Student Housing Scam Guide In Leeds

Finding an accommodation in Leeds is not an easy task for a student. In presence of so many scam reports in the news it seems really difficult to find an appropriate accommodation at a reasonable rent free of scams. The news about scams in housing and properties in Leeds are all over the newspapers. Students should keep in view all the news and details relating to the housing scams in Leeds in order to protect themselves from indulging in any such matters.  According to the news there have occurred numerous rental scams caught by the authorities involving the matters relating to the students and other tenants that have been taken for ride.

According to the latest advisory of the Federation of the Rental Housing Providers of Ontario (FRHPO), the tenants, especially the students are warned against the housing scams in which the scamsters tend to ride over the tenants by presenting themselves in the disguise of bona fide landlords. There is not much to worry about as there are certain steps that can help in figuring out whether the rental offer is genuine or not. 

FRPO wants the students to consider the warning signs that can help you in judging whether the rental offer is scam or true.  According to FRPO the most common warning signs visible from the students housing scams are;

1.      The scams mostly have poor grammar and contain misspellings.

2.   These scams mostly mention in their writings GOD, cashier’s check, Western Union, money orders, wire transfer, doctor, and reverend, Nigeria or the UK.

3.     Most of the times the Landlords ask you to wire them money directly through a bank that is not located in the town where the rental property is located.

4.      The email of the landlord comes from a free email providing ID’s like Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail etc. 

5.    The reference of the landlord is another person always in the case of wire transfer and the name of the bank account will be different from the person who is pretending to be the landlord. 

6.     Tenant Scam includes a tenant who is willing to pay money without knowing about and seeing the property. 

7.     Landlord scam mostly involves the landlord asking you to send money without letting you see the inside of the property. 

8.       The landlord will not accept the transfer of money through credit card

9.       The landlord will not be able to show you the inside of the property before you send him money.

10.   Mostly the name of the landlord claiming to own the property mismatches the name of the landlord of that property in the real estate county records. 

11.   The price mostly is unbelievably low to be true.

12.   The landlord does not have a phone number to call upon. In certain cases the scamers have the US based phone numbers, these numbers can always exist in or around the city of the rental property. 

        When The Rental Fraud Happens?

Most of the times, the rental fraud happens when the possible tenants are tricked to pay an upfront payment, in-order to rent a property. 

There is no existence of the property in reality or it already has been rented out or in certain cases it is rented to several victims simultaneously.

The upfront fee paid by the victim is lost and they cannot rent the said property they felt they has secured and thought to rent. 

Most of the times the students become the target of the rental fraudsters while looking for accommodation for University. 

Rental frauds are mostly in the form of advanced fee frauds

Self Protection First:

Do not pay money upfront:

Before paying any amount make this sure that the person and the said property exist in reality. The deposits are a standard act while renting where as paying money for securing a room before getting it is not a standard act.

Protect your Deposits:

Under the law while taking the deposit else to the “holding deposit”, it is required to pay the money in the deposit scheme approved by the department of communities and local government. For further details and information about the scheme and the rights of the tenants visit the website of the Department of the Communities and Local Government.

Use your common sense:

If you see that the rate of the property is too low and is located in a fantastic place, it is not going to be true

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has issued warning on 16^th August 2012 as well to the students to watch out for possible rental scams while they are looking for rental properties.

Top Safety Tips To Follow While Renting A Property

There are numerous steps to be taken in order to safeguard the property and protect you also from any expected losses. If you do not, the decision can prove fatal for you in investment terms.

1. Safety first
At the foremost make it sure that the walkways and steps are in good condition and the stairs have handrails. Get an electrician to inspect all the connections for safety audit and check that lights switches and outlets are functional. Make it sure that you avoid slips, zaps and falls so that you can minimize the calls from the personal injury lawyer!

2. Security First:
Very minor investment in security can help in enhancing security measures and reduce the chances of thefts and can increase the life of your property. Make sure that you have proper window bars and proper door handles, replace the locks and door handles, install door chimes and alarms on the doors and also put up motion sensor lights to detect any type of activity around your home.

3. Check the backgrounds in detail:
While renting out property, make sure to get all the details and references from the renter and cross check the information provided. Call all the references provided so as to check for the reliability, responsibility, and financial independence of the renter. In case of inability to produce any reference, do not rent out your property to that person.

4. Stay Firm:
You should firmly enforce the laws related to the properties, ensure understanding of restrictions and boundaries of your property and make sure they understand the security matters completely and they also communicate them to their friends, relatives and other persons who are to be in their home. There are several basic things that you should communicate to your renters that include no extra key cutting, enforcing doors locked all the time, report any type of mistrustful activity in the surroundings. This is the best example of how to manage the security issues at your property.

5. Adhere to the code and pay attention to the bylaws:
Get the details of the bylaws and code of the province or city where you can build and renovate according to the set laws and rules. Never decide to build and renovate without prior permissions especially when the plan is to rent out the property. By implementing all the bylaws and codes, you can protect yourself against fines, risks and liabilities.

Following all these tips can help you in safeguarding your property and protect it against any kind of loss. It is necessary to take even more safety measures if possible and required to prevent any type of trouble or mismanagement in the tasks related to property management

The Common Rental Property Taxe Issues

Renting out property, stands amongst the top money minting opportunities these days, being utilized by the   To indulge into the rent a property business, a person should also know what types of taxes they have to pay for their survival. landlords. It is really an easy task to purchase the property and then renting it out. This seems easy but in actual required much attention and care to undertake the whole process. The most important part of this is to maintain the building appropriately and manage it with complete control and precision. But eventually this whole process also pays back.

There are numerous formats of taxes that the property owner has to pay on the income or the property ownership. One should have a complete knowledge about these types of taxes. Primarily these taxes are from multiple fronts and are payable by the owner for the property they own or rent for earning purposes. The first tax in this entire scenario is property tax on rental income. This tax is paid out of the rental income earned through the rent received from the rented out properties. The tax on the property income is calculated using the specific information. With the change in the value of the property, the tax also increases. This requires a complete command on the calculation of how the earned income is valued and how much the tax accounts does for the given amount. This is not just an end and after the first tax, now there is another tax ready for the property owner and this tax is related to the rental income. This tax is imposed upon the income generated from the rent and is subject to the rent amount. The land lord tax is another one that is for the ones dealing in the property matters and owns the property with an aim to rent it.

Knowing the complete details of how and where you have to pay tax and how much to pay is the real deal that matters the most when involved in the business of rental properties. If you know what types of taxes are imposed on you, one can manage the business easily and gets the best out of the business, maintaining the income at a steady level. The business itself is much rewarding and is preferred by most of the landlords having rental properties that are their sole source of income.

What To Consider While Choosing A Property For Rent

Selection of property before purchasing or getting on rent is one of the most difficult tasks as it demands to look into the matters very carefully because of the ownership matters and many more things. There are several steps that can help in getting the appropriate property for accommodation and for other purposes. One can consider upon sever points to ponder before making a decision of choosing a property.
Location Matters:
Be it the first time, second time, or tenth time, Location is most important, despite all types of difficulties, for making the decision. If you have the complete knowledge of how to purchase a property and what you require, it makes sure that you selected the right choice. The foremost choice while getting a property includes the reasons that need to be considered including numerous things that are never amongst ideal kitchen and washrooms, amazing views, and beautiful gardens. The prime most things that matter the most families include being close to the school to avoid rushing to school, appropriate distance from the transportation so you need not to rush for transport and lots of other such factors.  
Is it Affordable?
Get the appropriate data about how much would it cost before you start looking for properties. It is recommended to make complete calculations about how much is it going to cost every month including rent, associated costs of utility services and rents.
Size of the Place:
First make sure that the property is large enough to fit your family and all your furniture and belongings adequately. If you have children and they own a number of toys, consider their room and the room for their toys. The sitting area for guests and lunge and everything matters.   
You got Pets?
If you own pets than you have to make sure that you are moving to the right place that allows pets and there is nothing like pet free zone. Sometimes the landlords do not prefer pets and they offer their properties as pet free zones.