Craigslist has become one of the most popular places to post rental properties for owners as well as for renters looking for properties. Craigslist is a popular site for posting rental properties because property owners are able to post properties for free. With free posting on Craigslist, many rental scams have been popping up. Knowing what to look for in a rental property ad will help you distinguish which ads are real and which are fake.
Below are 5 tips to keep in mind for spotting a fake Craigslist rental property scam:
- Do not wire money: If the ad asks you to wire money that should be an instant red flag. No legitimate property owner or management company will ever request that you do this.
- Check the address online: Search for the address on Google maps or an online search to verify the property address exists.
- Free credit check: If the person on the rental property ad wants you to go to a website to check your credit, it likely is not a legitimate site and they are likely trying to steal your identity.
- Rental price is far below market value: If the monthly rent price is significantly lower than others of comparable value.
- Poor Grammar: If the ad is written with very poor grammar that should be an instant red flag, as real property postings would be written with proper grammar and in a professional way.
Craigslist is a great way for property owners to post ads for their rentals due to the popularity of the site and that they are able to post their ads for free. Keep these above tips in mind if you are looking for a rental property on Craigslist and you keep yourself from getting scammed.
