Anyone experiencing this type of fees/scams when renting a house?

[helpme2010]

I have read the advice from people on this board about renting a house after BK. I looked at 3 properties yesterday (from the outside, and they all bit the dust big time). I am noticing on craigslist, lots of properties that I am interested in looking at.

When I call the numbers, one agent said I had to pay $89 for a database fee to get 24 hours access to see the property information, then she would negotiate the lease for me with the owner. I said no way, I just wanted to look at the house from the outside and only wanted the address - she said no.

Another batch of numbers I call, I get an automated response saying I am number 9 or number 10 on the list of callers. I wanted to see a couple houses in one area I was going to be at, so I stayed on hold for 30 minutes, then it said there was too large a call volume and it disconnected me. Is this another type of fee program? Or is this some really busy nationwide realtor just overwhelmed with covering too many areas? I should just be able to call, get the address and do a drive by.

I am just trying to track down private home owners so I can get the address, see the outside, if it looks like a decent house in a decent neighborhood, then I will eventually pursue the best deals to see the inside, then try to sign up for a year lease.

** I have BK, unemployed - but hopefully a job soon, foreclosure all bad on my record. I do have lots of money for deposit/down/extra months/security, etc.

[gmk]

Yes, these are likely variations of a lot of scams going on, especially on Craig's list. When I went house rental hunting the scam that kept popping up was that after I emailed back (I too just wanted to do a drive by first) I received instructions to go to a website for a credit application, fees involved of course. The property listings were too good to be true and they were. You'll find a lot of this going on in a lot of different permutations.

Keep hunting but keep your scam sensors running.

[tez44xx]

I would be very leery of any ad on craigslist that does not advertise the address. There are a lot of scams. I would also steer clear of real estate "brokers" that will negotiate rent, it is all a scam. Make sure when you look at a house and before you sign a lease or put any money down you check with your local county auditors office and look up the owner of the property and make sure the person you are dealing with is actually the owner, again a lot of scams through Craigslist.

[helpme2010]

Thanks everybody. Out of 24 homes I picked out over a couple days, I only found 4 with addresses. I was thinking the owners would be nervous about advertising their addresses. But at a minimum, I should be able to pick up the phone, call the owner or advertiser and immediately get an address. If they don't give me an address at this point, I will hang up.

Does anyone recommend using a rental realtor to help with finding homes to rent? Or would my BK, Foreclosure and current unemployment just scare them off? Am I better just looking for the owner directly and trying to approach the owner with my situation and hope that my good personality and large cash down will do the trick?

[helpmeout]

Thanks everybody. Out of 24 homes I picked out over a couple days, I only found 4 with addresses. I was thinking the owners would be nervous about advertising their addresses. But at a minimum, I should be able to pick up the phone, call the owner or advertiser and immediately get an address. If they don't give me an address at this point, I will hang up.

Does anyone recommend using a rental realtor to help with finding homes to rent? Or would my BK, Foreclosure and current unemployment just scare them off? Am I better just looking for the owner directly and trying to approach the owner with my situation and hope that my good personality and large cash down will do the trick?

I recently rented an apartment due to getting served with a foreclosure notice (it was my plan to find one when I got served). The BK didn't really have an impact. So I don't think your problem will be with the BK and foreclosure, it will be with being unemployed. And in some states, the landlord can only set the security so high. In NJ, the highest the security deposit the landlord can ask for is 1 1/2 months rent as security. They can also ask for the first months rent at the time of lease signing.

And then there's the realtor fee. In NJ, it is one month's rent and the renter pays it, but it is common to negotiate that it is split.

You will need to find out what the norm is the area that you are moving to.

[chicagoannie]

helpme- don't deal with anyone on Craigslist that is not the owner...too many scams. Go ahead and respond to ads that look good, even without the property's address but cut off any contact if someone other than the property owner responds.

I don't think you'll have a problem finding a place since you have cash on hand for the deposit, rent, etc. CASH TALKS! Just be prepared to show your prospective landlord your income from unemployment - have a print out of your benefits payments with you when you decide on a place. And, of course, make a good impression when you meet the landlord in person.