Denver I Q

Modern day Carpet baggers are taking advantage of the public in a different way. Homeowners are renting their homes to tenants, collecting the rent and not paying the mortgage.

This practice is called “Equity Skimming.” While the homeowner, who many times pass themselves off as “investors” legally own the home, they fail in their obligation to keep the mortgage current.

Time is on the Equity Skimmers side, for only so long. Eventually the tenant will come home one day to find a “eviction notice” taped to the door. When that happens, the tenant has little choice but to move out. Seldom does the new owner (the bank) honor the lease. They want the property sold and quickly. That means you will be asked to move.

Eviction notices that are ignored are followed by the Sheriff arriving and physically having you and your possessions place at the curb. It’s not a pretty sight.

To add more injury to the situation, the tenant is left with little hope of receiving the “damage deposit” back, regardless of the condition of the home. The recourse is to sue the homeowner. Haha! That’s a joke, if the owner didn’t pay the mortgage, is it practical to assume your deposit is safely kept in a trust account? Not likely!

The tenant has very little time to locate a replacement home, pack and move. Life disruptions like these are difficult from which to recover. It’s best to research a rental home prior to renting.

• Foreclosures proceedings in Colorado are recorded. Visit the Colorado Public Trustee’s office in the county where the rental is located to see if the property has had a lender file a request to sell the property.
• Using a Licensed Property Manager who also holds your deposit will help ensure your deposit will be returned to you.
• Research how many properties your landlord owns. Follow your instincts. If the landlord recently has purchased multiple properties a red flag should go up.
• Research how much is owed on the property. If you are leasing a home that has a very large mortgage that your rent is not meeting, ask why.

This problem is not an obscure one. For some reason when times are bad these proverbial Carpet Baggers show up to skim skam the consumer. It really makes my blood boil! Protect yourself, use your head, follow your instinct and if necessary call an attorney.

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