You've been renting a home for a few months now and have finally unpacked everything you own. One day, you come home and you find new locks on the door. "That's odd", you think. You try calling the landlord but he is nowhere to be found.

You walk around the front and there's a sign on the front of the house that tells you it's in the beginning stages of foreclosure. After doing a bit more digging, you find out that the house you are living in dropped drastically in price within the last year.

What happened was: the owner decided the investment wasn't worth it and stopped making his payments since it got to the point where he couldn't afford the mortgage anyway. That was when he got a new idea to make some money off the place. He went looking for a sucker that was willing to pay rent in advance for 6 or 12 months. You are that sucker. He took off as soon as you paid.

How to avoid: whenever you rent, always make sure the mortgage is up to date and the payments are actually made in time. This may be an awkward conversation, but in the long run, you'll be much better off.