Rental Property Scam Of The Day: Property Management Company Rents Out Foreclosed, Abandoned Homes
March 17th, 2011
When you get in touch with a property management company and ask them to help you find a rental unit, you generally expect them to show you their available inventory of available properties. However, on Florida property management company decided to show – and rent out – distressed, unoccupied homes to unsuspecting tenants[1]. George Williams, head of a Florida-based property management company, began showing abandoned, foreclosed homes to prospective tenants, collecting rents and managing those properties. Even the leases the tenants signed indicated that Williams had no right to the homes and stated, according to detective Larry McKinnon, “you’re not a renter; we’re not landlords; you’re not a tenant. You’re basically paying fees up front and then a monthly fee to use the facilities.”
The scheme was exposed with Williams attempted to gain ownership of the properties using “adverse possession,” which allows for properties to be claimed if the claimant pays taxes on them for seven years. The tenants in question have been determined to be trespassing and given 30 days to move out. Florida legislators are working to make adverse possession more clear so that people cannot “take advantage of it.”
Thank you for reading the Real Estate (RE) Journal Online!
Let us know if you think this is fair below.
[1] http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/181503/250/Hillsborough-Deputies-make-arrest-in-rental-property-scam
March 21st, 2011 at 11:37 AM
Bravo to the Florida Entrepreneur! The Country needs the houses, the Banks and their Realtors are sitting on them, demanding prices that were out of line even during the inflation of three to five eyars ago! The FDIC will repay the Banks 100% if he does get the properties through “Adverse Possession”! More power to him!