Help! I needhelp in verifying landlord's ownership of rental unit

[SteveGinGto]

Thanks for the feedback, Martha.

Newbie questions...

What is an "escritura' exactly?

I did get all of what you said except for these:

• Escritura
  
• Two references
  
• It took two tries to get the address, and it still isn't really complete (no unit#)
  
• The photos were not as complete as I'd have liked. Strangely for Gto, there were no pics from their balcony terrace.
  

I have been a trusting sort, but being an engineer I also have learned how to be a hard-nosed thinker. But I don't do that in all areas of my life. This being essentially a new experience for me, I have to learn about renting all over again. But I did have good landlords and landladies back in the day.

One thing: I had sent the money (Western Union), but it ran into a snag, which bought me time - and I had the payment stopped in time. Just in case. That buys me a bit of time to find someone local to help out.

Whoever does it I buy dinner for after I get settled!

Steve