Kira,

It would be in your best interests since you are out of town to have a local agent represent you in the lease agreement process. You not only need to verify that the "landlord" owns the property, but that it is not in a pre-foreclosure status. Credible landlords usually do a credit check prior to signing a lease, has that been done? Is the rental rate usual and customary for that area? (Another red flag is if the rental rate is lower than usual for the area). You are wise to be cautious.

Kind Regards,

Marcie Sands, REALTOR
Simply The Best Real Estate Co., Inc.
Rancho Bernardo
760-644-1562

Be very careful. One of our clients had someone try to rent her unit and she didn't have it for rent. Have someone you trust here contact the landlord to verify they actually own the property. A simple tax record check can tell you ownership. As previously answered, this may be legitimate, but Craigslist has a problem with scam rentals and if you don't check you might arrive here and find out there really was no rental. If you have the property address we can check ownership for you.

Possible Scam. They are quite common on not only Craig's List, but other sites as well.

* * * Use a Real Estate Attorney to hold the Deposit in Escrow * * *

If "The Owner" balks, then you walk.

Best wishes,
Fred