How to detect fake real estate ads?
They hide under the guise of offers. Prices well below the average, owners abroad or email as the only form of contact, are some of the characteristics of fraudulent advertisements.
At pisocompartido.com we do not intervene in property management, but we work to avoid this type of publication on our portal, although sometimes it is not easy. We are going to give you some tips to detect false ads. Here they go:
Too Cheap?
'Bargains' do exist, but only up to a point. Be wary of ads with rents well below the median price. See offers for the same area and with similar characteristics. It is the best way to avoid fraudulent ads.
If you have not seen the house, do not pay in advance.
Make an appointment to see the room, apartment or house that interests you. Never agree to pay in advance when you have not seen the property. Be wary of advertisers who claim to be abroad and therefore unable to visit.
The presumed owners ask for an amount of money to send the keys by courier. Would you send the keys without a signed contract? Well, follow your instinct and do not transfer money under these same circumstances.
Remember: we do not intervene in the management of the properties.
We are a real estate portal where we match real estate with people. However, we do not mediate in the management of real estate. That's why you should be wary of any advertiser who asks you for payments or commissions on our behalf.
Pay attention to the photos.
Spectacular images that do not match the characteristics of the house. Check it out and you will know. Take one of the photos and drag it to Google Images to check if it has been published on websites in other countries, hotel or decoration pages.
Bring out your investigative skills.
Put a face to the owner, or at least find out if it's the real thing. When it is an individual, confirm that it is really the owner of the house. As? Very easy. Verify it in the Property Registry or request a simple note via the internet: an official document with all the information on the property.
Contact me only by email.
Think wrong and be right. Sometimes this saying is right. The day lasts many hours and the advertiser is rarely busy every minute. If the supposed owner tells you to only contact him via email, be suspicious.
Your personal and financial data is yours.
We have advised you not to give money without seeing the room or the property. Also, do not pass personal, bank or work information, even if they tell you that it is to formalize the rental contract.
The best prevention is to be prudent.
If you suspect a fraudulent ad, cut off all communication with the advertiser. Report it using the link 'Have you detected an error?' from our website so that we review the veracity of the ad and remove it, if it does not meet our requirements.
In the face of fraudulent advertisements, we denounce.
From pisocompartido.com we work every day to avoid these frauds in our portal. That is why we collaborate with the Security Forces and Corps. We report the cases that we detect to the authorities and we provide them with all the information from our Database that we have about the ads and their advertisers, if they request it.
