When one rents vacation properties online from an individual, how does one verify that it is not a scam? If a rental owner offers a copy of the Certificate of Occupancy or a copy of the passed Safety Inspection with his/her name on it, is it considered safe? Alternatively, is it safe if the deposit check made out to the owner is mailed to the rental address? We have never rented vacation properties from individuals before so any advice will be appreciated.|||Unfortunately there is no way to be 100% sure when renting online. While there are legitimate renters there are also plenty of scammers The first thing I would do is ask for his landline phone number so you can call him as you have some questions and you don't have time for 10 emails going back and forth. A scammer will either make excuses why he can't speak or use a pay as you go cell or say he's deaf and has to use IM/email. If they claim to be deaf, say that you have a TTY phone as your wife is also deaf so that's not a problem at all,then wait for more excuses Mailing a check to the actual address is safer than other methods - do a google streetview search of that address just to make sure it actually looks like a vacation rental property and isn't some rundown house, abandoned factory, commercial premises, etc You can also say that you have a family friend living not too far away that you would like to send by to check out the property for you if that would be ok. If they are legit they should not have a problem with this - then you can always come up with an excuse in advance why your friend can't make it. A scammer will come up with all sorts of excuses why this is not possible|||The best thing to do is 1) Check with the local chamber of commerce if they are a member 2) Verify online that the images given of the unit match the property photos available on line 3) Look on line for reviews of this owner at places like tripadvisor.com 4) Never pay with a check - use a credit card so you are protected just in case. If they dont accept credit cards or insist on a bank check - RUN! 5) Commonsense items: do they have a website? Is the phone number they call from in their name? are they members of any large listing sites like home away, vrbo, etc - for how long (it shows on the listing) If for any reason during your conversations either in email or on the phone something seems off - move on to the next property. There are thousands of reputable owners who rent direct saving travelers money - but there are also some people out there who will rip you off - whether acting as a realtor, agent, or owner.|||You would do better to call a real estate office that will have an agent help you rent a vacation property.|||Look up the property records and match the names of the property owner to the ID of the person purporting to be renting the property. NEVER pay by check. If they are in the business of renting out vacation properties they should be set up to accept credit cards. Alternatively use PayPal tied to a CREDIT card as the principal source of funding. If they won't accept credit cards or PayPal, it's just too risky unless you can inspect the property in person and meet with the owner. Certificates of Occupancy are meaningless. All that they mean is that the property was signed off on by the building inspector's office as fit for human habitation. The name on it (if there is one at all) would be the name of the person or firm who pulled the permits in the first place and would not likely indicate the present owner. Safety Inspections are equally useless. Either one could easily be faked and you likely would have no way of knowing if it was legit or not. Unfortunately the industry is rife with scams. If you plan on vacationing regularly in the same location, stay in a hotel the first time and research vacation rentals in person to plan for future visits. Even that isn't fool-proof but you are less likely to be scammed in person than when dealing with an unseen face by e-mail or snail-mail.

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