الخميس، 30 أغسطس 2018
Follow These Tips From The New AAA Fuel Guide to Spend Less on Gas
The good news is AAA predicts those higher prices won’t last past this weekend, and we’ll be enjoying lower gas prices as we say goodbye to summer and head into fall.
AAA forecasts the national average gas price will drop to $2.70 per gallon this fall. That’s 14 cents less than today’s average price of $2.84 and more than a quarter cheaper than this year’s record-high average price of $2.97 per gallon, which was set back in May.
While we wait for gas prices to drop with the falling autumn leaves, AAA has helpful tips for drivers to save money in its recently released 2018 Gas Watcher’s Guide. Here are a few nuggets of advice from the 12-page brochure:
- Before You Go: Plan out trips ahead of time to consolidate how often you’ll need to drive. For example, you’ll save on fuel if you go to a shopping center where you can run all your errands in one stop instead of taking multiple trips throughout the week.
- On the Road: Maintain steady, moderate speeds to get the best fuel economy. Try to not accelerate quickly or stop suddenly.
- At the Pump: Bypass mid-grade and premium fuel and fill up with regular grade unless your car’s engine specifically requires higher-grade fuel.
- Maintenance Reminder: Keep your tires inflated at optimum pressure levels as underinflated tires can reduce fuel economy — and create a safety hazard. Check the driver’s side door jamb for information on the correct tire pressure for your vehicle.
Download the entire guide as a PDF for more tips on saving money on transportation costs. Free gas-price apps like AAA Mobile for Apple or Android or GasBuddy for Apple or Android will help you find the cheapest gas in town to also keep your costs down.
Nicole Dow is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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5 Chains Where Your Fantasy Football League Can Score Amazing Deals
It’s almost fantasy football time. Say it with me. Finally!
For many, one of the best moments of the season is when your league gathers in one spot, shares some food and beverages and hashes out its draft.
“It’s about hanging out with my friends in the league and talking about NFL football whilst enjoying a cold beer and some good food,” said Jonny “Saferide” Hines, a longtime league commissioner living in Waverly, Iowa. “It’s different than during the season because it’s new and fresh, and everyone still has a chance to win it all!”
For some, it’s fun to host the draft party in someone’s home. Other leagues like to take it public. As the popularity of fantasy football continues to run rampant each August, sports bars are competing to host your draft party. That means you can score big before the season even starts.
Here are a few draft day locks.
Hooters
The classic wing joint knows just who its base customers are, and it’s not afraid to lure them in. Here’s what Hooters will put on the table to draw in your war room team:
- Draft kit with extra swag: While supplies last, Hooters will give your league a Bleacher Report draft kit with everything you need, including a draft board with player stickers and cheat sheets. You’ll also get Hooters swag, like bottle openers and koozies.
- Over $200 in coupons: Hooters isn’t dumb. It wants to you come back and watch every game throughout the season and will provide the coupons to lure you back.
There’s no upfront cost to book your party at Hooters, but restaurants will not throw any food or beverage deals your way.
Dave & Buster’s
It’s Chuck E. Cheese’s for grown-ups. Seriously. Dave & Buster’s is like a sports bar with a giant room full of fun that includes Skee-Ball and video games. Dave & Buster’s knows fantasy football players are fun people, so it wants you to make your picks at its place.
Book and hold your party before Sept. 5, 2018, and you have two options for your draft day get-together at D&B’s:
- The Ultimate Draft Party: This package requires at least 10 people and runs for $15.99 per person — but prices do vary for certain locations. Your league gets its choice of three entrees, including wings, nachos, bar burgers, or pretzel dogs. On top of the entrees, you’ll also get french fries.
- The Premium Draft Party: This package also requires at least 10 people, but it’s slightly pricier at $25.99 per person. It includes the same entree options and sides, but it also gives each attendee two free drink coupons they can spend on beer, wine or well drinks. One caveat: Your entire party must be 21 or older to book the premium draft party.
Both packages also come with a free draft kit, room rental and Wi-Fi.
Book either package for your league, and Dave & Buster’s will give away $10 in free game play with a $10 game play purchase. Plus, the commissioner gets a free $20 Power Card — it’s good to be the commish. Both cards are valid through Dec. 31, 2018.
Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery
If you’re lucky enough to have a Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery in your neck of the woods, you may want to check it out for your draft party. Here’s what it’ll do to bring you in:
- Draft kit: The first 50 draft parties will get a draft kit that includes draft boards, player rosters, Bud Light swag and discount cards for up to 14 people.
- Food and drink specials: Your league gets special prices on food and drinks for up to four hours. The offers may vary by location.
- Kilt Girl ‘commissioner’: Yep. You get one of the Kilt Girls assigned to your party to help you with the draft. Locations are selling out quickly, so if the Tilted Kilt is your favorite, call a location near you today.
Miller’s Ale House
A staple for those who enjoy a craft beer with their food, Miller’s Ale House doesn't want to get left on the sidelines.
For $160, your league gets 50 wings, two Zinger Mountain Melts, two orders of nachos, two Bavarian pretzels, two Zinger flatbreads, two orders of fully loaded cheese fries, six pitchers of Miller Lite or Coors Light and a fantasy draft kit.
Keep in mind that you’ve got to book your party at least 24 hours in advance and hold your party by Sept. 5, 2018.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings has partnered with five regional craft breweries across the nation to create football-themed brews just for the occasion.
If your league decides to take the party to BWW, you’ll get a draft kit, coupons to use at Buffalo Wild Wings and NFLShop.com, a brag flag for the league champion and a chance to host next year’s draft party at the NFL headquarters in New York City.
Food specials will include a $30 wing deal for 30 traditional wings or 40 boneless wings and shareable deals starting at $60.
You can send a request to book your party online or stop in at your local Buffalo Wild Wings.
The Local Scene
If you don’t want to do the chain sports bar thing for this year’s fantasy draft, I recommend checking out your local craft brewery scene. Some breweries will offer specials for draft parties that are just as good as or even better than what the sports bars have. What could be better than picking up Julio Jones while sipping an IPA made just 20 feet from your seat?
For example, Brew Republic Bierwerks in Woodbridge, Virginia, is offering a platter of grilled wings on the house for leagues who host their draft parties at the taproom Sept. 2-8, 2018. And World of Beer in Destin, Florida, is offering 25% off draft beer pitchers for parties of eight or more.
Craft breweries are cropping up all over the country, so check out your local scene. Even if one in your area isn’t promoting a special, ask the manager if the brewery would consider hosting your league. You could be the trendsetter in your area.
No matter where you hold your draft this year, you should call to reserve your spot now. Preseason games are almost over and injuries are already happening.
Good luck with your season, and may your team name be the most clever in your league.
Tyler Omoth is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who loves soaking up the sun and finding creative ways to help others. His fantasy football team, “Hedley’s Froggys,” is destined to dominate this year. Catch him on Twitter at @Tyomoth.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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My Home and Auto Maintenance Checklist
One of my earliest popular posts on The Simple Dollar was a home and auto maintenance checklist that I put together with the help of my parents shortly after moving into our house and becoming a homeowner for the first time. I knew, even then, that maintaining one’s home and automobile not only extended the lifespan of your home, the things in it, and your car, but it also improved functionality and efficiency and decreased the odds of a major unexpected breakdown.
Ten years in, I still use a maintenance checklist like this, but it takes on a different form. After mentioning the value of home and auto maintenance a few times recently, several readers have nudged me to update this older list with my current home maintenance checklist and cover not only what’s on it, but how I actually use it.
So, let’s do that! Here’s my home and auto maintenance strategy and full checklist.
How I Use This Checklist
This checklist currently exists in Omnifocus, which is a task management program that I use for all of my tasks. While I’ve tried other programs over the years, I always wind up coming back to Omnifocus, and the current version of Omnifocus is just about perfect for my needs.
I keep an ongoing project in Omnifocus called “Home and Car Maintenance” – yes, a very creative title. Within that project is a long list of tasks, each one scheduled to repeat on a certain pattern. Some tasks repeat monthly. Others repeat quarterly. Some repeat yearly.
It’s worth noting that I don’t have them all repeat at once. I don’t have a giant pile of monthly, quarterly, and yearly tasks all repeating at the same time on January 1 – that would be a giant headache.
Rather, I have my monthly tasks repeating throughout the month. I generally have it set so that two or three repeat at once, but those bursts of repeats appear throughout the month. So, I have two or three tasks that repeat on the 5th, then two or three that repeat on the 7th, and so on.
With quarterly tasks, those repeat on the 3rd of a month, but the month changes. Some quarterly tasks are on a January/April/July/October pattern, while others are on a February/May/August/November pattern, and still others are on a March/June/September/December pattern. Again, this is so I’m not slammed with 15 maintenance tasks all at once.
My annual tasks are similarly spread out, but they always repeat on the 1st of a month. Some tasks repeat on January 1, others on March 1, whatever. I just try to keep them spread out so, again, I’m not slammed with a ton of tasks on one day.
In terms of practical use, I usually spend some time about once every two weeks going through everything that’s “past due” on my home and auto maintenance project and taking care of anything due to show up in the next week or so. This usually amounts to a healthy handful of tasks – a half dozen to a dozen or so, each of which usually just takes a few minutes, though some can end up spawning other tasks that I need to do later on (like going to our mechanic for some car maintenance tasks I don’t want to deal with myself).
It’s worth noting that I’m not perfect at this by any means. These maintenance tasks sometimes fall way behind schedule when life is really busy and I end up, at times, almost feeling overwhelmed by them. Sometimes, I’ll just skip a maintenance reminder. I’m far from perfect, but I find that this system keeps me closer to staying up to date with everything than any other method I’ve tried.
So, let’s take a look at the tasks. Rather than grouping them by “home” or “auto,” I’m grouping them by “monthly,” “quarterly,” and “annually.”
Monthly Checklist
These are tasks that I aim to do each month as part of our home and auto maintenance. A quick reminder here that these are spread out all throughout the month. I don’t have them all pop up on the 1st. They’re on different repeating cycles, meaning I do some of them early in the month when I have time, others in the middle, and so on, as described earlier.
Check the tire pressure on all cars and air them up to the recommended maximum I keep a tire pressure gauge in the glove compartment and simply use the “free air” at the gas station the next time I’m filling up.
Check external exhaust vents for blockage I’m referring to where the dryer and the bathrooms and the range blow air to the outside. I simply go around our house and check each vent to see if there’s dust buildup on the inside and clear out anything that I find. This takes about five minutes.
Test all fire/smoke/carbon monoxide detectors in the house I go through and hit the “test” button on each of them. I also check the expiration dates on the alarms themselves and replace ones that are outdated, and I replace backup batteries annually (that’s listed as an annual task).
Check all faucets for dripping water If any are dripping, then I’ll fix it – 90% of the time, the fix is simply replacing a washer. This doesn’t take long at all!
Flush all toilets, run all sinks, run all showers, and run all bathtubs to check for problems This mostly applies to the ones we don’t use nearly as often – the downstairs shower and sink and toilet, for example, and one of the bathtubs. I usually wind up checking them all, though. I’ve never seen a problem other than slow drains (fixed by clearing the drain with a drain-clearing tool and some baking soda and hot water) and a toilet that kept running. I immediately clear out any drain that seems even remotely slow.
Quarterly Checklist
These are tasks that I aim to do each quarter as part of our home and auto maintenance. I don’t have them all pop up on the 1st. They’re on different repeating cycles, meaning I do some of them in January, some in February, and some in March, and this cycle repeats throughout the year.
Check the fluid levels in every automobile I either do this myself (or have someone do it) about every three months. The fluids I watch are the engine oil, the coolant, the power steering fluid, the brake fluid, and the windshield washer fluid. The “how-to” is spelled out in the manual. I’m mostly just checking for levels, just to make sure there’s not a leak; for replacing the fluids, I follow the maintenance schedule in the manual. This takes maybe ten minutes.
Check and replace the air handling filter We buy filters that need to be replaced annually these days, but I still check it every quarter just to make sure it’s still in place and it’s not clogged up. So, I have this as a quarterly task, but part of it is simply checking the date I wrote on the installed filter and replacing it with a new one. If I notice we’re out of new ones, I add another task to my to-do list: “pick up new air handling filters at hardware store.” Peeking at the filter takes maybe thirty seconds; replacing it adds another thirty seconds or so.
Examine the foundation for any cracks I do a “walkthrough” every three months looking for problems and this is part of that walkthrough. I just look at every part of the foundation that I can see and look for cracks that I haven’t seen before or have grown. If I see one, I usually mark it in some fashion to see if it’s growing. So far, I’ve never seen anything that seemed problematic (thankfully).
Examine exposed wood for weather or insect damage This is also part of that walkthrough. I just look for spots where wood is exposed and see if there are weather or insect issues. Again, I’ve never seen a real problem with this.
Check all vents for obstructions Again, this is part of that walkthrough. I check all inside and outside vents to see if they’re blocked in any way and remove anything blocking them.
Check your sump pump for any issues I simply lift the lid off of the little crock that contains our pump and see if I notice anything visually wrong with it. If it looks fine, I pour some water in there until it kicks on – over the years, I can tell exactly when it should kick on. I’ve never had a problem here, thankfully, but if this didn’t go right, I’d immediately start investigating a fix before our next rainfall.
Check all of the window and door locks I just go through and lock and unlock every door and window and make sure that they’re working fine. There are some doors and windows that we basically never open, so they’re worth a check; others are locked and unlocked and opened and closed regularly, so I usually just skip them.
Check the gauge on all fire extinguishers Do they appear properly pressurized? If not, there’s a leakage issue and the extinguisher needs to be replaced. We keep one under the sink and another in the garage, so this doesn’t take long.
Check all gutters for blockage and clear as needed I don’t like heights very well, but I’ll do this little task on our tall ladder. I just climb up and check the gutters – is there anything blocking them, like a pile of leaves or a bird’s nest? If there is, I remove it. I also peek into the downspouts to make sure they’re not blocked.
Check all visible pipes for leaks This mostly involves looking under the sinks at the pipes there and also checking the pipes in the utility room.
Evaluate unused stuff This takes a couple of hours, but it’s a really good quarterly project. I just go through the closets and other storage areas and ask myself whether we’re really using this stuff. If it’s something I’m unsure about, I put it in a big box in the garage with a date one year in the future on it. I then look for similarly-dated boxes out there and if I find any, the stuff inside is sold off or donated, no questions asked. If I was unsure to begin with and then didn’t look at it for a year, it needs to go. This keeps clutter from taking over.
Reorganize the pantry and cupboards This also takes a couple of hours, but in doing so, I almost always find the ingredients for meals that were planned but didn’t get made and other forgotten items that end up making up a big part of meal plans for the next couple of weeks. Reorganization also makes it far easier to find things (for a while, at least) and usually frees up quite a bit of room, as well as helps us discover any items that have gone bad.
Reorganize the freezer This doesn’t take nearly as long. Generally, the goal here is to move all of the older stuff to the front so that it gets used soon and intentionally add that stuff to meal plans sooner rather than later. This prevents us from having to chuck stuff due to freezer burn.
Clean out the fridge completely, then restock I literally pull everything out of the fridge, wipe things down, throw away anything that’s scary, and then put everything else back in there in a more sensible fashion.
Review the car maintenance schedules in the car manuals and make sure we’re up to date on everything Car manuals are very clear on what maintenance needs to be done and when. Spending a few minutes just to review the schedule, do the things you can do, and schedule appointments to handle things that are out of your pay grade will greatly extend the life of your car.
Clean the garbage disposal with ice, hot water, and baking soda I just stuff a bunch of ice cubes into the garbage disposal, run it for about ten seconds, then pour some hot water and baking soda in there and run it for another five. This keeps it smelling good and in good working order.
Annual Checklist
These are tasks that I aim to do each year as part of our home and auto maintenance. The timeframe for each is mentioned in the description.
Winterize the lawnmower This is penciled in for mid-October. This involves a few steps: siphon the gas out of the gas tank, disconnect the spark plug, remove the blade, drain out the oil, clean the underside, replace the spark plug, and change the air filter. I break this up into two tasks – one involves getting an air filter and spark plug at the hardware store and the other, a week or so later, for actually doing the tasks. It takes half an hour or so.
Summerize the lawnmower I usually pencil this in as an annual task in early April. I usually sharpen and reattach the blade, reattach the spark plug cable, put fresh gas and oil in the mower, and then start it to make sure it works. Again, I have an earlier task for late March that involves picking up mower gas and oil. It takes maybe fifteen minutes, all told.
Check the filter in the range hood and clean it Our range hood has a little filter in there that’s behind an easy-to-remove panel. I just pull it out and wash it and put it back in there. Some Dawn and baking soda on a soft brush makes this task easy. Five minutes or so does the trick.
Remove grills on forced air system ducts and vacuum inside the ducts This is on my list twice a year, in March and October, so it’s two different annually repeated tasks. This takes maybe fifteen minutes; I just go around the house and remove vent coverings and vacuum in there a little to clear out dust blockage.
Check the breakers I flip each breaker on and off individually and make sure that it works. I’ll just make sure there’s nothing that can’t lose power for a couple of minutes in our house, then I’ll flip off a breaker and make sure what I expect is powered off, then I’ll flip it on and make sure things in that area are back on. This takes about ten minutes.
Clean all windows and window wells and dry them This involves removing screens, washing the windows on the inside (and outside if I can), washing the wells, and then drying everything off. I also check the caulking while doing this and if I notice loose or weathered caulk, I either fix it right then or add a new item to my to-do list.
Drain off some water from the bottom of the hot water tank The goal here is to remove sediment, which can cause the tank to run poorly. I usually drain it into a pan, then turn the valve back off and let that pan of hot water sit for a while to cool down. It’s usually got a bit of sediment in it, but nothing much. This greatly extends the life span of the hot water tank and keeps it nice and efficient.
Do a fire drill In the late evening, I’ll hit the test button on the fire alarms near bedrooms and have everyone follow the standard fire drill.
Check and clean refrigerator and freezer coils This involves turning off the power to the fridge, pulling it out, and dusting off the coils on the back, then sliding it back into place. It takes maybe twenty minutes. Then, I do the same with the freezer in the garage, with a slightly shorter timeframe because it’s easier to move.
Final Thoughts
While this might seem like a lot of tasks, they’re each really short (for the most part) and they repeat really infrequently, which means that it doesn’t take a whole lot of time to take care of these things. Doing them ensures that everything continues to last and last around our home. We must be doing something right – we haven’t had any major repair issues in a long time around our home.
Having said that, the most powerful strategy for home maintenance is something you can be doing all the time – using your senses and paying attention to your house. Listen for new sounds. Look for anything that’s changed in color or texture. Figure out any new aromas. If you see something that you haven’t used in a while, use it and make sure it works and seems in proper working order. That’s helped us to avoid a lot of potential problems over the years, as we’ve been able to fix natural wear and tear issues before they become a real problem.
Are we perfect at this? Absolutely not. I’ve skipped things on this list many times. However, when those things do pop up on my to-do list, I make an effort to take care of them almost always, and I know that doing so has helped extend the life of our home, our cars, and our large appliances.
Is this list perfect? Absolutely not. There are always things that could be added, plus there are definitely some things that are more relevant to some houses than others depending on size and location. Treat this list as a good starting point for your own list.
Good luck!
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The Perfect Credit Score (and Why You Shouldn’t Obsess Over It)
Working hard to earn and maintain excellent credit scores is certainly worth your time. Your credit scores impact your bottom line in many different ways, from the mortgage rates you receive to your car insurance premiums to the deposit requirements you’ll pay. Building great credit is nothing short of a wealth building strategy.
The good news is that consumers seem to be taking their credit more seriously. The average credit score is at a record high, and according to FICO, the percentage of super-prime consumers (those with credit scores of 800 and higher) has been on the rise since 2010. And, the average VantageScore credit score has now risen to 675.
We’re headed in the right direction, credit score-wise. What you shouldn’t do, however, is get distracted by chasing a “perfect” credit score. It’s simply not worth your time.
What Is the Perfect Credit Score?
The most widely used credit score brands in the United States are FICO and VantageScore. FICO is the older of the two scoring systems and has been in commercial use since 1989. FICO is the credit scoring brand most commonly used by lenders — especially in the mortgage industry, where use of the FICO score has been mandated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
VantageScore, however, has been steadily gaining ground in the credit score marketplace. This newer credit score brand was launched in 2006 and was developed as a joint venture among the credit reporting agencies themselves – Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.
The credit score range for both FICO and VantageScore credit scores is 300-850. Therefore, if you’re obsessed with earning the perfect credit score, 850 is the mark for which you’re aiming.
Achieving Credit Perfection
The formula for achieving the perfect score of 850 isn’t difficult to understand.
- First, you need to have a flawless payment history, which means no derogatory information on your credit reports.
- Next, you need to maintain low or no balances on your credit card accounts.
- You also need to have a well-aged credit report — with over 20 years of credit history, in fact.
- And finally, you need to have a mixture of different types of accounts and few or no credit inquiries.
But again, you’re wasting your time trying to pursue the perfect credit score. Here’s why.
An 850 Credit Score Is No Better Than a 760 Credit Score
When it comes to great credit scores, it’s important to remember why you wanted to achieve them in the first place. Great credit scores can save you money and can open a lot of doors for you that might have been closed otherwise. Yet, a perfect credit score isn’t necessary in order to tap into these credit perks.
- Related: Five Perks of Having Great Credit
In today’s credit and lending environments, there is little to no incremental value for having a credit score above 760. The published rates for every type of credit are as low as they’re going to go once you have a credit score of at least 760. This includes credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans.
Practically speaking, with a 760 credit score, you’ll already have access to a lender’s best rates and terms. So, a credit score of 780, 820, or even 850 isn’t going to get you anything other than bragging rights and a lot retweets or likes on your social media pages.
What Really Matters
But by all means, if hitting that perfect 850 credit score is something you’ve always wanted to do, then go for it. Just keep in mind that increasing a score that is already good is not easy.
And conversely, lowering a score that’s already good is very, VERY easy, especially if you’re trying unproven score improvement strategies.
So, be happy with your 790 or your 810 credit score, and work to maintain those elite scores rather than improve upon them.
More by John Ulzheimer:
- Four Ways You Could Be Hurting Your Credit Without Realizing It
- Listen to What Your Credit Score Is Trying to Tell You
- Do Student Loans Help or Hurt Your Credit Scores?
John Ulzheimer is an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring, and identity theft. The author of four books on the subject, Ulzheimer has been featured thousands of times over the past decade in media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, NBC Nightly News, The Los Angeles Times, CNBC, and countless others. With professional experience at both Equifax and FICO, Ulzheimer is the only credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry. He has been an expert witness in over 230 credit related lawsuits and has been qualified to testify in both federal and state courts on the topic of consumer credit.
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9 Signs That Adorable Apartment Listing Is Really a Rental Scam
That’s when fraudsters have the advantage.
A survey by Apartment List found that 6.4% of renters have lost money to an apartment-rental scam. One in three of those people lost more than $1,000.
The survey of more than 1,000 renters found that younger renters may be more susceptible to fraud. Of renters between 18 and 29 years old, 9.1% had been duped by a rental scam.
Some of the most common rental scams include listings for properties that don’t exist, fake listings for real properties, and collecting security deposits for units that have already been leased.
Lies about amenities can trip up renters, too. The surveyed renters said that laundry facilities in the unit or building were often advertised when they didn’t exist. Advertising about heat and air conditioning also frequently didn’t live up in reality.
Just over 43% of renters surveyed said they had seen a listing they thought was a fake.
9 Warning Signs of a Rental Scam
How can you avoid being one of the more than 5 million people Apartment List estimates have been victims of rental fraud in the U.S.?
It takes a lot of common sense, a healthy dose of skepticism and a dash of cautious optimism.
Watch out for these signs that something’s not quite right:
- The apartment listing is priced much lower than other similar homes in the area.
- The landlord or rental agent pressures you to pay an application fee for a property you haven’t yet seen.
- You’re shown a unit that’s different from the one advertised.
- You don’t see the amenities in the unit that were advertised online.
- You’re asked to sign a lease or pay a deposit before seeing a property.
- A rental listing is riddled with spelling and grammar errors.
- You’re asked to wire money for a security deposit. It’s the same as sending cash, so there’s no chance of getting a refund if the deal goes sideways.
- You’re asked to pay a security deposit or rent before you sign a lease.
- You’re asked for your Social Security number or financial information by email or phone.
A legitimate landlord or property management company should be willing to share details about where they’re located and how they do business. Some extra sleuthing, like searching the address for the property and checking out a street view, can help you be sure the property truly exists.
If you suspect you’re being scammed, you can report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and your state attorney general.
Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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