Big White is AWESOME! Dodgy rental scams...

Maybe I'll just title this - Do Your Homework!

If you're looking for a place to stay at Big White... do your homework. Go on, I'll say it again - Do your homework.

There are scammers out there looking for easy marks, don't be an easy mark; a couple years ago my wife got a call. 'The renters of Timbers 206 couldn't find the owner/landlord and could she help?'

"Uh oh..." She thought. You see, I was the developer of The Timbers and my wife knew the building well... specifically, there was no, and there never was a 'unit 206'. Imagine travelling from Australia for the season of a lifetime and... nope, not fun.

Last year I was contacted by, 'a tenant' she was suspicious of a rental company... could I offer any advice. Great place, great location, great pictures... found on a (almost) professional looking (if you didn't look too closely) website, everything you'd expect, pictures, address, contact number... and a great price. Now rents are not cheap at Big White. But you know, ownership is really expensive too and a Landlord/Owner has gotta pay their bills. 

Anyway, my point is, if a deal looks too good to be true then it probably is.

The place I was contacted about? They were asking $1500 per month... it was probably worth $5k - $8k per. So, yeah, too good to be true.

So, do your homework, and, conveniently, here are some tips for when you are looking for a rental property.

Rental rate... Too Good to be true...?

What is the asking, and how does it compare to other places? If it seems really low then...

Friends and friends of friends.

Almost all my rentals these days come from friends of existing, or previous tenants. You can have a lot more confidence in a place at which your buddy already lived.

Get References.

Your landlord has probably has a rental history. I don't as previous tenants for references but I always offer contact details of my previous tenants. If this is a problem then I'd be a little concerned.

Speak to your (potential) employer.

The biggest problem for seasonal staff at Big White is accommodation. And your employer is acutely aware of this - they will know most of the landlords. Ask them - "Do you know Chris Sherriff?"

Look on Facebook.

I hate to say this but I know Facebook is kinda old school these days... but you know what, your landlord is probably old school too. You'll find years of history for me at Big White - why not do a search for your landlord to be... and if they're not there, do more homework.

Ask for a physical inspection.

Yeah, it's a pain for the landlord... but if you're the perfect tenant...? Most landlords live on the mountain so this is their job anyway. If they don't want to show you, or your friends be cautious.

Video Walkthrough.

I offer video walkthroughs for my 'tenants to be'. It is really hard for a scammer to fake a real time walkthrough.

Pressure.

Are they putting pressure on you to pay immediately? I usually give my tenants a decent period to pay their initial payments. It allows them to do their own background research on me... and since I'm real, it doesn't matter.

Payment.

How do they want paying?

• Cash? Cash is great if you're meeting at the place and get a chance to look at the unit. Not great if it's not at the property. Just be smart.
• Bank transfer? You can be a little more confident if it is to a company - Ltd, LLC, LLP, Inc etc, because these are expensive and hard to set up. We are Solido Properties Ltd. We are registered in British Columbia and you can find us if you do a company search. Here.
• Western Union - I believe it's the medium of choice for scammers. I would stay away, there are so many other options, why risk it?
• E-transfer... once my tenants are resident, this is my preferred option. If it was me looking to rent I would be cautious if there are other red flags as the money can go anywhere... in Canada anyway.
• Credit and Debit? I've used these in the past, I prefer physical transactions... I used to carry a machine around with me, on rent days anyway :)

They contact you...

I was guilty of this last year -hello Lachy and Meg :) this is a pretty big red flag - if it happens, take all the other precautions.

I'm sure there are other things, (do they have a ten year old blog...?) you know even if your landlord to be has a terrible FB reputation... at least they're real... maybe I'll do a blog topic on crappy landlords... yes we... wait, I mean 'they' exist. Trust your gut, it's been right lots of times.

So, I guess that's if for today, next is my business pitch, so you can ignore the rest if you want.

The Pitch.

Actually, I'm struggling with the pitch, I cannot word it well... so I'm just gonna stop here and just leave the crappy one below. 

Solido Group has been around since 2000. We have been involved in real estate sales, marketing, management, renovations, development... developing, amongst others...

• 
  The Edge... don't talk to me about the roof(s).
• The Raven.
• Timbers...

Roughly, building and selling, over 100 properties. 

If you are a property owner and want to find out more about what we offer, including a guaranteed income business model. Contact us via Solido Properties Facebook Page.