Laws & Regulations

What To Do If You’ve Been a Victim of Rental Fraud in Richmond, VA

Rental fraud is rarely discovered at the beginning of a transaction. It is usually discovered after damage has already occurred. Money has been sent. Personal information has been shared. Communication suddenly stops or shifts. In many cases, victims only realize what happened wh...

Habitability And Life Safety Basics For Virginia Rentals

A rental home can look normal right up until a minor defect turns into a safety problem, a displaced resident, or a legal dispute. Most of the damage comes from time. Water spreads. Electrical issues worsen. Security problems invite repeat risk. Then everyone argues about the &ld...

How Professional Property Management Reduces Rental Fraud Risk in Richmond, VA

Rental fraud in Richmond is often described as a scam problem, but the more accurate description is a process problem. Most fraud does not succeed because someone is careless or uninformed. It succeeds because modern rental transactions involve multiple handoffs, multiple pl...

What Tenant Screening Evaluates in Practice

Tenant screening is not a single report. It is a verification and documentation system designed to reduce financial loss, legal exposure, and operational friction over the life of a lease.In fast-moving Richmond-area markets, screening failures rarely happen because an owner &ldq...

Fake Rental Listing Red Flags in Richmond, VA

Fake rental listings have become one of the most common and financially damaging forms of rental fraud in Richmond. Unlike application fraud or payment diversion schemes, fake listings often appear early in the rental search process and target people before any formal screening o...

Tenant Screening Mistakes That Lead to Evictions and Losses

Tenant screening is one of the most consequential decisions a rental property owner makes, yet it is also one of the most vulnerable to pressure, shortcuts, and informal judgment.In competitive rental markets like Richmond and Central Virginia, vacancy costs, high inquiry volume...

Rental Scams Targeting Renters in Richmond, VA

Rental fraud in Richmond is often discussed in abstract terms, but for renters it is experienced personally and urgently. Money is lost. Personal information is compromised. Housing plans collapse at the last minute. In many cases, the fraud is only discovered after the renter b...

Rental Fraud in Richmond, VA: How Common It Is, How It Works, and How to Avoid It

Rental fraud has become a persistent and increasingly sophisticated problem in Richmond, across Central Virginia, and nationwide. What was once limited to obviously fake listings has evolved into a wide range of schemes that exploit competitive housing markets, remote transactio...

Landlord Maintenance Responsibilities in Virginia: Legal Duties, Risk Management & Best Practices

Property maintenance disputes in Virginia rarely turn on whether an owner “meant well.” They turn on what condition existed, how long it lasted, what was reported, and what was done before the issue got worse.The owner’s legal duties don’t disappear becaus...

The Virginia Smoke Alarm Gray Area: Why § 55.1-1220 Creates Legal Confusion

In Part 1, this series covered why professional property managers install bedroom smoke alarms regardless of legal requirements: insurance carriers expect them, fire safety science proves they work, and the cost-benefit analysis is obvious.Part 2 addresses the question that actua...