In that case, if you contact a real estate agency, including ours, this issue will definitely not arise. However, we dedicate our blog to a wider audience and consider it necessary to warn those tenants who dare to look for housing without an intermediary. Brave people who try to independently go through the difficult process from the selection of options to moving expose themselves to danger and risk encountering Shakhraev. Of course, not every homeowner has a cunning schemer hiding behind him, but just in case, you should prepare for a meeting with him. We will tell you about the most common scams and how not to take them at face value.
What is hidden behind an attractive offer
- Pseudo-intermediaries 🚨
Criminals can pose as realtors and offer help with finding a home. They require an upfront payment for their services and promise to make you the happiest tenant after receiving it. In fact, after the transfer of funds, they disappear from all radars and leave you alone with the problem and with a much smaller budget to solve it.
🟢 Solution: don't trust anyone. Be sure to ask to show certificates and documents to confirm that you are dealing with a professional realtor. Also, keep in mind that a real professional will never ask for a subscription, because money is paid only on the fact of fulfilling the agreements.
- A fake representative of a real estate agency 🚨
This fraud scheme is quite similar to the previous one, but it differs in that the person presents himself not just as a realtor, but as a real estate expert working for a reputable agency. As in the previous case, after receiving the advance payment, the pseudo-professional disappears with your money and hopes. It rarely happens that for a conditional advance of 7000-8000 hryvnias you can get a database with phone numbers of real estate owners. You are invited to work it out yourself. By and large, it does not give anything, since the objects are completely different, they may not be relevant at all, and in fact they put on you the work that even realtors do not do, because they do not mindlessly call all their clients. Similar cases of fraud can occur when an already fired employee tries to resell his client base, which he managed to accumulate while working at the agency. Also, fake realtors can offer non-existent or already rented objects.
🟢 Solution: never take their word for it. Be sure to check whether the realtor is really a representative of this or that agency. To do this, it is enough to read the list of its employees on the website or simply call the company's official number. The mandatory stage for starting cooperation with the agency is the signing of the contract, therefore a banal verbal agreement already indicates insidious intentions.
- Sublease or resale of lease 🚨
In this case, not only you will be brazenly deceived, but also the owner, and possibly several other tenants. It all starts with a person renting a property for a short period of time. She does it absolutely legally and even pays the rent honestly. But after that, the real fun begins. Instead of living in the house, its tenant tries to re-let his temporary living space as quickly as possible and to as many people as possible. As a rule, such objects have a much lower price, so there are many people willing to save.
🟢 Solution: check the documents carefully. Ask to show your passport and power law for an apartment You can too check it yourself its one of the available ways. There is no such thing as excessive caution in matters related to the real estate market.
- Fake documentation 🚨
This time, the scheme described above takes place according to almost the same algorithm, with the exception that the fraudster does not even rent real estate, but simply brazenly passes off someone else's property as his own.
🟢 Solution: see the previous point 😉
- Fake ads 🚨
Such luxury and at a reasonable price? No matter how much you want to save, you should not forget the voice of reason. Often, non-existent objects can be hidden behind overly attractive conditions and photos. The fakeness is too obvious when they ask for a subscription.
🟢 Solution: do not forget to check the documentation and be sure to arrange a review. If there are many problems at this basic stage, it is obvious that there is nothing trivial to show.
- The object does not match the description 🚨
"The cherry orchard around the house, the buzzards are buzzing above the cherries" - you can write anything in the ad, because a good angle can hide even the most obvious defects. Also, the photos may be outdated, so it is possible that the once expensive leather sofa has turned into a scratched, torn and shapeless lump of springs and foam over the years of use.
🟢 Solution: review, review, and review again. Take a close look at all furniture, test appliances, taps and switches. Even something as small as a jammed lock can cause quite a headache.
How to protect yourself from fraud
Follow these simple rules, thanks to which even the most cunning and insidious fraudster will not be able to fool you:
- Carefully check the real estate documents.
- Be sure to sign up for a viewing.
- Carefully inspect the apartment, furniture, appliances, communications, etc.
- Do not agree to the transfer of the subscription before the provision of services or the signing of the contract.
- Work with a trusted real estate agency like THE Capital.
