Is craigslist safe??????????????????????????????

[Nada Chance]

Because you are a first-time buyer and know nothing about houses, use a real estate agent. You may find houses listed on craigslist by their owners and point them out to your real estate agent. But as a first-time buyer that doesn't understand the terminology, getting a home inspected, etc. it would be best to use a professional when shopping.

Craigslist is extremely popular with real estate agencies and home sellers. When you see an ad with a lot of html, it's wise to avoid that seller unless you really, truly are desperate for that house. The site says limited html, and the "fancy" ads are usually spammers and often try to harvest your contact information for spam. Stick to the plain-text ads with uploaded images. If you find a nice plain-text ad for a great house, always, always, always take a minute and search craigslist for that phone number or the name of the seller. Dishonest agents will try and spam the heck out of the site. A dozen ads or fewer isn't a bad sign. If they show a few hundred ads, avoid them. You already know they are greedy and dishonest, and would be a poor choice to buy from.

For everyone else, that isn't trying to use a slick fancy ad to spam, and that isn't abusing the free site with a hundred ads? Craigslist is a great, free way to show your home to prospective buyers. The only "payment" expected by buyer and seller is that they take a few moments to flag bad/spam/html/scam ads.

It's VERY popular, and that means it is targeted by scammers. Use some basic common sense, and you'll be fine. If the seller doesn't have a key and can't show you around the house, it's not their house. If the price and/or rent seems much too low, it's not real. If they want you to give them cash for a background check to buy a house, or to mail you the key, or any other stupid crap, it's not real. Flag those ads. There are LOTS of real people that are REALLY selling property. Take your time to find the right house Good luck!