How to spot a property scam when you buy a house abroad

The warning signs we see in cheap-house listings, and six checks that stop most scams before you send any money.

RealHunt Research · 2026-10-23

Cheap houses attract buyers from far away, and that is exactly what scammers count on: you cannot easily visit, you do not know the local rules, and a good price makes you want to move fast.

Warning signs

The price is far below every similar home in the same town, with no reason given (ruin, auction, shared ownership).
The "owner" lives abroad, cannot show the house and asks you to pay a deposit to "reserve" it.
You are asked to pay by bank transfer to a personal account, by crypto, or through a money-transfer service.
The photos appear on other listings with a different address or price. A reverse image search takes a minute.
Pressure: "three other buyers are interested", "the offer ends today".
No land-registry or cadastral reference, or the seller refuses to give one.

Six checks before you pay anything

Get the registry extract. In Spain the nota simple, in Italy the visura catastale, in France the extrait cadastral. It shows who owns the house and whether there are debts on it.
Check the owner's name matches the seller. If an agent sells, ask for the signed mandate from the owner.
Use your own lawyer or notary, not one recommended by the seller.
Pay only into an escrow or a notary's client account, never to a person.
Visit, or send someone. A local surveyor or a video call walking through every room is enough to prove the house exists and matches the photos.
Read the reservation contract before you sign: what happens to your deposit if the sale fails.

What RealHunt does

A person checks every home before it goes up, and we link to the original listing so you deal with the real seller or agent. That is not a guarantee: if something on a listing looks wrong, use the report button on its page and we check it.

This is general information, not legal advice. Before you buy, get a local lawyer or notary.

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How to spot a property scam when you buy a house abroad

Warning signs

Six checks before you pay anything

What RealHunt does

More