SCAMS Have Hit Clarksville, TN

As Clarksville, TN continues to grow and thrive, the unfortunate problems of larger cities are finding their way in to our little neck of the woods. 

Recently, we have heard of 2 different scams that have hit our local market. 

The first has been happening for a while and is causing HUGE problems:

People are grabbing your listing information off the internet and presenting it as a rental of their own.  When a prospective renter contacts them, they request pre-paid rents and deposits for the properties.  It's only after the money is gone that the consumer realizes that they have been scammed.  Unfortunately, these "listings" are hitting more and more reputable websites and causing grief for the listing agents and the owners of the properties.  If you suspect this has happened, your clients will need to contact the TBI to report it and your Broker will need contact the websites to report the false information and have the item removed. 

The second has just happened in the last week and it is the first I've heard of it actually occuring in Clarksville:  Someone will contact an agent on a high dollar property and without seeing it, or asking much about it, ask to write an offer and will send an earnest money check for large amounts.  Once you deposit that earnest money, several different things could happen including access to your bank accounts and possibly being implicated in a money laundering scheme.  Remember:  if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!! 

Be sure to make your Broker and your clients aware if you suspect any of these types of issues.

Courtesy of Clarksville Association of Realtors