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Swiss property scam: fake firm charges 12,000 francs for home viewing

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Published: 12 September 2018 11:14 CEST

Swiss property scam: fake firm charges 12,000 francs for home viewing

File photo: Depositphotos

When a Swiss homebuyer went online recently and spotted a terrace house for sale in Aesch in the canton Basel-Landschaft for just 300,000 Swiss francs, her interest was piqued.

After enquiring about the property, she received a message from someone who gave her name as Catalina Arnal. The woman said she was a Spanish doctor who had lived in the house for a year. She went on to say she had no time to arrange the sale of the house and had handed that task over to an international firm called Partner Real Estate.

Read also: Switzerland snubs tougher rules on foreign property ownership

The potential buyer was then contacted by a so-called agent who gave her name as Laura Watson and requested a payment of 12,000 francs for a viewing of the house. This was an expression of interest, not a deposit, the intermediary said.

That’s when alarm bells rang for the home buyer, according to Swiss news portal 20 Minuten.

She started doing some digging and found out that no one called Catalina Arnal had ever worked at the Basel hospital she claimed to be employed by.

Fake website, real properties

It has since emerged that Partner Real Estate is a fake real estate firm.

However, the firm’s website, now taken down, stole the details of actual listed properties from other legitimate websites. The owner of the property in Aesch had no idea that the house was being listed on the Partner Real Estate site.

A spokesperson for cantonal prosecutors in Basel-Landschaft said Partner Real Estate had not done anything illegal by setting up the site and noted it would be very hard for anyone to recover money they had handed over.

The spokesperson warned people to take care when coming across deals that looked like bargains.

Read also: A lot of the Swiss rental market is about having personal connections

Checklist: What you need to do if you move house in Switzerland

Anyone who has ever moved, whether in Switzerland or elsewhere, knows it is not just a matter of simple logistics.

In fact, whether you are relocating to another town or canton, or just to another neighbourhood, moving is a big, expensive, time-consuming, and stressful experience.

These are various tasks you will have to cross off your list, one by one.

Getting your old apartment in order

It goes without saying that before you move out, you must make sure to leave the place clean and in order. Most people hire a cleaning company to do so, though you can, of course, do this yourself.

If, for instance, you broke or damaged anything while living in the apartment, you must repair it before you leave.

The condition of the apartment will be assessed during the final inspection process, when the landlord or the management company will write down all damages which you are responsible for either repairing yourself or paying someone else to do it for you.

You are not officially off the hook with your previous landlord until this process is completed.

De-register your old address and register the new one

Whether you are moving across the country or just across the street, this is an obligatory step.

You must let your ‘old’ commune’s population office (Einwohnerkontrolle / Contrôle des habitants/ Controllo abitanti) know you are leaving, and from which date.

You can do so either in person or (if available) online.

Then, when you settle in a new home, you have 14 days to announce your arrival in your new municipality, though in some places the deadline may be longer.

You will need the following documents:

A passport or ID card for each member of the family, in addition to a passport-sized photo for everyone
Documents relating to your family status — whether you are single, married, and with children
Your work or residency permit
Your lease contract or proof of home ownership
Your health insurance card or proof of your current health insurance policy.

The rules are the same regardless of where you arrive from, that is, if you are Swiss, an EU citizen or from a third country, however the supporting documentation may vary.

Some cantons may require other or additional documents, which you can find out ahead of time on your commune or canton’s website.

READ ALSO: Why you need to tell Swiss authorities where you live

Inform the post office about your change of address

To ensure that your mail arrives at your new home, fill out the ‘change of address’ form online at least four days before your move.

Four days is a minimum required time for the post office to process the address change and register it in the electronic database.

If you wait longer, your mail will continue to be delivered to the old address.

You also should notify these companies of your move and new address:

Your mobile telephone / internet provider (if you still have a fixed phone, you should have it switched off at the old address and re-activated at the new one)
Your bank
Your insurance companies (health, car, and any other ones you have, both mandatory and optional)
Your doctor / dentist

If you forget to inform anyone of your new address, no worries — the post office will automatically forward the letters to you, provided your notified them of the change (see above).

What about the tax office?

You don’t have to do a thing.

Your local commune will automatically inform tax authorities of your move, so there is no chance whatsoever that they won’t find you.

Rental versus owned property

If you move into a rental property, you don’t need to, in most cases, notify utility providers like the electric company of your move.

But if you are going to live in your own house, then you must let the local power company know to switch on your electricity supply.

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