Terrible conflicts and fraud. Yes, that's what you get when you get involved with such a shady character!

Own fault?

In a previous blog, I wrote about a landlord who was shamelessly swindled by a real estate agent who would "take care of everything quickly." In the end, the landlord was left with huge costs and no one to hold accountable. But perhaps you were thinking, well, you get that when you don't deal with a recognized company.

Looks can be deceiving

You would think that by choosing a recognized real estate agent with all those certifications, you as a landlord would be safe. Unfortunately, choosing a recognized real estate agent is not always a guarantee. Of course, there is the necessary legislation that every real estate agent has to adhere to. For example, it is prevented that a real estate agent receives double commission (thus brokerage fees from both landlord and tenant). However, there are still gray areas where legislation has no grip yet and can be a costly pitfall for you as a tenant. A pitfall because it seems so logical. I'm talking about the so-called registration fee. Also called application fee, key money, or registration costs. Costs that a real estate agent apparently can charge without having to do anything for you. HouseScout recently heard of a house hunter who was asked by a recognized real estate agent to first pay € 850,- registration fee so that you "qualify for a viewing." Mind you, the real estate agent still did nothing for that person. For the real search for a nice home, the aforementioned commission still has to be paid! It is at the very least terribly disrespectful! Or what about the real estate agent who only sells you a house if he can include your current house in his portfolio? It may sound innocent, but when you think about it, it's just blackmail. Especially in the current market where buyers have a hard time finding (new) homes.

That won't happen to me!

But of course, that won't happen to you. You won't pay a real estate agent hundreds of euros to find a rental home for you! Because you found an online search engine. You only have to pay € 50,- to register, and the search engine does the rest! Unfortunately, that's not the case. You'll still be deceived this way. Those search engines only collect the existing offerings from real estate agents’ websites and then place them on their own site. If you then find a home, you still have to contact the relevant real estate agent yourself because that's all the machine does. And you've just paid a week's worth of groceries for that!

We're not all that bad

Fortunately, the above does not apply to all real estate agents. You can scrutinize our website all you want, but you won't find any registration fees or other strange conditions to use our services. HouseScout offers reliable help in renting and renting out, and always tailor-made. Otherwise, request the non-binding introductory meeting and discover it for yourself!

By the way, here's a free tip from HouseScout to you: Funda and Pararius are very efficient search engines with up-to-date housing offers, and they don't cost anything at all.