Join Talk Quesada

Welcome to Talk Quesada! My name's Alex and this is my website all about Ciudad Quesada in Spain. Talk Quesada is free to sign up and use so register below!

need advice

need advice

Postby Lana » Fri Mar 01, 2019 11:33 pm

Hi,
We have purchased the property in October 2017.
Recently, I was looking for some properties online and saw that one real estate agency advertising property for sale and using my house old picture ( pictures that were posted in 2017). I have contacted the agency and ask the location of the house and if it is possible to see it. I got respond back that it is available and I can see it. Also, they indicated the area where my house. I am not in Spain right now and very concern.
Is anyone can advise what should I do? Is it normal to use old pictures of someone else house for advertisement ?
Thank you!
Regards,
Lana
Lana
 
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 6:02 pm
Which part of Spain are you from?: Benijófar
Gender: Female

Re: need advise

Postby Shiva » Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:04 am

I recently heard of this happening to someone else. The original seller had placed the property with a number of agencies , and then never bothered to tell all the agencies when it was sold so it was still being marketed. Your main immediate concern should be if the seller had left keys with all the agencies. In the case I heard of, the owners followed up to see if they would be given a viewing of what was now their own property and the agent had keys! Did you change all the locks when you moved in? If so, they will not be able to access the property . As you are not in Spain right now I would suggest you ask your solicitor to immediately intervene and tell these agents it has been sold . Also if you have not changed the locks, make arrangements to do so , perhaps the solicitor could arrange this, or a neighbour? There are a number of locksmiths recommended on the forum. To try not to worry too much it is very likely a genuine mistake by the agent but you need to get it corrected asap.
User avatar
Shiva
 
Posts: 1566
Joined: Sat May 16, 2015 12:46 pm
Gender: Female

Re: need advise

Postby Lana » Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:26 am

Thank you for your reply
But they advertise at the way higher price then it was originally advertised.... can they change price without asking the previous owner?
Lana
 
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 6:02 pm
Which part of Spain are you from?: Benijófar
Gender: Female

Re: need advise

Postby Gasplumbman » Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:08 am

Lana that's not unusual you say the price if the agents think they can make a fast buck some will,we,ve had stories of an agent suddenly saying buyer is a grand short the day before,guess what happens to that
Gasplumbman
 
Posts: 404
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 12:38 am
Which part of Spain are you from?: Orihuela costa
Gender: Male

Re: need advise

Postby Janjan » Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:47 pm

I've noticed that if you Google 'Property for sale' in a certain area you'll get at least a page of Agents advertising Properties. Some of the properties were sold 4 or 5 years ago or taken off the market as they were near me. I believe they were old adverts and just hadn't been deleted.
Janjan
 
Posts: 1012
Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 4:32 pm
Which part of Spain are you from?: Quesada area
Gender: Female

Re: need advice

Postby PeteKnight » Sat Mar 02, 2019 1:41 pm

When we bought our property, one agent continued to advertise it for some time, until I told them that we were the new owners.
The previous owner was a full-time resident, so I doubt anyone had keys, but we'd changed all the locks anyway.

Our next door neighbour's property was advertised in a Facebook campaign about a year after it had been sold, and the agent did this several times over a 3 month period, even though I posted comments that the property wasn't for sale each time it was advertised, and the agent would immediately deleted the listing.

The practice of listing sold properties is called Ghost Listing, and although it's illegal, many agents still do it. They usually list properties that they previously had on their books and that have sold - claiming not to know if ever they are challenged.
They do it to pull-in potential punters. They'll arrange to pick you up and take you for a viewing, but when you get in their car they'll tell you the bad news that the property has 'just been taken off the market this morning', but 'not to worry because they have some equally nice properties that they're going to show you instead'.

If you've changed the locks on your property then just tell the agent that it sold and that you have been the owner for some time, and ask them to take it off their website immediately.

If you haven't changed the locks then you've been extremely foolish! Any crime prevention officer will tell you that changing the locks comes before anything else, even unpacking the kettle and making a cuppa. Do whatever it takes to get the locks changed ASAP, even if that means posting your keys to someone like David Beck.

As far as the higher price is concerned, this could have been the seller's original price, or it could be part of the ghost listing strategy to attract potential buyers with a particular amount to spend.

Pete.
PeteKnight
 
Posts: 1468
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 10:17 pm
Which part of Spain are you from?: Villamartin
Gender: Male

Re: need advice

Postby Lana » Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:09 pm

Thank you for everyone for respond!
Lana
 
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 6:02 pm
Which part of Spain are you from?: Benijófar
Gender: Female

Re: need advice

Postby jpeg » Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:14 pm

Ghost Listing is not against the law in Spain or anywhere else
jpeg
 
Posts: 9269
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2017 11:24 am
Which part of Spain are you from?: Dolores
Gender: Male

Re: need advice

Postby El Tel » Sat Mar 02, 2019 6:10 pm

A house on our road had the estate agents round to photograph etc. Because their community pool is no bigger that a foot spa, they photographed ours, next door to it and showed our pool belonging to the house for sale. Sharp practice or what.
User avatar
El Tel
 
Posts: 467
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 9:55 pm
Which part of Spain are you from?: Quesada
Gender: Male

Re: need advice

Postby PeteKnight » Sat Mar 02, 2019 6:54 pm

jpeg wrote:Ghost Listing is not against the law in Spain or anywhere else



It’s certainly illegal in the UK, under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, 2008.
My statement that it’s illegal in Spain was based on a conversation with the solicitor we used when purchasing our Spanish property, who was telling me that it’s now illegal in Spain too.
She may have been incorrect, and I don’t know.

Pete.
PeteKnight
 
Posts: 1468
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 10:17 pm
Which part of Spain are you from?: Villamartin
Gender: Male

Next






  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to General property discussion

 
 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: cdavey, GRSmith, janetl and 2 guests

Login
Username:


Password:


Remember me


Forgot password?

Register now

Find in Quesada
What are you looking for in Quesada?: