<p>I am in DC now, trying to find a place that I can move to. I will go back to LA on Wednesday and won’t be actually moving here until Dec.</p>
<p>I saw a condo unit that I really like. The owner and I haven’t talked about the paper work yet and we are planning to do that tomorrow. But what kind of protocol should I expect? I assume a security deposit will be required. But I am worried that he can just take my money away. He can fake a contract, can’t he? Is there any way that I can get some sort of protection? Now that I think of it, how can I know that the unit he’s showing me is actually his?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t think that you could change to working with a rental agent at this point, with this particular unit.</p>
<p>If your gut is telling you something is wrong, I would follow your gut.</p>
<p>If you don’t have a bad gut feeling, but rather a good one - and you are just trying to be careful - here are some things I would do that might give you more of a secure feeling.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Ask if he has rented it before. How often? How long have previous tenants stayed? What happened to the last tenant? </p></li>
<li><p>Does his condo association require approval of the lease (many do) or at least to see a copy of the lease? If he can answer these questions intelligently, it will give you some kind of feeling that he actually owns the place. You can also check ownership at the Registry of Deeds and/or City/town hall, and in many places this can be done online.</p></li>
<li><p>Are utilities included? If not, you will be calling the various utilities to put them in your name and may be able to verify whose name they are currently in.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As someone who is just now renting out my own condo, I certainly got security deposit plus first and last month’s rent up-front, so I don’t see any way around this. I am using a rental agent and never thought about that giving the tenant some feeling of security; but perhaps it does.</p>
<p>Is there a way you can check the title of the condo ? I know in some cities, you can check the land registry to see who owns the place. I am only familiar with houses, don’t know if it the same way with condo.</p>
<p>Sam Lee you make a good point. I saw something on the news recently about an area here in CA with a high rate of foreclosures. People were actually breaking into empty homes, changing the locks, renting the place on Craigslist and taking peoples money. In some cases it was months before the tenant realized that the “owner” didn’t really own the place.
I wonder if you could check with the local property assessor. Go in person, perhaps with a copy of the rental agreement and explain that you want to verify that this person is the owner.</p>
<p>You might even find the info on line. I know our town’s assessor records are all on line now, though I’m not sure if the individual condo units are.</p>
<p>Well…here is a counterpoint. I rented an apartment for my son. I dealt with the rental agent…but to be honest, I just took it on faith that she was really the rental agent. She showed me the apartment, took an application for credit…etc. During my two day trip, I eventually met the owner too. Of course, how did I know this gal was the owner? </p>
<p>I’m not sure how you would verify that a rental agent was REALLY a rental agent. Anyone could pose as a rental agent, just as anyone could pose as the owner.</p>
<p>Simple. Just contact the homeowners association & they should give you more info. than you need or want. Most likely they will know the owner of your unit personally. Of course, an unethical person–even though the real owner–can still steal your deposit. Your best protection is to get it in writing, make sure that any disputes are able to be resolved in the local courts & keep the amount of funds at risk within the jurisdictional amount of the local small claims court.</p>