Disadvantages of renting from condo owner?

What do you mean by "less secure?"

I have done this a couple of times without any issues (with and without Craigslist). The first thing to watch out for is the credit risk of them returning your deposit. If the apt has little equity (say 20% or less), then you run the risk of your deposit disappearing if the owner goes belly-up. Figure out the value of the apt, check ACRIS for the mortgage amount, and if there's a lot of equity, then you have something to put a lien on if your deposit doesn't come back in a timely manner. The second thing to do is to see whether the owner passes the sniff test during negotiations / when you meet them prior to signing the lease. If not, run.

If they don't pay their mortgage/maint., you could get an eviction notice.

I've rented twice from condo owners and my experience has been generally positive.

The major pain is getting repairs done - there is no management company carpenter/plumber/exterminator/handyman; in one case I had to make all arrangements for repairs and deduct the amount from the rent check, and the other the landlord made the arrangements and paid for the repairs but he's a busy guy and things don't get done in the fastest or most efficient way.

On the up side, both condos are much nicer than comparable dedicated rental apartments, and both landlords more flexible about things like ending the lease, etc.

Thanks, this is helpful.

OtherBob, I wasn't sure what the risks might be -- fishing to see what experiences people have had.

OnTheMove, condos don't have a super?

That makes sense -- I wasn't sure if you were worried about physical safety, them stealing your information in some way, getting ripped off by a scam, or...well, you know, there are just a ton of ways people screw each other over.

For just general risks, probably the most common one is that they'll be a slumlord and won't care about fixing anything -- since this may be the only apartment they have, they maybe don't care about reputation (and so will do the bare minimum required by law). But that risk is probably about equal between individuals and (at least some) corporations.

The other big risk is that they'll go broke and you'll get evicted -- in theory you could sue them in that situation, but...well, they're broke.

They may also play games with your security deposit -- the individual may be more likely to fail to preserve your deposit in a separate, "interest" bearing account -- so more chance of it getting lost or them not having it available when you move out. For example, I've heard (on here) about landlords saying that they need 2-3 months to return the deposit because they're a little short right now -- though they're not supposed to be using the money that way.

And the wildcard -- individuals are individuals. They can be weird. They can be irrational. They can be certifiably, all-out, Gonzo the blue Muppet crazy. And so one day everything is fine and then the next...holy Belview, Batman. Your rent payment was early. You have too many friends over. You hung a picture on the wall -- whatever. Corporations can be annoying, impersonal, etc. -- but they're rarely out and out psychotic or weirdly involved in your life. (Though most landlords, of course, are perfectly normal, sane, and leave you alone.) So that's always a risk.

Good luck!