We all have heard about - and many have experienced - the mortgage-related woes brought on by the adverse economy. Surprisingly, not much is being said about the other sector of the housing industry: the rental business. After all, the two go hand in hand, and the public should be alerted to possibilities of potential landlord foreclosure. In fact, lately the number of landlords trying to prevent imminent foreclosures by renting out their properties to supplement their incomes has been on the rise.

It happened to a family I know. They rented a charming, roomy house with a beautiful yard and lots of other great features. As luck would have it, the amount of monthly rent was more than reasonable, and my friends felt like they hit the jackpot. Just weeks after they moved in and began to enjoy their new home, they were informed they must vacate the premises within three days: the property was being handed over to the bank due to foreclosure. Try as they might, it was too late for the owners to save the house. The renters, truly the innocent victim, have suffered a tremendous misfortune and injustice, but nothing could be done for them.

The family - the parents, two kids and a dog - have managed to stay with relatives until they find another place. Burned by their experience, they were determined to never be victimized again. An acquaintance turned them on to investigating every rental property owner prior to making another attempt at renting a home.

The process was simple: they responded to an ad by phone, leaving a message. When the owner called back, they used the number to collect information about the person via a reverse phone lookup. They were able to find out more about the property and the owner's background, looking for possible neighborhood, construction and financial problems, tax liens, civil judgments, and especially pending bankruptcies and foreclosures.

They were amazed how simple it is to find the facts through a reverse phone lookup, and how powerful such information can be in negotiating business transactions that affect the lives of real people. In fact, my friends are thinking of starting a rental seminar, turning other renters on to using information they can obtain from a reverse phone lookup to protect their interests and take good care of their families.