Family lost house in fire....Scam????

[Todd Bullinger]

I posted our house for rent with a yard sign as well as Craigslist. I received a call from someone stating they are calling on behalf of a family that lost their house in a fire yesterday and was looking to find houseing for them. We are asking $675 but they asked about paying $875 for a 3 month lease (without my prompting).

Has this happened to anyone before? Part of me thinks this is a scam. I will be asking where he found out about the house and what his connection is to the family but didn't think of it right away. Any thoughts or suggestions for a situation like this?

I will say, I'm not really interested in a 3 month lease as that will put us right in January and not really interested in trying to find tenents in the winter snow.

[Matt C.]

About a year and half ago, my house was destroyed in a house fire. My insurance paid for temporary housing that was equivalent to what we had. There was a third party relocation company that handled all the search and negotiations. We looked and selected the house ourselves. The relo company tried to negotiate a 6 months lease at a higher rate but the owner wouldn't go for it. So, that part of the story matches my experience. In the end, it was a 12 month lease. The relo company paid the rent, 3 months at a time, by the way. However, I signed the lease and was responsible for the deposits, utilities, etc. The relo company anticipated that the owner would not go for a 6 months lease. If the people that have contacted you are legit they should be familiar with the common practice in your market. Ask them for a 12 month lease with a early release clause if they move out and you find another renter before the the term ends. That would guaranty to you 12 months of rent. I don't own any rentals, so I don't really know if that is a good idea or not.