Time to move!

User Forum Topic
Submitted by djc on August 21, 2009 - 12:15am

Well, it is time for me to relo. I found a rental in North County that seems adequate, however the price seems a bit cheaper than I'd expect. I have yet to call and look at it, but will do tomorrow. The property is being offered by a property management service. SDLookup shows last sale was in the late 90's.

My question is: How can I verify that this property management company is actually responsible for the property? I.e. how do I know this (or even others I may find) aren't a rental scam?

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If they are based in Nigeria
Submitted by Oxford on August 21, 2009 - 12:30am.

If they are based in Nigeria you are good to go!

ox
...big fat liar

well, of course... but in
Submitted by djc on August 21, 2009 - 12:49am.

well, of course... but in case they aren't...

You can probably check them
Submitted by Crash Again on August 21, 2009 - 8:06am.

You can probably check them out on the Better Business Bureau. I know they do not provide a completely unbiased opinion, but it is some place to start. You can also google them and see what pops up.

This kind of property
Submitted by freshman on August 21, 2009 - 8:10am.

This kind of property management company won't do anything, they just bring you to see the property, get your application fee and handle the rental fee for the property owner. If you have any requests or fixes on the property, they will forward to the property owner and let the owner know, it is all up to the owner to do your request or not. They don't give you any info about the owner. Also, this kind of company likes to bring several groups of renters to see the same property, get all application fees and let the owner to pick one of them. It is no guarantee the renter with highest credit scores can rent the property. It is up to the owner to pick, maybe the owner cares about the renter's job type, age, race....

If the property management company owns a community of properties, that's more trustable. You can get the apartment ranking from http://www.apartmentratings.com/ .

Here is some practical advice
Submitted by urbanrealtor on August 21, 2009 - 9:36am.

Here is some practical advice for checking out a rental situation and not getting screwed.

Rental agent:
If you are renting from a rental agent, look them up at http://www2.dre.ca.gov/PublicASP/pplinfo... If it is a big company, and you have just some temp as your point of contact, look up the company on that site.

Unlicensed/informal agent:
If it is an informal rental agent (like the dude helping you says he is just a friend or something), ask to see something (like an agreement) showing that he is authorized to find a renter and have him show you his ID. Then check to see that the names match (see below for ownership look up). This is less important with licensed agents since their info is public record.

Owner:
If it is an owner who is your contact, check the ownership records with the county recorder website or ask a Realtor to look it up.

Good luck dude.

Thanks for the replies
Submitted by djc on August 21, 2009 - 12:06pm.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

urbanrealtor,

the company showed up in the link you sent and no comments or disiplinary action is listed. Thanks for the link!

You are welcome. Good luck.
Submitted by urbanrealtor on August 21, 2009 - 3:44pm.

You are welcome.

Good luck.