I received an email from the Arizona Regional MLS today informing its members of a recent scam in our local real estate industry.

The scam involves tenants moving into a pending short sale listing. The listing agent was surprised when she entered the listing to find tenants moving into the home and the seller had not rented the property to anyone. The tenants and their 2 children were physically moving in and had turned on utilities in their name. The sign and the lock box were removed, and all locks were re-keyed.

The tenants responded to a For Rent sign in the yard. They gave someone $1,800 as rent and signed a lease. The unfortunate victims of this scam are the tenants who were out $1,800 with no place to live.

Listing agents should monitor their listings closely and tenants should be cautious, investigating any supposed "landlord" thoroughly to ensure they actually have the right to rent the property.

I don't know if this is happening in any other part of the country, but it wouldn't surprise me.  Sad but true.