It seems that more people are taking advantage of renters by this new type of scam - they will advertise a property cheap; when the renter e-mails the landlord (which seems to be the way they communicate), he/she tells them they are out of the country and can't show them the property. They also won't hand over the keys until they send this large deposit via moneygram or Western Union, which is hard to retrieve.

The people show up and find the home is occupied. Why anyone would send money without seeing a property first, I am not really sure. Just remember, when it "seems to be too good to be true, it probably is".

In this market, if you can rent, you probably can buy - talk to a lender and a realtor today!