deception...........
Good point but I think it goes even further than that............there are strict guidelines for estate agents and marketers of property in the UK which do not seem to apply or are being flouted by anyone who is primarily using the internet as a commercial sales tool for property abroad..............
First duty is that of not misleading clients by providing erroneous, ambiguous, confusing, inaccurate or exagerrated info.....and making outrageous claims.
Out of date info on the internet is also a huge problem....some agents and developers are leaving inaccurate old info on their site up to a year or more after its posting.
Secondly it is not permitted to take advantage of a client's lack of knowledge or experience. Thus those who follow the above methods are breaking the rules twice over.
The websites are often poorly researched and make ridiculous 'ease of travel claims' and do not check or deliberately mis-supply distances and availabilities.
Telephone conversations which follow after the 'bait' has been swallowed frequently follow the same misleading path with claims about progress, planning permissions etc all being exaggerated. Reservations have been know to be 'double booked'.....in order to transfer clients at a later date to a different, harder to sell, property and to get money in quicker...
Developers and agents who produce contracts bias them heavily in their favour and leave little time for clients to read , digest and thoroughly examine the nuances disguised within, often in poorly written and confusing grammar no matter what language ,by clever lawyers.
All in all I am having serious second thoughts about the International Property World and it's dubious and unethical practices.........based on two years researching and buying experience and treatment in Spain, Dubai and Morocco.....I don't expect other countries are any better............
You have consider if the risks are worth the investment, I suppose, but there are going to be a lot of casualties along the way.................
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