It seems legit...what do you think?

[mom23boyz]

I found the following ad on Craigslist:
Real Estate Locator (Lancaster)

-----------------------------------------------------

I need someone to locate vacant homes in Lancaster, take some pictures of the outside of the homes, and then be able to upload pictures and details about these homes to my website. This is a short term gig as once a quota of homes is met, I will not need any more for awhile as I process what you have already sent. I found four homes in about 45 minutes on a random drive of Lancaster in the 93535 zip code. We pay by the accepted lead, i.e good quality pictures of the exterior and accurate address and location information. I will also pay you an incentive bonus if any of the leads you bring us end up being placed under contract and sold by our company. I look forward to working with you. Very simple training, at no charge to you of course, is provided to find the types of homes we are looking for. Once you contact us we will send you to our website for more information!

I responded and then received the following message:
Hi Denise, Thank you so much for the response. You will find a great deal more information at HowSonproperties.com where you can enter your information and sign up with us. Once you have done that we will send a detailed welcome packet that will give you all the information to be a successful real estate locator. Have a great weekend, Howie Baker[/COLOR]

I checked out the website (HowSonproperties.com) as well as the website his email came from (gototpropertysolutions.com) and it is a local real estate office/investors.
This would be easy cash in my pocket...whats your HONEST opinion?!?

[Imarachne]

Sounds good but maybe investigate some more just in case.

[Russ]

I always go by the mantra of: "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." It hasn't failed me yet.

Do your homework.

[Judi Dial]

Sounds good, talk to your state atty general's office or local county attorney perhaps? The local Better Business Bureau?

Beware of things where you have to meet someone at the property rather than in public, anything that requires you to pay, etc.

Judi

[Russ]

Searching a little more, I found that there are scams on Craigslist that show photos of houses to rent and the houses do not belong to the people doing the renting!

Maybe you will be taking the photos for the real scammers.

[lisa0069]

Looks like that website was just purchased at godaddy.com on 10-16-2010. I would be very wary. And how can sombody sell at house that is vacant they would have to track down the owner and see if the owner wanted to sell. Maybe it is just a rental and has no tenant yet. Sounds shifty to me.

[HappyMama]

Please be wary, and as others have said Investigate, investigate, investigate.If all seems good after a good investigation and research , proceed with caution and enjoy! Good luck to you in finding the perfect part time job if this isn't it.

[stinkbug]

Seems to me they covered this awhile ago on local scams.....I know I have seen similar ads on our Craigslist. I would not consider this local and would be VERY wary about the fact that it is paid per lead, as verified, etc.....sounds extremely scammy to me.

[HappyMama]

[QUOTE=lisa0069;1444210]Looks like that website was just purchased at godaddy.com on 10-16-2010. I would be very wary. And how can sombody sell at house that is vacant they would have to track down the owner and see if the owner wanted to sell. Maybe it is just a rental and has no tenant yet. Sounds shifty to me.[/QUOTE

I totally agree!

[Missy]

the idea of "easy cash" always makes me wary. But It can't hurt to investigate the offer. and as long as you don't have to put out any money then I wouldn't see any harm in looking into it deeper

[Momto5RN]

i find the whole need to locate empty homes odd
if someone was contacting someoen to sell it wouldnt they know where it is - have directions etc

and if they havent already contracted with the people arent you on private property illegally and if they have contracted them , why would they not let you in to take pix .

fishy to me

[Contrary Housewife]

These sites might enlighten you:

The Real Estate Arena - Scam or Legitimate?

Advice on Becoming a Property Locator

It sounds to me like they want to sign you up for "training", which you pay for.

Their website says they don't want houses being handled by realtors, or houses FSBO, they want vacant houses that are not listed. Really, how many of those are within your zip code?

They say they want to sell these unlisted houses to "investors". That raises a red flag for me. People who legitimately work with real investors (people with serious money) don't need to hire stay at home moms to do part time legwork looking for a few vacant houses.

Check them out. Don't sign anything you haven't read twice, and don't give them any money or personal info up front.

[frugalfranny]

the idea of "easy cash" always makes me wary.

I always go by the mantra of: "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." It hasn't failed me yet.

Do your homework.

INVESTIGATE........INVESTIGATE...........INVESTIGATE!!