Photo: thecolife.com

Scammers know this, and will try to use it against you. Remember they cannot take anything from you unless you hand it over yourself. If you follow these rules, you should be safe.

Is it unusually cheap?
Look at the rental market for the area so you know the range of rent. Look at the descriptions of rented properties. Some locations and features – beside the sea, a good view, fully furnished – will push up the rent. If the rent seems very low for excellent conditions, you should ask yourself why.

Check the words in the ad
There are standard ways of describing properties. Read many professional ads, even for properties you don't want or can't afford, so you know what to expect. If the words don't seem right to you, paste them into Google and see if they come up somewhere else.

The landlord is overseas or interstate
This is sometimes true, but be careful. If there is any problem with the property, who can you speak to about it? How do you know the landlord or owner is really renting the property? Find out as much as you can.

Have to pay something straight away
If the property is advertised on the internet, pay nothing. It is not normal practice to ask for a fee before you see a property, or to hold it for you. Normal practice is to ask for a bond payment and advance rent, but only after you are accepted as a tenant.

You can't visit the property to see it
Why rent a property if you haven't seen it? There is no good reason for anyone to ask you to do this. If they make excuses, like “maybe next week”, look at other properties. Maybe there is a good reason: the house is being repaired. If so, when they call you back, they should offer you the chance to see it. If they still make excuses, keep away from them.

Look very closely at the photos
Honest landlords and owners will take the best photos they can. They are proud of their property and want someone to rent it. If the photos are poor quality, or very distant, you need to examine them. Don't just look at the house, look at what is around it. That might help you see if the house is really where they say it is. Use Google Images in case the photos are just borrowed from some other website. Check if there is any text on the photos. These days, photos can't really be trusted very much.

Keep records of all communications
If you exchange emails or SMS, keep copies of them in case there is trouble later. Do any research you can on the internet to find out more about the landlord. If they are professional people this will  be easy to find.

Most landlords are reasonable people who will try to do the right thing for you. If you rent through real estate agencies you will probably never see these problems.  This information comes from realestate.com.au.

Span Hanna