How to avoid property scams when buying a cheap house abroad

Cheap houses attract dreamers, and dreamers attract scammers. Most sales go smoothly, but when you buy from a distance, in another language and another legal system, you are a more attractive target. These are the red flags to watch for and the habits that keep your money safe.

Red flag 1: a price that is too good, from someone who is not a broker

Scammers copy photos from real listings and repost them on social media or classified sites at a lower price, often claiming to be the owner living abroad. On Cheapaco, every house links to the original listing on a broker's website: always go to that original listing and contact the broker through the contact details on the broker's own website, not through a phone number or email sent to you.

Red flag 2: pressure to pay a deposit quickly

"Many people are interested, pay a reservation fee today and the house is yours." In most European countries, money changes hands at a defined step of a formal process: when a contract is signed, or at completion through a notary or a broker's client account. Be very careful with any payment before you have a written contract you understand.

Red flag 3: changed bank details

The most common and costly fraud is an email that appears to come from the broker, notary or lawyer, saying the bank details have changed. Criminals hack or imitate email accounts and send their own account number at exactly the right moment.

• Confirm bank details by phone, using a number you found independently (on the official website), never the number in the email.
• Be suspicious of any last-minute change.
• Send a small test amount first and confirm it arrived.

Red flag 4: no viewing possible

If the "owner" cannot show you the house, or a friend of theirs cannot, walk away. If you cannot travel, ask a local professional you choose yourself, such as a surveyor or lawyer, to visit, or ask the broker for a live video viewing in which you direct the camera.

Check that the seller owns the house

Each country has a public land register: Lantmäteriet in Sweden, Kartverket in Norway, the land registration court in Denmark, the National Land Survey in Finland, and the land registry consulted by the notary in France and Italy. In France and Italy the notary checks title as part of the process; in the Nordics, the broker or your lawyer can show you the register extract. Ask for it.

Use the formal process

• Use a licensed broker or a notary. Check the broker's registration with the supervisory authority where one exists (in Sweden, Fastighetsmäklarinspektionen).
• Get independent advice: a lawyer who works for you, not for the seller.
• Never sign documents you do not understand. Ask for a translation.
• If you buy remotely with a power of attorney, give it only to a professional you have chosen and checked, and limit it to the specific purchase.

If something goes wrong

Contact your bank immediately to try to stop the payment, and report the fraud to the police in your country and the country of the property. Speed matters.

Read our guide to buying a house in Europe as a foreigner and the viewing checklist.