An interesting thing happened today.  You know I’m renting a house.  Well, the final details are coming into place.  The realtor for the owner asked me to do something a bit odd.  Since I’ve rented a lot in the past, I saw that as a red flag. I didn’t get too emotional about it though.  I waited until I could deal with the realtor directly.  And before I did, I checked her out: checked out her company, her realtor’s license, her standing in the realty community etc…I did this online.  I also stopped by to talk to a friend (who works right next door to one of the best realtors) in the town I live in.  Even though they were not handling the property, we were able to pull up the listing and check to see if she was really handling it.  By the end of all my investigating, I had lots of information. So, when I spoke to her, I was armed with plenty of info to help and protect myself.  Sometimes, you have to do that. Sometimes you have to check to be sure people really are who they say they are.  If things don’t match up, get outta there.  Ultimately, I’ve decided to go with the house.  The realtor answered all my questions to my satisfaction and gave in to my (very reasonable) requests.  Remember, if someone tries to push you into doing something you are not ready to do, if they try to use YOUR EMOTIONS to make you worry you’ll lose something, if you tell them you “are not comfortable” doing something and they try to make you feel bad about it – GET AWAY FROM THAT PERSON!!! Anyone who acts like this world is a safe place and you are nuts to worry about this or that – THAT PERSON is trying to trick you. These are just some of the red flags that I’ve learned to pay attention to.  See the red flags and protect yourself.