Don’t be caught in a rental scam-

Over the past 30+ years we’ve met a lot of amazing and hardworking people. It’s been a privilege to help those individuals with their real estate needs.

We’ve also seen the real estate industry become the target of some pretty creative scammers. If you, or someone you know, is in the rental market here’s the latest scam and some steps to avoid being a target. Let’s all spread the word on this one. 

HOW THE SCAM WORKS

In the Okanagan Shuswap area there have been four recent instances where individuals have ‘scraped’ home photos and information from active real estate listings on the internet and then used those details to create bogus property rental ads on rental sites like Craigslist and Kijiji.

When a potential renter sees the ad and emails/calls to enquire, they are sent a tenancy agreement and asked to forward a deposit and pick up keys at a later date. As there is no property available, the renter loses the deposit – and the rental home they were counting on!

HOW WE, YOUR REALTOR, WORK TO HELP PROTECT YOU, OUR CLIENTS

We regularly check popular housing rental websites to ensure our clients homes/listings are not being misrepresented by scammers.

RENTERS, AVOID BEING SCAMMED

Avoid providing a deposit or forwarding money without meeting the landlord in person AND conducting an in-person walk-through of the rental property/home.

THINK A RENTAL IS A SCAM?  CONTACT LOCAL RCMP.