Fraudulent Leases

OK, this is a long one, but it’s making me nuts right now. I have seen A BUNCH of fraudulent leases on foreclosed properties recently, where the leasee gets bilked out of a lot of money in good faith with no recourse. The person purporting to be the landlord will have keys to a vacant property and the person walking in has no idea that the person they are speaking to has no right to the property. Do a quick title search when you rent property. You can go to the Cook County Assessor site and do a PIN search http://cookcountyassessor.com/Search/Property-Search.aspx

 Then, take the PIN you get from there and check the Cook County Recorder of Deeds http://cookrecorder.com/

 This will let you know if there is a Lis Pidens (a foreclosure in the works) or if the person you are leasing from actually owns the building. It takes a few minutes and will potentially save you from a horrible fraudulent scam! Love and light, my darlings