Protect yourself from fraud when dealing with rentals. Here’s how:

Verify the owner of the property here: qPublic.net – Monroe County, FL – Map (schneidercorp.com)

Verify the address of the property offered matches the actual property. Google maps, zillow, or other sites should have updated photos. Feel free to reach out to me to drive by the address and send you some pics.

If dealing with a “Property Manager” make sure they are legit- they work for an actual company. Call the official listed phone number for the real estate office and ask for that person. Do not trust the cell phone number given in the ad. Ask the receptionist who answers if they manage that rental, if the agent is real, and if the number you are calling for him is his real number. All property managers have a rental site. The biggest red flag is they want you to rent direct by-passing the site. Often a last minute cancellation will be advertised on sites like facebook. But the link should take you to a legit site. If you call a number don’t send money until the above questions are answered. A legit site wont pressure you to send money now or push an unreasonable sense of urgency.

Never send money by gift card, western union, or other untraceable ways.

Finally: make sure the property you are renting has a rental license. The City of Key West requires a license issued to the verified owner of any property that rents.

Once you have rented from a private owner you are often able to work out great discounts for future repeat business, especially if you go directly thru the owner and not a 3rd party site or rental company. The management fees for many rental companies is 30% or more. Add that to the fees of credit card companies (2.5%-3.5%), VRBO or other websites (up to 10% and/or a yearly fee), and the property owner can easily be out over 40%. Plus the owner carries the utilities, the cost of furnishings, pool cleaning and upkeep, taxes, insurance, and on and on.

Update: VRBO and other sites now charge the renter a rental fee. Just another reason to rent directly from the owner.