By Ken, Teacher in Warsaw
Dzień dobry wszystkim!
Trying to find an apartment in Poland isn’t the easiest of tasks. You have some landlords refusing to rent to foreigners, the price (thanks inflation!) and also trying to find something affordable that isn’t in the middle of absolute nowhere. And then you have the slithery and suspicious scammers that just want your money and couldn’t care less if you ended up penniless and homeless. In this blog I will be sharing with you my top tips on how to avoid scams, and what to look out for. Let’s start off with the golden rule, which is…..
If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is fake
Goes without saying, and this saying could be used when buying anything in theory. But how does it relate to housing?
First of all, it pays to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Don’t take everything at face value and dig deeper. A good thing to learn is the approximate price of rent in the area you’re looking for. For example, I live in the centre of Warsaw and I know that currently (as of April 2024) to rent a studio apartment plus bills will cost around 3k-3.5k zloty. Anything around the centre will cost around 2.5k and anything further than that will cost around 2-2.5k. So anything cheaper than those prices would raise alarm bells in my head. I have seen quite a few advertisements for much cheaper-than-average apartments, so be vigilant!
Another thing that I would recommend is to not look at listings without any photos. I’m not saying that they are fake, but it does strike me as strange that someone would post a listing without photos of their apartment.
Common scams to look out for
There are many scams that are quite common on the rental market.
For example, one scam involves the scammer posting photos of an attractive apartment at a good price. So far, so good. The advert gains a lot of enquiries. This scam can take a variety of directions:
- The scammer can simply take the person’s deposit money and run. This is why you should NEVER accept a proposal without seeing the flat in-person, if possible. Also never accept a rental agreement without seeing a proper contract.
- The scammer will turn round and say something on the lines of “I’m sorry, the flat isn’t available right now, but if you pay a fee we will fast-track your enquiry and get you a flat ASAP” Of course, this is all lies and the scammer doesn’t have any flats available. Heck, they most likely aren’t even landlords! Never pay anything upfront!
Another scam involves a scammer showing you around an actual apartment which isn’t actually on the market. Once you sign the “contract” and pay the deposit, the scammer will disappear faster than the roadrunner. This scam is fortunately very uncommon but I’ve heard it happens, not just in Poland. So how can we protect ourselves against these fiendish thieves?
Top tips to avoid scams
As I said earlier, DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!
Look at the profile of the landlord. Is it brand new? Have they got other listings? A brand new profile doesn’t necessarily mean that they are a scammer, but often scammers will have their accounts removed and blocked and they will have to start afresh. A legitimate account is likely to have been there for a while. Another red flag is when the “landlord” declines to give you any photos of the flat or cannot offer a viewing.
Also trust your instincts – If something feels off, then go with your gut. It’s bad enough that someone might get your hard-earned money, but it’s even worse if they get their grimy hands on your personal details.
There is also something else that can be useful. Doing a reverse image search.
A reverse image search is useful as you can take the photo of a listing and use a website to search for instances of this photo on the internet. Of course, if the listing is real and genuine then the results should show similar results. If the website throws up totally different listings with totally different prices and details then it’s likely that you have a scammer who has stolen those photos for their own wrongdoings.
Summary and conclusion
To summarise, here is what you should do, and shouldn’t do when trying to find an apartment to rent in Poland.
DO:
- Your research!
- View the apartment in person before any exchange of money/signing of contact
- Trust your instincts
DON’T:
- Give anyone your money immediately. Scammers prey on desperate people
- Go for a flat that is outrageously cheap
- Give out ANY personal details until you know that the listing/landlord is genuine.
If you can follow everything covered in this blog then you will almost certainly not fall for any scams! Of course this is only half of the battle and finding a flat that’s actually affordable is another battle in itself which I will cover in another blog.
What isn’t a battle however is seeing what teaching opportunities are available. All you have to do is click here!
