Be leery of fraud in booking short-term rental

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – May 7, 2015 – Question: I booked a weeklong rental of a beachfront condo through a popular travel website. After hearing a horror story from a friend, I'm worried now that I'll get there and the place won't be available. How can I protect myself? – Marlene

Answer: Short-term rentals can be a wonderful alternative to the typical chain hotels. But you are right to be concerned. Even when booking through well-known websites, take steps to protect yourself from fraud.

In several cases, my clients have booked bed-and-breakfasts or private residences, only to find out – too late – that the properties had been foreclosed or had been booked by fraudsters. The owners found out about the scams only after people showed up at their front doors with luggage.

Some travel websites do minimal checking and can be slow to react even when put on notice to a problem like this. And getting your money back is difficult, at best.

I recommend you double-check to make sure the people doing the renting are the actual owners – or at least have the right to be booking and that the property is not in foreclosure. You can find this out by doing a simple Web search for the local county property appraiser website. It's also a good idea to check a few other travel websites to find recent reviews of stays that went well. Because there is no foolproof way to check, prepare a list of local hotels, just in case you need to find another place to stay in a hurry.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Gary M. Singer is a Florida attorney and board-certified as an expert in real estate law by the Florida Bar. He is the chairperson of the Real Estate Section of the Broward County Bar Association and is an adjunct professor for the Nova Southeastern University Paralegal Studies program.

The information and materials in this column are provided for general informational purposes only and are not intended to be legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed. Nothing in this column is intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney, especially an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

Repost Courtesy and Copyright © 2015 Sun Sentinel, Gary M. Singer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Original post here: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=2&id=323007