My friend and I are currently in Minnesota. We're moving to Washington late January for employment, and we're currently looking for a place to live.
We've found a place we like, and are about to go through the application process. We're both a little weary of sending a significant amount of personal information (SSNs, license photos, etc.) by email without even having met the guy. We won't be in Seattle until the day we move in, so it's going to be sight unseen.
The one thing we have going for us is that the owner has his own internet domain that the emails are happening from, and I was able to look up his whois info from ICANN. Assuming the information is correct, I have his name and address, and the phone number matches the one we've been communicating with. A few searches and I even have a picture of him.
I'm being a bit paranoid since we have all of this information, but I thought I'd ask for advice on how to most safely go through this process. Thanks in advance.