A woman who moved to Florida for a fresh start says she instead walked into a nightmare after discovering the man she rented a home from didn’t actually own the property.
Amanda Goodson and her daughter relocated from Ohio to Punta Gorda in February, after finding what seemed like the perfect rental home on Mandy Street.
She said the listing on Facebook appeared legitimate, a popular realtor posted it and told her to reach out to the homeowner, Clinton Roser.
“He had great reviews. People were saying he was amazing,” Goodson said.
But about a month into their lease, two young women showed up at the home and asked her what she was doing in their dead grandfather’s house. That’s when Goodson learned the man who rented her the home had no legal right to do so.
“I was stunned. I was hurt and mad and embarrassed all in one,” she said. “It was very deceiving.”
According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a neighbor, Clinton Roser, had been falsely claiming ownership of the property.
Deputies say he had been paying the property taxes and renting out the home despite not having any legal ownership or rights to do so.
The actual owners—out-of-state family members of the deceased homeowner—were unaware until they visited the property themselves.
Goodson says she and her daughter were forced to move, losing their security deposit and all the money they had saved for the relocation.
“It was probably closer to $7,500 for everything. That was everything that we had from coming down from Ohio. And now we're just having to figure it out paycheck to paycheck,” she explained.
Roser was arrested Friday and is now facing a felony charge of property fraud for an amount between $20,000 and $50,000. Deputies believe he had been illegally renting the home for more than a year and collected over $20,000 in rental income.
Goodson said she hopes sharing her story will prevent others from falling victim to similar scams.
“I think my biggest reason for wanting to do this interview is to make people aware,” she said.
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