Students are looking for a house, real estate scammers are at work

While the search for affordable housing has increased with the recent increase in rents, when college students joined this search, real estate scammers were born.

Scammers began snaring students looking for a home in another city with “for rent by owner” ads on their websites.

The 20-year-old university student Faati Ilir Llapashtica is one of the new victims of these scammers…

After signing the contract, Llapashtica gave a deposit of 20 thousand TL, but could not receive the keys.

Nizamettin Aşa, president of the Istanbul Chamber of Realtors, warned that this period is the most suitable for scammers and that citizens should be careful.

HE COULD NOT GET THE KEY TO THE APARTMENT SO HE PAID A DEPOSIT OF 20 THOUSAND TL

Llapashtica, 20, who lives in Antalya, wanted to rent a house in Beylikdüzü for her university in Büyükçekmece.

Continuing to look for a house on the Internet, the young man decided to rent a 1+1 house with a rent of 7,500 lira, which seemed appropriate to him. To do this, Llapashtica contacted the advertiser, met with the advertiser and toured the house. Seeing the house with a tenant in it, Llapashtica signed a contract with the person who presented himself as the owner. The university student, who agreed to hand over the keys to the contract that he signed on August 24, like September 10, could not locate anyone when the delivery date arrived.

The university student, who made a deposit of 20,000 liras without receiving the keys, was left homeless with his contract and 20,000 liras in hand. Llapashtica, who also filed a criminal complaint, wants to recover the money from him as soon as possible.

ATTENTION THOSE WHO WATCHED ADS ON THE INTERNET!

Nizamettin Aşa, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Realtors, stated that fraud cases mainly occur in advertisements placed by the owner on websites, and this situation also harms real estate agents.

Other house-hunters also stated that they stay away from those who ask for a deposit directly from the board to avoid being defrauded.

‘I WENT TO THE FLAT, I DIDN’T FIND ANYONE’

Explaining what happened, university student Faati Ilir Llapashtica says:

“I came to look for an apartment but they let me down. I was looking for ads on real estate sites on the Internet. I sent a message to an ad I found. The advertiser in the message also contacted me. Then we find ourselves in the direction of the apartment. After we met, he showed me the apartment and he had a tenant inside. He said his tenant was leaving. So I thought it was reliable.

After touring the apartment, we sat down somewhere nearby, discussed the contract, and reached an agreement. We immediately agreed on a deposit of 20,000 lire. After signing, I paid the deposit, but when I tried to contact the man on the date I received the key, I could not contact him at all. So I went to the apartment and knocked on the door, when I looked inside, there was no one there.

I arrived at the block and met the doorman. We looked inside, knocked on the door, but there was no one inside. The doorman also told me that the advertiser defrauded 5 or 6 people with the same apartment.”

IT TURNS OUT HE WAS CAUGHT AND RELEASED 6 TIMES!

Llapashtica continued:

“Then I filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office. The prosecution told me that this person was captured and released 5 or 6 times. I asked about everything I suspected, I just had doubts that the man wouldn’t let his own car into the place. I signed on August 24, as I said, I would receive the key on September 10.

I started writing to the man on September 8th. I didn’t get any response, I couldn’t contact you. The man also deleted all of his social media accounts. It was the money I saved working in the vineyard and garden in Antalya during the summer. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain due to scammers. I was left homeless, with a contract and 20,000 lire in my pocket.

Don’t waste your 20 thousand lira just because the rent is cheap and you will be stingy like me. “I also looked for a house through real estate agents, but my mother wanted me to look for it from the owner so it would be cheaper and not pay commissions.”

HE SAID: ‘Give me a deposit and I’ll remove it from the advert.’

Özlem Yel, who is looking for a house, said: “I am currently looking for a house through the website. I was going to get scammed today, but it almost failed. Someone posted an ad saying it belonged to the owner and I said I really liked the house. But that person said two or three other people liked it, give me a deposit and I will remove it directly from the ad. I didn’t trust him because he insisted on a deposit. “I canceled it because I realized I would be let down,” he said.

AŞA: THE ‘BEST MOMENT!’ OF FRAUD

Nizamettin Aşa, president of the Istanbul Chamber of Realtors, said about the situation: “Let’s say now is the best time for fraud. We are in an age where it is easy to implement and fool people. Because many people are looking for a house. “Unfortunately, there are many cases from Anatolia where people come from Anatolia, look at the websites, look at the ads, talk on the phone, send money orders and keep the house without even seeing it before coming to Istanbul.” he said.

“We have been warning about this for years,” Asha said, adding:

‘GO SEE THE HOUSE, CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE THE OWNER’

“Do not pay or sign anything to anyone without going to the house and seeing it with the naked eye, determining whether the owner is the owner or not, or if he is a real estate agent, investigating if he is a real estate agent. .

There are so many false and misleading ads out there right now. First of all, regional prices are more or less clear. Nowadays, there are no houses of less than 15,000 to 20,000 people in Beşiktaş. “If you know this and you see between 7,000 and 8,000 lira there and you make a money transfer, it is 100 percent clear that it is fraud and you will suffer abuse,” he said.

‘MOST CASES ARE IN THE ADVERTISING THAT IS GIVEN AS ‘OWNER”’

Asha continued as follows:

“One of the most common ads placed on the owner’s title is Adam, for sale or rent by owner. It is not clear whether Adam is the owner or not. Last time we were very opposed to this and the new law was passed. From Now from now on, when an advertisement is made, if the person gives it as the owner, they will have to prove that they are the owner. Through a title deed, identity card or power of attorney. Without this, the advertising portal will not be able to receive or publish it. This is prohibited now and is a precaution. Real estate agents do not do such a thing, this is man’s bread, his work, his strength.

DON’T BELIEVE IF THEY SAY ‘WE MEET ON THE STREET OR IN THE CAFE’

Some scammers, which we call errands, who walk the streets posing as real estate agents, present themselves as real estate agents. Citizens also fall for this. In order to become a real estate agent, it is currently necessary to have an authorization certificate from the Ministry of Commerce. Do not approach anyone as a real estate agent who does not have a clearance certificate, chamber registration or financial record.

A person who makes offers like “stay on the street”, “stay in front of the house”, “stay in the cafe” is, without a doubt, someone who works without being registered, what we call an errand boy. Be sure to visit the house several times before signing a contract or paying.

Citizens must be very careful in every purchase they make online. This is even worse in the real estate sector. The real victim is the real estate agent. “All real estate agents working legally are currently under suspicion for these reasons,” he said.

THEY SHOULD FIRST LOOK AT THE AUTHORITY CERTIFICATE

Real estate agent Yeşim Yıldız said: “Unfortunately, they cannot prevent fake ads. Anyone can enter and open an ad. You cannot know if it exists or not, if it is real or not. Until I saw it. Real estate agents should first check the clearance certificate and see if there are any tax posters hanging on the walls. If you rent from the owner, it may be a little pointless to ask for the title, but you can log into your e-government and show it from there. “Let them give the contract and take the key while they give the money,” he said. Another real estate agent, Melek Arslan, said: “We have to be very careful. You need to consult real estate agents who are familiar with this type of thing. Real estate agents are like lawyers. When they act on their own minds, that is when they cause the most damage. “There are a lot of scammers on the sites,” he said. (DHA)