At idealista, we do everything possible to make your experience as transparent and satisfactory as possible. Unfortunately, there are some nasty people who use classified ad web platforms to try and get others to pay for services or properties that don’t actually exist by making them think they’ve found a real bargain.
Read our advice to help you surf and do business safely on the internet:
Never, ever pay someone money before going to see the property
More importantly, never do it if the advertiser makes excuses for you not to see it.
Don’t trust properties that seem too good to be true
The price may seem unbeatable and the photos might look like something out of a movie, but not all that glitters is gold.
Always try to speak with the advertiser over the phone before sealing the deal
While it’s normal for an advertiser not to want to be disturbed by telephone, it’s unusual if they don’t give you a phone number for you to contact them more directly after you’ve made first contact by email.
Take care with online payments to the advertiser
idealista does not have any platform for making online transfers as yet. Do not transfer money using other property rental websites.
Make sure the advertiser is the owner or someone who is authorised to sell/rent it
Subletting is illegal; if you rent a property from someone who is not allowed to rent it, you may be evicted at any moment.
Never send your login details to anyone
idealista will never ask for your login details by email or telephone. Unless you have to log in to your personal area for something very specific related to your property listings.
Only log in if the website has a padlock symbol at the top where the URL is.
If you receive an email that looks like it’s from idealista asking you to log in, make sure the page where you enter your login details has HTTPS in the web address.
Be wary of messages claiming to be from an agency if the listing was posted by a private seller
Some cybercriminals create listings that appear to be from private sellers and then contact interested parties pretending to be agencies. Always verify the identity of the person contacting you through official channels before submitting any documents or making payments. If you have any doubts, contact idealista.