tenants. Some landlords are more than happy to provide some good references but in some cases, you have to do a digging of your own.

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Michael Griffin

About the Author

Michael Griffin
Joined: May 16th, 2018
Articles Posted: 174

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