It’s become a routine headline: Scammers take information about a home that’s for sale and post a bogus ad on sites like Craigslist advertising the home as a rental, hoping to fleece unwitting victims out of a deposit and rent.
Intero Real Estate broker Katie Maxwell said just that happened with a $400,000 listing in Houston — a scammer has been offering to rent the house for $1,300 a month.
Maxwell tells Fox 26 that the best way for consumers to avoid such scams is to contact listing agents directly and check the public-facing website operated by the Houston Association of Realtors, HAR.com, which provides detailed information on properties, including their rental status. Source: myfoxhouston.com.