House rental - how to avoid scams? (Littleton, Ken Caryl: real estate, foreclosure)

[lovesunnydays]

I found a house to rent in Ken Caryl in Littleton, through a real estate company called Distinctive Dwelling. Has anyone heard of this company (good/bad?) They have a website, and I visited their offices and everything looks legit. I checked the Jefferson County appraiser office website, and the owners listed on the lease check out as the legitimate owners. But how do you find out if the house may be going into foreclosure? I'm just a little nervous about rental scams you hear about (like people renting the same house to SEVERAL people, the house about to be foreclosed, etc.) Thanks!

[austin-steve]

If you're renting from a licensed, reputable company, you don't have to worry about any sort of scam. What you read about are people who meet you at houses they don't own, or a coffee shop, only take cash, etc. If you're dealing with a company with an office and real people, you're worrying over nothing.

Steve

[2bindenver]

Look at the Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder's page for a NOD. That said, if there is a notice of foreclosure, you will get many letters from the attorney in the mail.

[evicted Erin]

My husband and I recently moved into a house. Now... two weeks later we received a letter in the mail telling us that our house was foreclosed (Sold Oct 2--less than 1 week after moving in). We did our homework. We hired a realtor to help us. The "owner" also had a realtor. The house was being managed by a "reputable" property manager. Oh yeah, we even met the guy and his 4 year old kid.

But now we have to hire a lawyer to get out of this mess. But we are also going to make sure that we have something in our contract next time to try to avoid this. --Not sure exactly what that entails but this is a nightmare!

Good luck!

[darjoh]

Wow.

This is an eye opener. I am in the process of selling my house, and relocating to Colorado. We plan on renting first, to find the proper area, before we buy, and in a location with a good commute to work. I never even thought of this scenario. This is something to think about, and to beware of.

[MaddieClaire]

Originally Posted by evicted Erin

My husband and I recently moved into a house. Now... two weeks later we received a letter in the mail telling us that our house was foreclosed (Sold Oct 2--less than 1 week after moving in). We did our homework. We hired a realtor to help us. The "owner" also had a realtor. The house was being managed by a "reputable" property manager. Oh yeah, we even met the guy and his 4 year old kid.

But now we have to hire a lawyer to get out of this mess. But we are also going to make sure that we have something in our contract next time to try to avoid this. --Not sure exactly what that entails but this is a nightmare!

Good luck!

Erin,
I want to thank you for posting this information... I'm sure many future renters will thank you as well.
Question - did you sign a lease? Is the lease being broken due to the foreclosure? Will you lose your deposit?
What did your realtor say about all this?
It's getting to the point that no one is to be trusted anymore...and it's shameful.

I feel badly for you, and wish the best for you and yours.

[evicted Erin]

Originally Posted by MaddieClaire

Erin,
I want to thank you for posting this information... I'm sure many future renters will thank you as well.
Question - did you sign a lease? Is the lease being broken due to the foreclosure? Will you lose your deposit?
What did your realtor say about all this?
It's getting to the point that no one is to be trusted anymore...and it's shameful.

I feel badly for you, and wish the best for you and yours.

I hope that this will help others...

I did sign a lease through an established real estate company. The lease has been dissolved because the house was foreclosed. Fortunately (or really unfortunately for us), we just moved here two weeks ago so the owner did not get our deposit. So we will be getting that back.

The real estate company told us, “I hope that you are not mad at us… there is nothing that we could do to detect this.” After talking to a number of people (and through my own assumption) it sounds like they should have detected this. We will be talking with a lawyer soon to get more information.

[SIZE=3]I will post any recommendations that I hear from the lawyer about not getting into this situation. [/SIZE]

[Katiana]

Your situation sounds awful. My sympathies with your having to find another place and move again! Ugh! We have rented houses in the past and did not have this problem (though one was sold before we were really ready to move out). I don't know how common this situation is.

[ORexpat]

Originally Posted by evicted Erin

My husband and I recently moved into a house. Now... two weeks later we received a letter in the mail telling us that our house was foreclosed (Sold Oct 2--less than 1 week after moving in). We did our homework. We hired a realtor to help us. The "owner" also had a realtor. The house was being managed by a "reputable" property manager. Oh yeah, we even met the guy and his 4 year old kid.

But now we have to hire a lawyer to get out of this mess. But we are also going to make sure that we have something in our contract next time to try to avoid this. --Not sure exactly what that entails but this is a nightmare!

Good luck!

This has happened several times here in Phoenix, that I have heard of. You rent a house, probably owned by a speculator, and make payments for awhile. Then, you learn the house is being foreclosed, because the owner wasn't making his payments. You are kicked out, and you lose your deposit.
Be careful of all these houses owned by speculators. They have a negative cash flow in renting them. They are just trying to hold on.

[Amazonchix]

We're so sorry for you and your family. I'm so glad you shared this experience...we would have NEVER thought about any of this. We are due to move to CO and rent too. Please know that if there is one potential positive, it would be that you have helped open several people's eyes! It's so sad that there are people who seem to have no hesitation about stepping on others for financial/personal gain. You guys are in our thoughts.