Know your sources

It all starts with where your apartment is listed. Many clients of mine send me links from sites which collect data but are not actually used by the realtors or landlords themselves. Scammers know how to infiltrate their way into these sites and make it look extremely realistic. I myself use platforms that I know are safe, like Pararius. As a search engine for rentals they check if agents are officially registered within the Chambre of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel) and take all the necessary precautions to avoid scammers and realtors with malicious intent.

Pay attention

Now, it doesn’t mean that other platforms or agents that are not registered are necessarily bad. For example, private landlords can be totally trustworthy, but are not registered at the Chambre of Commerce. But there a few things you can take in consideration when you are looking for a home. There are a few points which should make you doubt whether someone has good intentions:

• They want to do a remote viewing: Now this is not always a red flag, but in this overheated market ask yourself: why would someone rent a property to you when you are not able to physically attend the viewing? Especially in the mid-segment (€1000-€1500 p.m.) viewings are full in no-time, and there is no logical point to renting the house to someone who lives around the globe and won’t be available to attend a viewing. There is a chance that if you do get a remote viewing, the house is overpriced or something else may be wrong with the property which would have shown during a viewing.

• Asking for money in advance: If they ask for money before the viewing, this is usually a big red flag. This is also not allowed in The Netherlands. Money is indeed transferred to the landlord before you receive the keys of a house, but only after a (remote) viewing and signing of the contract.

• You find bad reviews: This makes huge sense of course, but sometimes in time of desperation, you are still willing to take the risk. Make sure google the agent and check out if you can find anything bad about them. If an office doesn’t mention anyone by name (the founder or team of the office) it is a warning sign too. If there are names, check on LinkedIn whether you can find them and how their page.

Voorkomen is beter dan genezen

This typical Dutch saying means it better to prevent something than to fix it afterwards. So what can you do to avoid getting in business with a potential scammer?

• If you are not in the Netherlands yet, hire a realtor to go to viewings for you and represent you. They have local knowledge of the area, know most of the offices and their realtors, making the process much easier. They are here to help you secure a safe deal accordance to your personal situation.

• If you are in the Netherlands already, make sure to only respond to listings of Pararius and Funda and attend viewings personally. These sites are the most trustworthy since the landlords’ listings are represented by an office instead of the landlord directly.

• If you are still a bit in doubt, you can look for a prove of ownership. This is found in the Kadaster, where all properties are registered to the rightful owner. The website of the Kadaster is very easy to use. Just type in the address of the listing you’ve seen, and click on ‘Eigendomsinformatie’. Usually you have to pay a small fee to see this information, but you can make sure that the owner is who he says he is.

• And last: listen to your gut feeling. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

How Pararius keeps out scammers

The rental market and tenancy laws are filled with challenges, making the oversight of a real estate agent crucial. For this reason, Pararius requires private landlords to enlist the help of a real estate agent to advertise their properties on our platform. All communications about a property must be handled by a professional. Pararius's advertising policy allows only entities registered with the Chamber of Commerce to list on our website. Additionally, they must adhere to our code of conduct, and our team personally verifies these and other criteria. For more information, read this page.