Renters protect yourselves

There was a time not that long ago, if you were a renter the biggest worry you had aside from paying your rent on time was to make sure you also had renter's insurance. Sadly, those times are over. Now you have to worry about if the place you have rented actually is for rent and not some kind of rental scam. Not to mention given the current state of the Las Vegas housing market, the home you are renting might be going into foreclosure.

However, there is something you can do about that. The Clark County Assessor's office has public records accessible online. You can look up your current address to see if it is in foreclosure here. Copy the parcel number and then go to the recorder's page do an advanced search. Enter the parcel number and click detail data. You are looking for a BREACH or NOTICE OF DEFAULT in the document type field. If the property is going into foreclosure, it will usually be within 120 days of the date posted. If it lists Notice of Sale or Notice of Trustee Sale, than foreclosure is imminent, usually within the next 30 to 60 days. If the property has already been foreclosed on, there will be a TRUSTEE DEED recorded, which means the bank has taken ownership of the property.

If you have determined that the property you are paying rent on is in foreclosure, I would recommend consulting an attorney before doing anything else. Don't confront your landlord without seeking legal advice and verifying the status of the property.