# Dodgy estate agency



## Gonzo393 (Jan 13, 2019)

Hi All.....we are very close to signing the deeds/contracts to our new property in Portugal.

When our lawyer confirmed the amount of funds we had to send to cover the purchase price and fees etc, we were surprised to see that the amount being paid to the vendors was about 5000 euros less than what we offered.

We can only assume that the estate agency offered the vendor 5k less than we offered and were going to pocket the difference.

This was before they realised that we had arranged for a local lawyer to manage the sale on our behalf, as they thought that they had convinced us not to use a lawyer, as they 'would manage everything to save us on lawyers fees.'

I now have a dilemma as I feel guilty that the vendor are getting 5k less than we had offered, but am equally delighted that we are potentially saving the 5k.

Anyone else had any similar experiences? And I'm particularly keen to know how the law lies for dealing with such a scenario.....what penalties would the estate agent possibly face if we raised this formally with whatever governing body deals with property sales. Or is it one for the police to deal with?

Appreciate any views or opinions.

Iain


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

Suggest that for now (until you complete the purchase, assuming you still want the property) you let your lawyer know what is happening and tell him/her that you don't expect to pay a cent more than the value on the purchase contract.

This is normally all done at the notary and I don't actually understand how the real estate agency were planning to explain the difference?

Get the purchase done at the price you now expect and then begin the investigation otherwise you may find the agent blocks the sale to you so that he can do it to someone else including his €5K


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Personally I wouldn't sign anything or pay anything until the matter was fully resolved no matter how much I liked the house & surely the agent is committing fraud by doing this?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I'll add that not only would I start looking for another house to buy, I'd also start looking for a different estate agent to do business with as well because this one has definitely proven to be a crook.


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

Not sure what you are doing but the process here is open and transparent, you'll have been given a copy of the promissary - probably in Portuguese and English - to READ which includes the price (trees listed also included) - you may obviously include any clauses you think appropriate like "vendor removes all animal caresses from cellar" - the two parties, buyer and seller sign if they agree to the contract - you lodge the deposit and all will be legally bound to the clauses which includes the stated price. If you are accusing your legal rep of anything etc....................


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