Some friends are in a REALLY tough spot!

[Robinrs]

This happened to me some years ago. The person did own the house but it just went under foreclosure. How did I find out? She got some mail and I accidentally opened it. I confronted her about it and she was angry at ME for opening her mail. She was right about that but I'm thankful I found out anyway. I only paid her $875 which was what I put up as a deposit but sued her for that in small claims court. Judge Judy's people contacted me but the landlord did NOT want to go on television. We settled out of court.

Darn, I really wanted to go on Judge Judy!

 

[ChrizJen]

that's a big scam in one of the towns we used to live near. people watching the houses that are vacant and then setting them up on craigs list or other sites as available rentals.

the local newpaper in that town started running regular front page articles on the problem b/c they hoped that someone from out of the area looking to relocate there might be checking out the local newspaper for rentals and would be forewarned.

when we rented a private home, the first thing i did when i located one i was interested in was check the property assessors site to see who the legal owner was. if the person representing themself as the owner had tried to go by a different name or asked for the deposit/rent to be issued in any name other than what was on the assessors site it would have been a no-go.

with the way foreclosures are these days it would'nt be a bad idea for a prospective renter to demand to view the most recent mortgage statement from an owner.

Wow...I'd never heard of this scam. They're in Oregon. I wonder if it's a popular scam all over the Pacific Northwest.

 

[ChrizJen]

Darn, I really wanted to go on Judge Judy!

LOL...I'd probably pee in my pants if I was stading in front of Judge Judy...LOL

 

[barkley]

Good idea. Of course they might say no.

then they might have great potential renters walk away.

depending on where a person is trying to rent their home they can be competing with a glutted rental market right now so rather than the landlord interviewing multiple eager prospective tenants it's the prospective tenants interviewing multiple desparate landlords. friends own rental homes in napa, traditionaly the land of HIGH rent and minimal private home options. the market's so glutted there that on the advice of their r/e managment company they offered to lower their tenant's rent when the lease renewed. r/e said the bulk of leases are not being renewed b/c tenants can walk away and find dozens of low priced alternatives.


btw-i think the year's rent in advance was a red flag as well. the places we rented from in the past did'nt permit advance rent payment b/c if something went south with the tenant they did'nt want an eviction jepordized by their acceptance of rent in advance. the only person i've ever known who got their landlord to take a year's rent in advance was an idot friend of dh's-he was going to state prison for 6 months but did'nt want to lose his place, so he sucked up to the landlord to pay a year in advance (b/c he knew he'd be without a job when he got out, about month 8 of the lease so it would give him 5 months to get financialy set again).

 

[barkley]

Wow...I'd never heard of this scam. They're in Oregon. I wonder if it's a popular scam all over the Pacific Northwest.

i have'nt heard about it happening here-it was/is going on in the san francisco bay area.

i wonder if the op's friend found the home themselves or used the university to help them (we live in a university town and the new profs. generaly use university resources to get info. on housing)-if they used the university or a realtor they might have some recourse there.

 

[ChrizJen]

I don't even know for sure if the advance rent was something the owner required or if it was what our friends wanted to do. I assume it was asked of them by the owner.

 

[robinb]

You're right. It just really sucks to see bad things happen to good people. There are some really awful people in this world.
I do believe in karma, and this woman will get what she has coming to her one way or another. But that, unfortunately will likely not help my friends out much...

What a horrible thing to do to someone. If you want to stop paying your mortgage and get foreclosed on and have your house sold that's up to you. But don't go and STEAL $17,00 from someone. Those owners should be arrested and thrown in jail!

 

[robinb]

with the way foreclosures are these days it would'nt be a bad idea for a prospective renter to demand to view the most recent mortgage statement from an owner.

You can also check on http://www.realtytrac.com/home/ . You won't get an exact address unless you pay for it, but you will get a general idea if the home you're looking at is under foreclosure or bank owned.

 

[DawnCt1]

Is it possible for them to put a lien on the house, to be paid after the sale?

Its possible. In all probability, the bank is first in line and there won't be any $$$ left. Dumb move to pay it all up front. I would almost be tempted to make the bank go through the eviction proceedings so they can buy more time in the house. I don't think I would rush to pay and move out.

 

[tlbwriter]

I'll have to get more details from them. But they are very intelligent, extremely money savvy people, and I cannot in a million years imagine they would ever enter into something like this lightly.

I can't imagine what would make intelligent, money-savvy people agree to pay a year's rent in advance. It sounds pretty naive to me. I mean, I *totally* would have fallen for the so-called landlord who doesn't really own the house trick - it would never occur to me to check to see if my landlord actually owned the house. But paying a rent for a year in advance is something I've never heard of. Are there parts of the country where this is done?

 

[palavra]

If this is a good move, meaning steady job, good school, etc., would they consider buying the house? If it is being foreclosed on, obviously the bank will want to recoup some of the money, so it will go up for auction. Could they work out a deal with the bank to buy it before auction?

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Its possible. In all probability, the bank is first in line and there won't be any $$$ left. Dumb move to pay it all up front. I would almost be tempted to make the bank go through the eviction proceedings so they can buy more time in the house. I don't think I would rush to pay and move out.

Depending on the laws of the state in which they are living, Oregon I believe, your thought to make the bank go through the eviction proceedings might be a good one to buy more time in the house.

Don't you think that this family should contact a good real estate lawyer who deals primarily in landlord/tenant matters as quickly as possible?

 

[mamacatnv]

I can't imagine what would make intelligent, money-savvy people agree to pay a year's rent in advance. It sounds pretty naive to me. I mean, I *totally* would have fallen for the so-called landlord who doesn't really own the house trick - it would never occur to me to check to see if my landlord actually owned the house. But paying a rent for a year in advance is something I've never heard of. Are there parts of the country where this is done?

I have to agree with the bolded part, that is the strangest thing I have heard in a long time. I don't want to sound harsh, but if in fact they paid a years rent up front they were downright stupid and not money savvy at all.

I recently rented a house for DS and 2 roomies near his University. I ran a title search before handing over the deposit to the landlord. I used to pay DS's dorm twice a year so I was in that habit and have the funds sitting in bulk. I have a separate checking account that is purely for DS's rent and utilities, I put the money there and disperse it once a month, no way am I paying a chunk in advance.

Paying out $17K is just ridiculous and makes no sense whatsoever to me. I am sorry this happened to your friends but in reality in my eyes they bare some responsibility for their own stupidity. They got scammed but they made it easy. It sucks that criminals exist but if people were aware, cautious and truly savvy the criminals would have to work a lot harder, it would not be so easy and if it weren't so easy perhaps it wouldn't happen as often as it does.

 

[bettymae1121]

wow! i really feel bad for these people, but I agree with the rest, putting up a years worth of rent in advance is insane. The tennants have no leverage and no recourse if something goes wrong, as in this case it so clearly did.

I have heard that in situations like this, some judges have halted the eviction process but I think it's it and miss with that, it just depends on the judge, and a bit on state and local laws. They for sure need a lawyer specializing in real estate/renters rights ASAP.

 

[Hannathy]

I'm sorry for your friends but all I could think of when I read your post was

Oh I hope whoever is teaching at the college isn't teaching Economics or Business!!!!!

 

[ChrizJen]

If this is a good move, meaning steady job, good school, etc., would they consider buying the house? If it is being foreclosed on, obviously the bank will want to recoup some of the money, so it will go up for auction. Could they work out a deal with the bank to buy it before auction?

Actually, the first thing they said when they got there (before all of this came up) was that they were in love with the house and would buy it if they had the chance. But they already have 2 mortgages they're paying on.

As for those of you saying they messed up by paying $17,000 up front: I actually totally agree with you on that. I had no idea they had done that until last night. I honestly don't know what they were thinking. They really are normally very level-headed and practical in the area of finances. I just can't wrap my head around it. I just don't get it!
I still wish there was something I could do for them though.

 

[ChrizJen]

I'm sorry for your friends but all I could think of when I read your post was

Oh I hope whoever is teaching at the college isn't teaching Economics or Business!!!!!

LOL...nope. Not economics or business...

 

[ctinct]

Maybe they paid upfront because they were offered a "discount" for doing so?

 

[arminnie]

I'm sorry for your friends but all I could think of when I read your post was

Oh I hope whoever is teaching at the college isn't teaching Economics or Business!!!!!

My thoughts too. Or really how could anyone smart enough to teach at the college level fall for this? I wouldn't want my kids at a school that would hire people with no common sense.

But I have a dear, long time friend who is brilliant with degrees from great schools, who doesn't have sense enough to come in out of the rain. I am sorry for their loss. The blame is 100% on the scammers even if they should have been more wary.

 

[theycallmered]

I work in student housing for a large university in California. Your friend should contact the university regarding their situation. Many universities have an online database of off-campus landlords. This is definitely a kind a situation that they should be made aware of. They might also be able to assist in finding them temporary housing.