# Beware *********.com



## Ken and Valery (Jan 17, 2014)

I am writing this post to inform would be interested parties to be very careful when dealing with the above agency.

This forum is an excellent source for information and we have to rely on eachother for helpful advice. We are new on the island, and we only wish we had paid attention earlier to it. if only we had listened to some of the kind advice it offered to others. It has placed many reputable agents on its lists for anybody who is seriously interested in finding a good agent in Cyprus. I do believe that not long ago Veronica highlighted some excellent reputable agents in a previous post a few days ago. As in everything there is a good and bad..

The above agency ***********8.com almost ruined our whole move. We are pensioners and we had planned with the above agency with an English man named 'Mark' for many months. Despite all of his assurances even days before arrival we were left and led on a wild goose chase. Which ended up in us taking a home from another agent out of sheer desperation. The agency firstly does not have an office but does have a good webage. So that already is a warning sign that we should have heeded. However I put it down too perhaps trying to keep costs down. I was sadly mistaken.. 

Out of the 16 properties that we chose to view not 1 of them were we shown. The excuses ranged from not having keys to the owners not being contactable. It was a sheer catastrophe. Which even leads me to believe that many properties are simply photographed without owners consent and placed on their webpage.

So kind fellow expats. Please use reputable agents for your own benefit. Ones that have been recommended either by the site or have actual offices and addresses.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I have approved the post but removed the company name as this forum has a no naming and shaming policy due to legal problems in the past.

I have left the post though as it gives good advice.
If anyone wants to know the name of the agent please pm Ken and Valery.


Veronica


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I must point out though that there are many agents here who don't have offices and work from home simply because the cost of offices and shops is prohibitive but not all of these are disreputable. 
I do recommend that people don't rely on seeing properties that rental agents have on their websites as many of them do not update the sites on a regular basis so most of the properties are rented out. However to make excuses is not good practice, far better to be honest with people and say they are rented out.

It is better to wait until you arrive here, rent something short term to give you time to look around for the right property that way you will not be disappointed.

I am sorry you had such a bad experience Ken and Valery. I hope you are now happy with the property you have found.

Regards
Veronica


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## DH59 (Feb 23, 2010)

I've been searching for rental properties, and found numerous websites with what appears to be available properties, but some have been listed for months, if not years.

I have also come across the same property on more than one website. This could be that the property owner has listed it with several agents, but it could also mean that some agents are copying the information for their own website. Quite how they hope to rent properties out in this way is beyond me, but maybe they will then say that it is not available and recommend you to another one that they do have on their books.

It's certainly a minefield!


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## Ken and Valery (Jan 17, 2014)

Veronica...Please accept my apologies for not reveiwing the name and shame details. I quite agree with you in everything you have stated. And in no way do I wish to state that because an agent does not have an office then its dodgy. People do have the right to keep their costs down by not renting an office. 

Whilst the name of the rental agency is left out it will not take to much investigation to find this particular agency. As they have the best website out there offering . With lists of different agents for different languages for long term rental including Greek, Russian, Ukranian, Latvian, English and skype chat..And literally hundreds of 'available' properties. I hope the reader will through his own savy understand who they are. 

It is a great shame that they are able to get away with this sort of behaviour.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

DH59 said:


> I've been searching for rental properties, and found numerous websites with what appears to be available properties, but some have been listed for months, if not years.
> 
> I have also come across the same property on more than one website. This could be that the property owner has listed it with several agents, but it could also mean that some agents are copying the information for their own website. Quite how they hope to rent properties out in this way is beyond me, but maybe they will then say that it is not available and recommend you to another one that they do have on their books.
> 
> It's certainly a minefield!


One of the problems is that owners will often list their properties with several agents but don't bother to let people know when it is rented out. Hence apart from the agent who rented it the rest don't know it is no longer available.
We find the same with sales and it is so infuriating when we get an enquiry for something only to find it has been sold and the owners couldn't be bothered to tell us.
We do ring round every so often to try to find out what has been sold but it should not be necessary if people had the decency to inform all of the agents they listed their property with.


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## Paphos00 (Nov 14, 2013)

Ken and Valery said:


> I am writing this post to inform would be interested parties to be very careful when dealing with the above agency.
> 
> This forum is an excellent source for information and we have to rely on eachother for helpful advice. We are new on the island, and we only wish we had paid attention earlier to it. if only we had listened to some of the kind advice it offered to others. It has placed many reputable agents on its lists for anybody who is seriously interested in finding a good agent in Cyprus. I do believe that not long ago Veronica highlighted some excellent reputable agents in a previous post a few days ago. As in everything there is a good and bad..
> 
> ...


Hi Ken and Valery.
Your post was very interesting unfortunately I do not know the name of the company you are talking about ,I too have been looking at all the agents on line and
taken on board all of the invaluable advice given by Veronica and others on this forum. I am very aware that not everything as it seems and it tends to make you very wary as to which ones are totally genuine and as Veronica says not all agencies update their sites on a regular basis. We have been planning our move to Cyprus for nearly 2 years now and we feel we are quite knowledgable especially with all the brilliant advice we have been given from this forum. One thing is for sure that when we do eventually move over which is hopefully next year we will certainly not arrange anything until we are their we will take an initial holiday let until we decide on a on a property.
I hope you have eventually found somewhere you like, and everything is now going smoothly for you both.:


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## Ken and Valery (Jan 17, 2014)

As Veronica stated if you PM me I am quite prepared to name the company. I would stick to the agencies that the forum and Veronica can recommend if I were in your position. I am sure that you will find a great property. Just be careful that they have adequate heating in the winter..We are still suffering from health problems from our home. Despite it having a log burner!. It was literally 8c every day during the winter in the mornings. As many homes are not insulated. Cyprus somehow is sold as an all year round destination. However this week we were tempted to light the fire as with the storms it was quite chilly and its May!)). In the deep winter this is a fact which can be overlooked!. The people on the forum can offer much advice on this I am sure!..


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## exup (Feb 13, 2012)

We also had problems with a company 'helping' us to find a property. I think that what everyone on here says is well worth listening to. There are many properties around and we found our ideal one just by driving around and viewing there and then. If you go with an agent, get a recommendation first and keep to one agent you trust or you will be shown the same properties. The main surprise to me was the cold even though I had been warned on here. We painted the inside of our villa on a very cold, damp week in December last year. Now I have good heaters, fire, electric blankets etc. Take time to read the information on here - it really is worth it and good luck with the search.


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## Paphos00 (Nov 14, 2013)

Ken and Valery said:


> As Veronica stated if you PM me I am quite prepared to name the company. I would stick to the agencies that the forum and Veronica can recommend if I were in your position. I am sure that you will find a great property. Just be careful that they have adequate heating in the winter..We are still suffering from health problems from our home. Despite it having a log burner!. It was literally 8c every day during the winter in the mornings. As many homes are not insulated. Cyprus somehow is sold as an all year round destination. However this week we were tempted to light the fire as with the storms it was quite chilly and its May!)). In the deep winter this is a fact which can be overlooked!. The people on the forum can offer much advice onthis I am sure!..


 Hi Valery and Ken,
Thank you for the invaluable information especially re the heating aspect, we have some experience of living in Cyprus as my husband and myself along with my twin baby daughters spent 2.5 glorious years in Dhekelia Garrison in the 80s. I know it is not quite so cold in the winter in that part of the island but the only heating our house had was an open fire and we also had a few mobile calor gas heaters, which wasn't ideal but we learnt to deal with it at he time and we were a lot younger then. This is something my husband and myself have actually thought of especially if we live higher in the foothills we will certainly make sure the property has adequate heating, In what part of Paphos do you live? 
We were overin Cyprus last year for 3 weeks and we noticed that just to drive around the areas you liked there were plenty of signs advertising properties to rent, and we are due to visit again in June for a further 3 weeks mainly for a holiday but will also be doing a lot more research and driving around the areas again to get a good feel.
If anyone else has anymore invaluable information and things we should maybe think about I'm all ears.


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## Paphos00 (Nov 14, 2013)

exup said:


> We also had problems with a company 'helping' us to find a property. I think that what everyone on here says is well worth listening to. There are many properties around and we found our ideal one just by driving around and viewing there and then. If you go with an agent, get a recommendation first and keep to one agent you trust or you will be shown the same properties. The main surprise to me was the cold even though I had been warned on here. We painted the inside of our villa on a very cold, damp week in December last year. Now I have good heaters, fire, electric blankets etc. Take time to read the information on here - it really is worth it and good luck with the search.


When we were on holiday last year we did the same thing and we saw lots of properties with signs (To Rent) it is certainly worth doing what you did.
At least you know you are going to be shown something by an agent that is totally not what you asked for.
I hope you are both happy in your new home


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## Andrea59 (May 1, 2014)

Hi
We have an ongoing bad experience which I have posted previously.
Always use a reputable company, we came on holiday with the intention of looking at possible long term rental accommodation. However in a bar one night we were speaking about it when an expat gave us a phone number of a friend who dealt in rental property. We contacted this person who spent a day showing us houses but we never actually got to look inside. We also contacted an agency who did show us inside houses (how I wish we had stuck with them). I contacted our friend from the bar with a list of properties and he arranged to show us around, he showed us 2 properties which we actually did go inside, but none from the list. As our hoilday was coming to an end we agreed on one of the properties. 
On return to the U.K. we agreed rent etc, but as soon as our deposit was paid into the landlady's bank the rent increased by €200. The landlady who owned the house wanted 6 months rent paid into her uk account with an exchange rate of 1.08 - making the rent higher still.
It has been a long story and is ongoing as we haven't had our deposit back.
Hence depressed.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

It's never a good idea to get involved with 'someone we met in a bar'.
These people are rarely interested in actually helping you, being more interested in any backhanders they can get. There are so many stories of people being ripped off because they trusted some stranger they met in a bar because he 'seemed nice'
Also never ever hand over a penny until you have got a signed contract in your hand with the rental amount clearly stated.


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## Andrea59 (May 1, 2014)

Thanks, any advice on how we can retrieve our deposit?


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

depressed said:


> Thanks, any advice on how we can retrieve our deposit?


I'm afraid that there probably isn't much you can do if the landlady is a Brit and the money went to her UK account.

You could try confronting the person who rented it to you in the first place.
If they are acting as an agent and taking commission you could threaten to give their details to the tax man and the social insurance office. They would then be investigated and if they are not paying taxes and social insurance they would end up in big trouble. The so called agent might prefer to give you back your deposit rather than risk being investigated. Don't forget your deposit will have been paid to him as commission.


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## hiatusxenia (May 6, 2013)

If the landlady was Greek, I would definitely do as Veronica says and (threaten to) report them.

But please, if there is a next time, do keep your wits about you! Would you have acted in this way if you were still back in the UK? I doubt it very much and Cyprus is just the same!


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## Andrea59 (May 1, 2014)

The landlady is Australian, living in Cyprus surely she should be declaring her income for tax purposes, she rents out other properties too.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

depressed said:


> The landlady is Australian, living in Cyprus surely she should be declaring her income for tax purposes, she rents out other properties too.


If you have any details forher you can report her to the Taxman. They have to investigate anyone who is reported and if she isn't declaring her income from rentals, (which she possibly isn't if the money goes to a bank in the UK) she will be prosecuted. Maybe just threatening her with it will force her to refund your deposit.


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## DCBCR1 (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi Ken 
Sorry to hear about your nightmare.
I have just been reading your post and as such am in the process of moving over to Cyprus and starting a new business there with rentals in mind I am aware of a lot of large companies that dont honour there clients and I think its bang out of order, I at the moment have a very well thought of business in Italy doing the same thing Lake Como I wont mention it for the same reasons (advertising) it may get blanked out.
All the best.


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## Ken and Valery (Jan 17, 2014)

Thanks for all the encouragment and posts!. Suffice to say that probably the best source is the forum for experience. It is in invaluable. Veronica in another thread has highlighted some reputable agents. I do not know why but I cannot access my Pm's. So if anybody has sent me a message and I have not responded please accept my apologies.


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## Andrea59 (May 1, 2014)

Maybe they should make a tv programme about cowboy rentals abroad!


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## mta (Dec 29, 2013)

I didn't bother with agencies just went on the angloinfo classifieds and contacted every landlord who'd placed an ad in the past few months for photos, all of them were very friendly and got a really good deal that way


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## Cleo Shahateet (Feb 23, 2009)

Interesting to read this and I just wanted to add my 2 cents. Firstly, I'm sorry so many have had bad experiences. It certainly makes it hard for those in business who are honest. As Veronica said many reputable agents don't have offices as they are rarely used. We worked that way for about 6 years as we had good systems in our home offices and about 95% of our customers needed to be picked up at their accommodation or we met at the sellers home. Now that we have an office it is mainly used if someone wants to pop in and drop off something rather than email or fax. 

As for listings, again like Veronica said many companies work together. For example, if we have a home for sale we may let all other reputable agents we cooperate with post it on their sites too. So you may see the same home on several sites. Ideally, owners will tell the sole agent if the price is reduced or if there is any change in status then that agent should let all other agents know. Or if a sellers lists with many agents they should let ALL agents know about changes. This is in an ideal world of course and not all agents or sellers can keep up. 
Just wanted to give a quick insight as to why people may see the same home repeatedly.

I would email or call and see how the agents phone manner and correspondence is and if they really listen. Then, choose the one you feel most comfortable with and does not put any pressure on you.


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## Ken and Valery (Jan 17, 2014)

I can access my PM's now. So if anybody needs the name of the agent I am prepared to help anybody not to fall for this.


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## Rema (Aug 12, 2012)

On a lighter note, or maybe this shows how it can happen!

I was having a drink in a bar recently and got talking to the barman re rental property. Whilst I was not actually looking for a property we were talking about prices and how they were fluctuating in some areas.

He ended up offering to show me a 'nice property' just behind his bar that was on the market for a knock down price. He said I could go and look at it now but if I wanted to rent it then I must sign within 12 hours. 
When I asked why the rush, without a blush he said, "the owner is coming back from holiday tomorrow night so we have to be quick".


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