How to avoid housing scams in Zagreb
Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia is getting more and more attractive to students, entrepreneurs, companies and tourists every year. This is also a potential market for scammers which are scamming people coming in Zagreb through various rental scams.
In this post we will briefly explain our property verification services, their importance and how we could help you avoid a housing scam in Zagreb.
1. Visiting Zagreb
So you made a decision to come to Croatia and you are in the process of making all the necessary preparations. Finding an accommodation is an important decision in this process.
You found a property you like and which is not available on our website through some online ads, Facebook groups or classifieds posted by a landlord but you are not sure if this is the right thing and you are concerned about making the deposit payment to the “landlord”.
The landlord is asking you to make a payment of the rent or deposit or even few rental amounts so you could reserve the property, you even got some ID or some contract in Croatian language but you are still not sure if this is legit or not?
We can help.
2. Housing Scams in Zagreb
Lately we are receiving information from many of our potential clients about similar stories which unfortunately did not end well, since the person made the payment to the “landlord” directly to his bank account and when they arrived to Zagreb they got scammed since the “apartment” they reserved doesn’t exist and the landlord is not answering the phone calls anymore.
Being on of the safest cities in Europe, Zagreb is not left out of such rental scams, as well as many other cities in Europe.
If it looks to good to be true, it’s a scam probably.
3. HomeInZagreb Can Help
This is one of the reasons why we decided to launch a new service for our clients which could be defined as landlord screening or property verification. The idea behind this is that we check the property on behalf of the future tenant before they make the deposit payment to the landlord.
Since we are based in Zagreb and we have a ton of experience in providing accommodation for international clients coming to Zagreb and Croatia we are able to provide a review of the property and landlord and save you from getting scammed.
4. Why Us
Our company has been working with international students, expats and corporate clients for more than 10 years now, during this period we have accommodated a few thousand people coming from all over the world. We also work with major private and public higher education institutions as well as with many NGOs and multinational companies.
The team behind is well educated and with international experience, so you can be sure that you are at the right place.
4. Property Verification AKA Landlord Screening
Before you make any payments to the “landlord” we are able to do the property verification process prior to your arrival in Zagreb. The process will involve communicating with the property landlord, on site visit of the property and making a report so you would be able to see all the details related to the property you want to reserve.
Our team will make every effort to get as much information as possible about the property and explain to the landlord all important details regarding the lease process to international clients.
Property visit
We visit the property and make sure everything is as it should be and described by the landlord.
Landlord screening
During our visit we speak to the landlords and inform them on all important details when it comes to renting the property to foreign nationals.
Documents overview
Our team makes sure that the owner has all necessary documents which are important for a valid lease of the property.
Property media
While we are at the property we make a quick video or photos so the tenant could see other details of the property.
Stay registration
The landlord is informed on the documents which are necessary for the successful registration of stay for the future tenants, the tenant gets a list of documents and instructions for the registration process.
Utility report
We write down the utility bills and try to get an approximation of the monthly costs of utilities related to the property so the tenant could be informed about additional costs.
Lease agreement
Our legal team checks the lease agreement proposed by the landlord or in case the parties agree or lease agreement template can be used for the property lease.
Property report
The client gets a brief report on the property details and landlord details after the inspection has been completed.
5. Get in touch
In case you want us to do a verification of the property you would like to reserve please fill out the form and we will get back to you ASAP.
