
Beware of these 3 SCAMS moving abroad that are happening not only in Portugal, but all over the world. One of these happened to us- don’t let it happen to you!
As always, thanks for watching and please subscribe to our channel.
Wishing you health & happiness!
💙 Doug & Monique 😊
Please consider joining us on Patreon ❤️ – Thank you!:
▶ Check out our Channel & Playlists for more of our other videos you may enjoy!
In October, 2021, we retired early at age 50 and moved to Portugal. We sold everything, and downshifted to our “Second Half of Life.” We are here on Madeira Island, Portugal. We hope you find our videos helpful and a little interesting, as you pursue your “Second Half of Life.”
If you are looking for a real estate or civil lawyer here in Funchal, Madeira, we have a great recommendation. He has been a local lawyer in Funchal for decades and is well-respected – a true gentleman. Please contact us via email at trackusdownbusiness@gmail.com for contact details!
These are Affiliates that we have used. We love them, and are sure you will too! Try them out and enjoy peace of mind, or a great discount through our link:
uTalk: To learn Portuguese – Portuguese on the go (PT-PT) we use uTalk and we’re very excited to share it as one of our affiliate links. Plus, you’ll 20% off if you sign up through our link!
Bordr: We used Bordr in order to get our NIF and open a Portuguese bank account from overseas – what a relief and peace of mind that was! Bordr is amazing, very affordable, and have excellent customer service – we highly recommend them!
Affiliate links mean that if you buy/sign up through the link then we receive a small percentage (thank you!) at no extra cost to you.
▶ Looking for a vacation read? Inspiration for World Travel as a family or as a couple? Then Track Us Down! check out our e-book about our One Year Off as we travelled around the world with our kids:
AMAZON Kindle version of our book:
APPLE Books version of our book:
KOBO version of our book:
#travelcouple #expat #retirement
source
Yikes! Happy it is all sorted. We all have to be careful
Yeahhh, don't count on courts to help, Justice here is just for the rich and very well connected… You may get Justice in the end but is 15 year long
Sadly, that scam is popular everywhere. 😬
Too true
Hi Doug & Monique, very sad that there are people who scam over and over without consequences. Would you two consider doing another video about how to best go about securing a long term rental without being in Portugal to see an apartment first hand. People have to apply for the D7 visa in their home country, and part of that process is proving that you have a long term rental in most cases. In which they must seek, find, and secure without ever stepping foot in Portugal. Just food for thought! Keep up the great work.
Happens in Germany too
So typical these scams….they are always “away” and then they want to send you the key etc.
I like your videos… I have the same plan as you… just building my sweat home in Calheta… hope I will move there soon !
Looking forward to see your new video soon 😊
This bad experiences happens here in UK every day , thats people for you, some people are just here in this world for scaming others . We just have to be careful anywhere in this world.
Beware also of scam taxis the moment that you arrive. Only go into a graphically labeled taxi. This is
especially true in Lisbon, where they don't seem to be enforcing the law. Another thing; beware of buying
property that you can not access, or live in, or without water, or on nature-preserve property.
Extremely informative! Thanks for such great content.
Thanks!
Great info from my fellow Canadians!
Thank you for sharing your story. We are thinking of moving to Madeira and this well help us to be more cautious.
Hello! Was wondering how you found your house in Madeira (Idealista, etc.), and what due diligence did you undertake to ensure it was legitimate able to be legally purchased? Thanks!
Well, I live in Brazil, the land of scamming. That's why I don't trust even my shadow. rs! Its sad to hear about that in Madeira as well. I guess we have to be careful all over the world about it. About your place, you could maybe go to Court and even get an indemnity but even though, its really boring.
Hello. Nice to see you guys again. It is really annoying that even Madeira is not exception to this sort of scams.
Then people are getting worried why there aren’t many places to rent. It is better rent a place to turists (Alojamento local) rather than to people for a year and then having to take them to court to get rid of them from your own property.
Gotta see a place in person before renting and sending money! Yikes!
When I was helping my sons try to find apartments to rent, I was shocked to see how many scams there are in the US for apartment rentals also! Lots of fake ads of really great places to rent at unreasonably low prices. It’s awful! Huge waste of time too!
Great video! Your video reminded me of how grateful we should be that during Covid none of our tenants stopped paying. The eviction moratorium would have been rough given we rent out 8 houses.
Do you think these scams exist on AirBnB too? I think they hold the money in escrow until the first or second day of the actual stay to avoid this… We have a plan to rent an AirBnB and then look at possible long-term rentals on site to avoid being scammed but from what I gather it will be veeery difficult to find a place 😔 Do you have any experience with real estate agents and can you recommend one? So sad this is happening, especially with people bothering you at your place.
The same rental scams are going on in Vancouver, including people trying to rent out properties they don't own. These scams seem to have grown in popularity over the past few years. Some pretty shady people out there. Sorry to hear about your troubles. Glad I didn't try to rent your place. 😁
Ola Monique, Doug, yes, I'm hearing about many scams like this throughout the world. Hope you got this resolved. I've rented places in many cities, many countries, and if the rental price seems too good to be true, it is. But many people have optimism bias, so when the scammers listed your place (while not even on the market) for well below market price, they must know this tactic works well and fast with the "hopeful" ones :)…thank you for this info 🙂
Thanks for the reality check Doug & Monique. In this digital age, anonymous scammers can remotely strike anywhere. This video is a good reminder to remain alert and always employ "due diligence" when making financial transactions, especially large ones.(It is sad how some people (thieves) have prioritized their love of money over their love of fellow men and women.) Sorry to hear the hassle you went through and I feel bad for that young lady learning a life lesson the hard way. 😟
Glad you guys posted this, I was about to show up at your door tomorrow with a bunch of suitcases, a big crate and a big dog. 😉
I've lost all trust in Portuguese real estate agents after several months.
If you are not shure if the house that you are viewing belongs to the announcer. You have to take the address to a solicitor or a lawyer so that they can confirm who is real owner.
To rent almost anything in Portugal, if you are a owner, you got to have a guarantor or a bank guarantor on first demand, on a lease contract to avoid been scamed.
I recommend you only rent through a trusted realtor over there.
Wow. So sorry to hear your quiet and serene life has been interrupted by this scammer.
Wow! Great warnings! Appreciate it as we are moving soon. By the way, we have taken your place off our list of potential rentals. Just joking. JP
Yikes!
That same crap happens here in the US. Sad that we have such horrible people out there.
Hi Monique and Doug, thanks for responding my email!!