Craigslist... How do you know if your talking to the actual owner?

[Nicholas Miller]

I found a good deal listed on Craigslist however after I looked at the house I compared the name on the email to the name listed as the owner on the assessors website and they did not match.  My question is, how do determine if a home is a scam on Craigslist without having title work done?  I would buy this house for the $5k if the person listing it has enough ownership rights to sell it but I dont want to invest the $180 in having a title search done to see if this guy owns it or not.  Any feedback?

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Nicholas Miller 

  the owner is public record  just contact the owner direct... that's what I would do.

If he says its under contract with someone else then there you go. If he says he does not know what your talking about then there ya go..