Is It Really For Rent?!?!

Because you just can't make this stuff up....

I had an agent try and show one of my vacant listings last week. and the storm door was locked. I went over to check and found that the front door would open, but the chain was on it so I was unable to access. Went to the back door and found that the locks had been changed. Contacted the police, who came to the property and the occupants answered the door, and were very cooperative. They provided a copy of the lease that they signed. A man had shown them the house, claimed to be the owner, rented it to them for $650.00 per month. The "landlord" took the washer/dryer claiming they were his, as well as had pulled the chandelier from the dining room, all of the register grates have been removed and ceiling fan had been removed from the master bedroom. The landlord's name is Phil Atlas, white male, 5'8"-5'9", 200 lbs, bald with brown goatee, somewhere between 40-50 years old and drove a black Yukon. This landlord ran across these people at a Homeless Shelter, they are now out a place to live and $1600.00. I felt bad telling them they had to leave, but had no choice, and they were cooperative. The “landlord” also removed my sign, sure he added it to his scrap pile from the other items he took in the property. One of the "tenants" said it just seemed to good to be true, so here's a life lesson folks, if it seems to good to be true it probably is.

If a landlord only has a key to let you in and out of a property via the back door, question it.

 

 

If you are looking to rent a home, some of the things you can do to protect yourself are:

• Work with a reputable Realtor or Property Management Company
• Never give anyone cash
• Ask for proof that the landlord or property manager actually owns the property and has the right to rent it, or is authorized by the owner to do so.  Honestly if someone refuses to provide this information I probably wouldn’t want to rent from them.
• Tax records are easily accessible online for most counties, don’t hesitate to do some research of your own.
• Ask if there is a mortgage and if they owners are current.  While they don’t have to share all of their financial information with you, it should be understandable to a landlord/property manager that you want to make sure you are moving into a place that you can stay and not get evicted due to a foreclosure when you were paying the rent.
• Don’t be afraid to talk to the neighbors and see what they have to say. Most likely they will know if the home is truly for rent/lease and if they person you have made contact with is legitimate.

Unfortunately we live in a society where I’ve had scammers pull photos and descriptions of my listings from a Real Estate Web Site, and put it on Craigs List with their contact info and try and negotiate a lease via email for 50% of the going rate, asking for potential renters to go buy, take a look if they are interested, then mail/wire the funds to this person and upon receipt they will mail the keys to the new tenant.  It’s a crazy world we live in and it is necessary to question the things that just don’t seem right!

 

Dawn Whalen, Realtor, GRI, CDPE

RE/MAX Select

dawnwhalen@remax.net

www.dawnwhalen.com

Technorati Tags: indianapolis area real estate,renters,tips for renters,scam artists,fraudulent landlord,reputable realtor,property management

Protecting Your Property When It’s On The Market.

Over the last several years, there have been an increasing number of vacant properties that are on the market to be sold that have been broken into and vandalized.  As a Realtor, it is a disheartening task to call your client and notify them of this.  As a homeowner it is a devastating call to receive.

In talking with clients, and with police, as well as other Realtors, there are different schools of thought on how to prevent this.  I’ve had clients who say they only want exterior photos of their home online, that way if someone is looking for a home to hit, they won’t be able to easily determine their home is vacant.  This could be true, but in working with buyers, I have found that the vast majority of buyers won’t even add a home to their list of “possible” if there are no interior photos.  Their mindset is that if there are no interior photos it must be horrible, and they are going to bypass it.  So in some cases protecting your property by not allowing photos, will also possibly keep it from getting showings.

The best way, while not full proof, would be to make the home look occupied, at least on line. A seller could hire a stager to furnish the home while it’s on the market.  That way the photos will make it appear occupied, and when it’s being shown or during an open house it will appear occupied.  If a stager isn’t in the budget try an have the photos taken prior to vacating the property.  If that isn’t possible, consider renting furniture for a week, have the photos taken, even have the first open house in that time frame.

Other things that you could do are:

• Have several lamps in your home & have them set on timers for various times of the day/night.
• Have someone make sure there is no mail/newspapers that are piling up that would clue someone in to the fact there is no one there
• Make sure your lawn is mowed routinely, leaves rakes, walks shoveled etc
• Tell neighbors that when they have company, have the company park in your driveway. 
• Have someone that checks your property weekly at the very minimum.

Unfortunately the vandals don’t care about anyone except for themselves.  So the best way to protect your home while it’s on the market, especially if it is vacant, is to treat it as you would if you were going on vacation.  I can’t promise this will prevent the vandals, but it might help.

Dawn Whalen, Realtor, CDPE, GRI

RE/MAX Select

dawnwhalen@remax.net

Technorati Tags: sellers,crime prevention tips,vacant homes being vandalized,indianapolis area realtor,indianapolis area real estate,sellers protection