CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Recently, an Air Commando stationed here came into the Cannon legal center with questions regarding a house in Clovis that he was thinking about renting. He found the house by checking several popular rental websites. After calling the number listed on the websites, the landlord e-mailed him a copy of the lease, providing information about the home.
The airman was concerned that his future landlord might not be the legitimate owner of the property because the landlord was not available to show him the house, and wanted to handle the entire deal through e-mail, telephone conversations and postal mail.
To verify the owner of the property, the Air Commando, along with legal assistance, called the Curry County Assessor’s Office. As it turned out, the true owner of the property was not the landlord listed on the property rental websites. Instead, the real owners lived outside of New Mexico and had already rented the property to another couple.
The airman filed a police report with Clovis Police Department and the true owners of the property were notified of the scam involving their property.
This situation highlights some important issues to consider before renting residential property, especially if you are not dealing with a commercial real estate agency. Some of these issues include:
· Be cautious if the prospective landlord does not show you around the rental property. This might indicate the landlord does not actually have access to the home. In this airman’s case, the landlord impersonator told him he had recently moved out of the state and had not found a local person who could show renters the property.
· Be careful if told keys will be mailed after first payment has been sent.
· It is always a good idea to verify that the person you are dealing with is actually the owner. To find this information for a house in Clovis, call the Curry County Assessor Office at 575-763-5731, or visit their website at www.currycounty.org and click on the “County Records Lookup” tab.
· If you are looking at a house in Portales, contact the Roosevelt County Assessor Office at 575-356-6971, or their website at www.rooseveltcounty.com, click on “Assessor” under the Elected Officials tab and click on the tab that says “Enter EagleWeb.”
· Be very careful about giving any personal information to prospective landlords before you are sure they are legitimate. Some landlords request information like a social security number or date of birth to run credit checks or rental history verifications. Giving this information to the wrong person could result in identify theft, damage to credit scores, issues with personal computer security or other consequences. Safeguarding personally identifiable information is just as important in private interactions as it is professionally.
If you are considering renting a home off-base, the legal assistance attorneys at the Cannon legal center can review lease agreements and walk members through any concerns they might have about the legitimacy of prospective landlords.
If you would like to speak to an attorney about a lease or any other personal civil law issue, please call the Cannon legal center at 575-784-2211.