Rental Fraud: Top Tips for Avoiding Common Scams in Barcelona

 

Careful when you rent an apartment in Barcelona. Many Scammers are out to get you!

Barcelona is full of tourists that are trying to find accommodation close to the city center for a good price. This is a great opportunity for imposters that promise the right apartment, ask for money and you will never hear from them again. This article offers testimonies of deceived people and mentions tips on how to avoid fraud.

Barcelona is, thanks to its nice weather, long beaches and relaxed atmosphere very popular destination among students doing internships here, studying in the long term, or just enjoying their free time, as well as among tourists or open-minded travelers ready to discover a new culture. One of the main struggles is to find appropriate accommodation in the city. And this is the opportunity for many imposters - scammers who are advising unbelievable apartments or rooms right in the city center or different lucrative location for a perfect price. The process is easy, they ask you just for a “reservation fee” and the property is yours. The sad part of this amazing story is that you will never meet them in person nor see the premises on a video or in-person - it just doesn't exist. You can read a complete guide by Casamona on how to move to Barcelona. If you prefer videos, we created one about the whole rental process or selling process.

Daniela, 23, Italy

Daniela arrived at Barcelona because of her internship, she is staying here for 5 months. She was looking for an apartment on many portals as well as in the Facebook group called “Erasmus Barcelona”. She posted in this group a request with her specifics for a room. And there, according to her, an unknown man contacted her with the offer for a shared apartment in her budget range and in the area she requested. This man, according to Daniela, said that he is the owner of many properties and sent her pictures of them. Then, when Daniela agreed, he prepared a contract that has been signed. Daniela had to pay a “fianza” of €700 and the rent for the first month. After that, both parties have been in contact for the next month until the day Daniela arrived. The imposter wrote Daniela, that he won't be in Barcelona that day and that they will meet the day after. So Daniela had to stay in a hotel instead. This was the last contact Daniela had with this man.

“After I paid him the money he requested and my date of arrival was close, he never texted back. What is worse, this man is still sending the same offers in the same exact group to other victims”. The story gets even sadder, Daniela went to the police but she has been told they cannot help her and that she should leave the office.

Emma and Sofia, 21, Denmark

This story is 3 months old. Emma and Sofia, friends from Denmark arrived in Barcelona for their internship. They were looking for an apartment to rent together. The son of the owner of the apartment contacted Emma and Sofia with an offer for an apartment. The owner is his friends' grandma, an old lady, he is helping to rent it. Girls wanted proof - he sent them ID card of that old lady. Girls decided to rent the apartment.

After some time and a few more emails with other “trusted owners” Emma and Sofia discovered that this ID card of the old lady is being abused as a fake proof of ownership. She went to the police to point out that this situation happened with the aim to prevent the same situation from happening to other people in the future. Police told them that there is nothing they can do with this situation, girls did not get any help from them.

Markéta, 22, Czech Republic

Markéta decided to study during her Erasmus at one of the universities in Barcelona. She was looking for a room with one of the big and trusted sites to prevent scammers. She founded one that suited her needs, was within her price range, and one she liked visually as well. She immediately booked it. When she arrived in Barcelona with her suitcases to this apartment, it was nothing like the apartment she saw in pictures - a completely different building, room, apartment,...She contacted this portal to complain about this room and wanted her money back. She has been told that she already booked the room, there is no way how to cancel the booking. So her money for booking was gone and she has to keep searching for different accommodation. 

How to prevent being scammed?

The simple, one and only advice to avoid being scammed is to use the services of a trusted company with years of experience. You can benefit from their services in many ways.

1.   You will have a guarantee that the property will be real and look like exactly as stated

 Trusted companies provide in advance visits, a wide spectrum of photos and videos and some of them, such as Casamona, even video calls to make sure the client is 100 % satisfied with the property.

2.   You will be in contact with professionals

These people know the market, know their properties and will behave like professionals. They can also find the exact right property for you because they are in direct contact with owners who can provide them with many more properties.

3.   You will get official contract approved by lawyers (which agencies have)

 Every company on the market is being controlled and has to follow many rules. With a trusted company, you will always get a contract that is structured according to local law. This way you can be sure you will for your money the expected product.

4.   You can save money

By working with a trusted company that has years of experience on the market you will never get scammed. This way you can avoid paying extra money for fraud - you will know exactly from the beginning what are you buying. No money lost for the never-existing property.

5.   You can even be in contact with person who speaks your language

In many international companies, there is a chance some of the employees will speak your language. This way you can better understand the whole process, every detail can be better explained to you and you can also chat on a more personal level. At Casamona, all of us are people from different countries that met in Barcelona with the aim to be helping find properties for others. We are able to speak many different languages at the same time and work on a professional level all together while approaching every client with a personal touch.

Do you have similar experience as our witnesses? Write us your story!