@Michael: Then you wouldn't be staying in a vacation rental. This is a *very* common practice.

A vacation rental isn't like a hotel room. Chances are they can re-rent the room, and most make you pay for the first night anyways. If you don't check into a vacation rental, the homeowner is out a whole week's rent.

One more note: Here in North Carolina, if a vacation rental is sold, the new owners have to agree to any existing rentals that will occur in under 180 days. This being the case, the bank would have to honor your lease.

That only applies if home is managed by a professional rental management company, and only applies to NC. But it might be something for you to check into out in LV.

If the vacation rental is managed by a management company, then you should be ok -- they'll move you to another house if they one you are checking into isn't available (99.9% of the time, they'll even go to a competitor if they don't have one in stock themselves).

If it's RBO (rental by owner), then you're SOL if the house isn't available. Sure, you can get your money back... (likely) after you sue them. Not to mention the extra expenses you'll rack up once you arrive and find out you don't have anywhere to stay.

Anytime you rent from a management company, make sure they are members of vrma.org.

I wouldn't even trust them if they offered to let me pay at the doorstep, how do I know the cops won't come by the next week to arrest me for trespass?

@anonymousryan: Thats top of the line commenting right there.

"When the White Rabbit peaks, throw the radio in the bathtub."

Your payment will go to whom?

The party that is being foreclosed upon? The receiver of the property?

Don't know? RUN away.

@IHaveAFreezeRay: The person seems to want to rent the home for a week which would include all utilities and may be for a family or such that is not easily accomodated in a single hotel room or even suite.

These are often found in vacation places. A friend of my family has a furnished beach side condo in NJ which she rents for anywhere of $1500! to $2200! for a week during the summer which includes utilities. She basically covers her mortgage with three months summer rental and then gets to hang out there during the off season. Alot of that also happens on the SE USA Gulf Coast condos too...

The scammer who is marketing the rental found it in the foreclosure listings you looked at too!!! $400 upfront and rent 30 days before is a scam.

Counter with give me your number and address in Las Vegas and I will come by with all of the money when we check in...

@zlionsfan: "craigscrimelist" and apartment or rental scams

@howie_in_az: True, but can you find a disease-free person to sleep with? For some folks, it might just be worth the chance.

With the economy the way it is, people aren't traveling much. Which means you can get great deals on lodging, esp. in a place like Vegas. Shop around.

Ah, the lure of a great deal clouds rationality and good judgment.

You need to ask yourself, why is the landlord charging such cheap (less than market) rent? Why is he willing to give up that extra money he could be making?

Then ask yourself, why does he want the money upfront?

I think you had the answer before you even wrote in to Consumerist; you just need validation.

Here's the validation -- RUN like white tigers are chasing you!!!

I don't even understand how someone could not have enough common sense that they need to write into Consumerist and ask this question.

If you have to ask the question in the first place then obivsouly it's not a good idea to rent it.

This deal has scam written all over it. Run away!

But really, I stayed a two nights in Circus Circus and the checked out early and found another hotel.

Spend the extra money on a more reliable rental. I'm sure you'll make up the difference on the craps table.

The only stupid question is the one that doesn't get asked.

I disagree

It sounds more than a little shady.

Wow. OP, please read the letter you just wrote aloud to yourself. You'll know what to do.

And if you still don't know, the answer is run the hell away as fast as you can.

buy the house and rent it later for $400 bucks up front and a 2.3% credit card processing fee!

(seriously though it is a good idea)

Unfortunately, a large part of what I deal with are tenants who are renting the properties that have already been sold and in most cases, they are unaware that a home is in foreclosure until they show up at the hearing that kicks them out of the home.

In several instances, renters have entered into leases AFTER the home has been sold on the courthouse steps. And they've been diligently been paying rent, only to be told that the Sherriff's office will be there in 7 days to throw their crap on the front lawn and change the locks.

The point of this rambling is that you have no way of knowing that in the middle of your stay, a bunch of deputies are going to show up, pop the locks of the house and throw your asses out on the street.

If the house is in foreclosure now it will likely go to sale prior to the Christmas Holidays. It really depends on when the NOD was recorded (beginning the foreclosure process). NV has a fairly quick foreclosure process, taking about 120 days, sometimes a bit less (but not much due to statutes). While some places are backlogged due to the massive rise of foreclosures NV is not one of them, mostly due to the process not needing to go through the court system. Really not worth taking the risk just to save a little bit of money.

You were able to find out that it was being foreclosed on rather easily. It could also be that this guy has no connection to the house and found out that the house was being foreclosed, found it abandoned, changed the locks, and *bam* now he's got a rental! The terms don't sound legit at all. Stay far away!

A guy out here in SoCal defrauded many families out here with a rental scam. He took down payments from about two dozen families on a home rental, and then beat it out of Dodge with all their cash. Come move-in day, there was a line of U-hauls to get into the neighborhood.

If you are even thinking of this why not just call a hungry realtor in the area. For a few hundred bucks they can get you the keys to an already bank owned home with no rental fees.

@SkokieGuy: That's definitely what this smells like.

The bank can take that back at any time. Once they do, it's theirs. Stay away! There's bound to be something similarly price elsewhere in the area.

It's a living hell not knowing how much longer you'll have a roof over your head.

Why take chances? There are plenty of places to rent in Vegas that aren't in foreclosure.

Why do we go to Vegas? To GAMBLE.

What we have here is a roll of the dice: will Reader Kelly get the keys when (s)he shows up to claim the property? Or will it be what's behind Door Number Three?

I think it sounds like fun, if more can be done to tilt the odds in Kelly's favor. Like not paying until keys are in hand and inspection is complete.

Huh? It sounds like they bought a rental property, got in above their heads, and stopped paying the bank the money they owe despite still getting rental income from it.

I don't see why they deserve "help" - they deserve a kick in the balls.

Check out Trip Advisor b/f you rent a house in Vegas for your vacation.

Most signs point to : NO.

My own experience is that unless it's a cabin in the mountains or a house on the beach, get a hotel.

O.K. j/k on the last one. but the rest you really have to think about.

...aw hell go for it, if nothing else you'll learn a lesson.

You may wish to google craigslist + rental + scam and start reading.

You may be safe, but renting a property in foreclosure means renting from someone who doesn't really have things together. Don't be surprised if they flake as a short-term landlord, as well.

If it were me, I would pay a few hundred dollars more for a more reliable place to stay.

I think the poll speaks for itself.