House hunting is stressful enough without worrying about being taken advantage of by scammers.
While searching for a new home last month for herself and her mother, Kathy Villeneuve nearly fell victim to one of these scams after responding to several online ads for houses for rent.
Thankfully for her, she had decided to drive by the addresses of the potential rentals to check them out.
The first one, located in Innisfil, had a sold sign on the front door and a second still had individuals living at the property.
The 53-year-old immediately got a bad feeling and called the number for the real estate agent on the sign, who informed her the house had in fact been sold — and was not, in fact, available for rent.
Another listing she responded to attempted to get her to send money to simply view the property, she added.
“When someone wants money to view the property, something is definitely wrong. I’m not stupid. I am not going to e-transfer money,” said Villeneuve, adding she also got a response to her 'house wanted' ad from a man claiming to live in the United Kingdom who said he had a property for rent that he wanted to keep in the family. “He said if I wanted to view it, we needed to put an ad on him to rent out his wife’s place.”
Realtor David Howell told BarrieToday he was definitely surprised when he got the call from Villeneuve that one of his listings was being used as part of a rental scam.
“I am really glad (she) called me. She gave me all of the information about the guy and we figured out it was a bit of a scam,” he said, adding a few other agents were also involved. “He was just picking a bunch of listings off the Internet and saying they were his and he was renting them."
Howell said scams like this are frustrating, but he’s not particularly shocked by it.
“People are doing anything to make a buck these days, but I am glad the lady called me. ... If she hadn’t called, she would have been scammed by the guy,” he said.
Howell said he has heard of similar incidents occurring in the past, even with sales.
“It’s happening more frequently now because of COVID," he said. "Some people are buying places sight unseen and not getting the full picture with virtual showings, but it’s a bit easier to pull off with rentals.”
Howell recommends house hunters do their due diligence and always make sure to go through the proper channels to avoid finding yourself in a similar position whether you’re renting or buying.
“I would never do anything without using a realtor personally, but I am a realtor so am a little bit biased,” he said. “It doesn’t cost you anything to use a realtor when searching for a property — even a rental. We are there to help guide you through the process and figure out what’s good and what’s not.”
Although Villeneuve said she has now found a rental property and is slated to move in May, the whole experience was extremely discouraging.
“To find out from my landlord that I am being evicted during COVID and have three months to find a place … and then all of this … I cried and didn’t sleep or eat for three days ... then I got angry,” she said. “I didn’t know where I was going to go or what I was going to do. You can’t see the positive when there is so much of this negative around you.”
Villeneuve said she suffers from mental illness and has a tendency to make rash decisions, but is relieved she trusted her gut.
Following your gut is key to protecting yourself in any situation, said Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon, adding scams like what Villeneuve experienced is nothing new in the city.
“We had a situation last year where people were renting properties and folks were showing up with moving trucks ready to move in," he said. "It turned out it was somebody’s house.
“You should go and check out a place before committing to anything. There’s nothing wrong with knocking on the door and asking about the rental unit to make sure it’s legitimate," Leon added. "It used to be that people would put a sign out front, but with social media many are advertising online now ... so be sure to do your homework before you sign on the dotted line and show up with everything that you own.”
Scammers, he said, are playing on the fact that renters are willing to pay whatever they have to pay to secure a place to live.
“Housing is in such high demand and we know rental costs in Barrie are creeping up, so if it sounds too good to be true, there’s the likelihood that it could be,” Leon said. “Because there’s such a limited supply of rental properties, people are jumping at it.
"Be sure to do your homework before you sign on the dotted line and show up with everything that you own.”
