Prívate land lord Alameda County

[Jennifer Spradling]

I am new to Livermore California and need to rent a house. I have found one that works and want to claim it. My question is how can I be sure this private landlord is the legitimate owner of the property before giving a large security deposit? I tried looking at tax records, but that info isn’t on the county website. I got a good feeling during the walkthrough, but I don’t want to be scammed. Any suggestions?