Korean rental deposit scam prevention book: Deokbang Research Lab

A book on protecting jeonse and monthly rent deposits

If you’re looking for Deokbang Research Lab’s guide to protecting jeonse and monthly rent deposits, go go!!

It’s 〈Protect Your Jeonse and Monthly Rent Deposits〉, a guide to protecting rental deposits from jeonse and monthly-rent scams involving apartments, villas, one-room homes, and officetels! 👏👏

How to prevent jeonse and monthly-rent deposit scams, explained by the YouTuber Deokbang Research Lab with 200,000 subscribers! First-time tenants such as university students, people starting their careers, and newlyweds absolutely need to know this 😮

This book sets out to pass on know-how for protecting not only jeonse deposits but also semi-jeonse and monthly-rent deposits. In particular, it introduces the many situations tenants can face through real cases! These sections can help tenants respond quickly and effectively when a problem comes up 👍💕

Why Deokbang Research Lab wrote this book

Author: Deokbang Research Lab

Deokbang Research Lab noticed that, even though people pay jeonse, semi-jeonse, and monthly-rent deposits with money that is practically their entire savings, there was nowhere properly teaching them how to contract safely. Seeing people voice their frustrations in comments and emails, they felt there was a need for more detailed answers too! That led to the decision to write a book containing ways to prevent and deal with scammers, and that is how 〈Protect Your Jeonse and Monthly Rent Deposits〉 was born! 😮 Deokbang Research Lab still regularly uploads videos on types of jeonse fraud happening in the field and prevention methods tenants need to know, so I definitely recommend that “beginner” renters check them out 😍😍

How do you check management fees before signing?

An online property ad may show a ₩10,000,000 deposit and ₩500,000 monthly rent, but when it is time to write the actual contract, there are quite a few cases where the landlord additionally demands a ₩100,000 monthly management fee! ❤️ Be careful too, because some contracts do not state the exact management fee and instead mark a special clause saying “management fees separate.” ❤️

Table of contents: jeonse fraud prevention guide

Contents

• Preface
• PART 1. Please give me back my deposit
• Chapter 1. A bolt from the blue! The cry of a newlywed couple in their 30s: I thought my jeonse deposit was safe / Who on earth is the new landlord? / Would you like to take ownership of the house before it is too late? / The result had already been decided / Taking on this house was the best option / The figurehead owner was ready to celebrate
• Chapter 2. Move quickly: Start by refusing to renew the contract / Moving-in registration—do not move out your belongings ① opposability and preferential repayment right / Moving-in registration—do not move out your belongings ② highest-priority repayment right / What if you have no choice but to file moving-in registration and move your belongings out? / Check jeonse deposit insurance / Try negotiating with the landlord / A tenant files a lawsuit for return of the jeonse deposit / A tenant applies for auction
• PART 2. You are not exempt from jeonse fraud
• Chapter 1. The scheme was already in place: Lure the tenant / Are all licensed real estate agents alike? / Scammers throw a money party / The truth about actual transaction prices
• Chapter 2. There are even more jeonse scams targeting tenants: One-room jeonse scam ① Do you really understand one-room homes? / One-room jeonse scam ② How do they strike and how do you stop them? / I live under jeonse, but this home is monthly rent? / A landlord takes out a loan without a sound / You need to check whether anything has been filed / There was another real landlord / Joint collateral under a registered mortgage is a ticking time bomb
• PART 3. A jeonse fraud prevention guide for first-time renters
• Chapter 1. First-time renters must check before contracting: Get the first button right / Bring family or an acquaintance when viewing a home / Keep a poker face while asking for a price adjustment / There is definitely a reason a home is cheap / Do not take a preliminary-contract text lightly / Be wary of semi-jeonse with a small deposit / Check hidden management fees before contracting
• Chapter 2. Putting my seal on the contract: The real estate register and building ledger go together / Special clauses landlords often demand that disadvantage tenants? / Special clauses you should demand without worrying about the landlord / After signing, should I get a fixed date or establish a jeonse right? / Moving in is not the end / Three things to do while living as a tenant
• All the way to the epilogue 😆

Cautions on joint collateral mortgages and deposit insurance

If the home you are planning to contract for has a first-priority registered mortgage, the mortgage can be repaid and cancelled with the tenant’s deposit. If the tenant then obtains first-priority moving-in registration, possession, and a fixed date, securing opposability and the preferential repayment right in first priority, they can keep their deposit relatively safe even if the home later goes to auction for any reason! But there is something many people miss here: cases where the registered mortgage is tied up as joint collateral 👍👍

People sometimes assume that because they have jeonse deposit insurance, they can definitely claim their deposit as soon as the contract period ends, and quickly sign a contract for a new place to move into. But that is the wrong thing to do 😮 The guarantor institution may refuse or defer payment! If documents needed for review of the insurance payment are incomplete and additional corrections are requested, the review period can be extended 😮😮

I was happy to discover this wonderful Deokbang Research Lab book—one I would want to buy again whenever I need to remember how to protect a jeonse or monthly-rent deposit!