Fred B. Bullard III, CDPE, ABRM, ABR, e-Pro – Broker and Owner

Dear Friends,

We have a team of associates that are well versed in assisting our clients locate and rent a home in Clearwater, St. Petersburg or the greater Tampa Bay area. If you and your family are looking for a great agent to assist you in your search for a rental property in the Tampa Bay area please give us a call.

Please keep in mind that often times when the rental properties that are offered for rent on the Clearwater and St Petersburg real estate MLS system that is populated by listings from Realtors the properties you see on many websites may not be available. This is due to the data being corrupted or incorrect by the time it is transcribed from the Tampa Bay real estate MLS to the third party advertising like Craigslist Tampa Bay, ZIllow, Trulia. These sites have a delay from the time they get the data from the Tampa Bay MLS system to their servers and often if the rental property is really desirable it has been rented by the time it arrives at their site. Anyone looking for rental property in the Tampa Bay area should consider St Petersburg rentals as well as Clearwater rentals.

Please be wary of rental properties found on Craigslist.org as many scammers are using the pictures and data they steal form the Tampa Bay MLS system in which legitimate rental properties are advertised by real estate agents and Realtors and using them to rent either vacant properties or foreclosed properties that may be vacant. Many renters have been scammed thinking that these too good to be true opportunities to rent homes at a below market price are a great deal only to find out that they have been robbed by offshore scammers who entice them with cheap rental prices and then instruct them to wire the money to a party that they have not met. This situation always ends badly for the renters as they find out too late that their money is gone and they have no place to live.

Make sure you contact a legitimate real estate expert to assist you in your search for your Tampa Bay area rental home. It may cost you a little extra but the piece of mind is a great investment.

We have professional agents that will assist you in finding that perfect annual rental in Clearwater, St. Petersburg or Tampa. You can start your search for a rental home by using our free search right here on our site or you can call us today at 727-576-6424 for immediate assistance.

 

Six Ways to Keep From Being Scammed When Renting a Home or Condo

1. ALWAYS hire a licensed real estate agent and member of the National Association of Realtors to assist you when you are looking to rent a home, condominium or townhouse.

2. NEVER send money via a western union to an individual you have never met for a deposit.

3. ALWAYS check the address of the home you are considering to see if it is listed elsewhere for sale or rent with a different number or contact information attached and then contact a real estate professional if you notice a conflict. If you see more than one number listed call the one associated with the real estate professional (Realtor) first.

4. USE CAUTION when you meet with or contact anyone using a third party website like Craigslist Tampa Bay or other by owner sites for rental properties in Tampa Bay, Clearwater or St Petersburg. Contact an agent to go with you when you look at the home.

5. ENLIST THE HELP of a Realtor or Real Estate attorney when entering into a lease to make sure the contract is not dishonest or misleading and to avoid overpaying for your rental property.

6. ALWAYS make sure you have a copy of the lease with contact information from the landlord and/or management company prior to moving in to your new home.

If you follow these steps you have a much lower chance of being ripped off, scammed or worse by thieves.