Hi Rhonda, we went on an inspection trip with MRI, we had no problems. We were going because there was a particular development that we were interested in, but were shown a few others. We did sign to buy whilst out there but that was because what we saw confirmed what we had hoped. You may be tempted to buy whilst out there, you may find something you really like. I don't believe there is anything wrong with that. All I would say is do your research on the company carrying out the inspection trip. Try putting their name in the 'Search' area of any property forums and find out what opinions others have of the company. It can't do any harm. Also, make sure you have a good independent solicitor to fall back on should you find something. DO NOT USE THEIRS. Good luck anyway. Natie

At what stage are you going to tell the guy who is looking after you and whose livelihood is at stake that you had no intention of buying anything?

And why don't you pay for your own flights and hotel?

Oly Daze,

I think we are quite within our rights not to buy anything on a first visit, we would prefer to look come home and then decide, we do want to buy but do not make decisions quickly. We are not going out there to waste anyones time and we will not buy just to keep some guy in a job.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I happen to think we are being sensible. Would you buy a property on your first visit? Any way why shouldnt we take up their offer re flights and accomodation. I find your comments offensive.

Rhonda

Please keep it friendly guys. Constructive comments only please.

MarkJ HT Mod

I went on an inspection trip in the Algarve last year.
When we arrived the prices were significantly higher than the price list Parador sent us just days before.
Their sales staff were agressively pushing properties in the eastern algarve which we weren't interested in. Their staff both in Portugal and the UK would say just about anything to secure a sale.
We were assured by the sales rep that a mortgage would be easy to obtain even though they knew nothing of our financial circumstances.
This infact was not the case.
Since returning to Portugal we have found that most of the properties we were shown were overpriced typically by 30-40%.
The solicitor they introduced us to charged 50% more than the independant lawyer we eventually used.
We lost a 6000 euro deposit and Parador have never contacted us to even ask why we cancelled.

I wouldn't recommend Parador to my worst enemy.

obviously at the price these inspection trips are offered at, there are going to be a lot of people who sign up to them as its a cheap way to have a look at property in a particular area. however bear in mind that somebody has to pay for these trips at the end of the day - usually the customer on the price of the property! You will also find that some sales reps will practically sit on you all the time, taking you here there and everywhere so you dont wander off to another estate agent (after all they have invested a lot of money in your inspection trip) A bit like having a permanent babysitter really! A lot of customers end up feeling obliged to buy something as they have had a cheap trip, good accomodation and will be wined and dined every day by the company by the nice man or lady who is allocated as their babysitter for the duration of their trip!
personally I would never go on one but if I felt like a cheap holiday for a few days then thats another matter.........

As long as you make sure you do your research before you go, you should be OK. We knew, through Internet research, what sort of development we were going to view. It was exactly what we wanted. Anything else the agent showed us was beside the point, just a comparison. The development lived up to expectations. We were not pressured into signing, we would not have given in to any pressure. I have found that when purchasing off-plan on a development through an agent there is no difference in price than if purchasing direct from the developer. The developer will ask the same price as the agent in a majority of cases. I researched this point and found that the asking price for the apartment we purchased was exactly the same price across the board. Just do your homework before the visit.

I have also ben considering booking an Inspection Trip, not because it is a cheap way of spending a few days abraod, but because I am keen to purchase property overseas.

But I too, would not sign up for anything on a first visit. I would probably need at least three maybe four visits before I decided upon anything.

So I guess the question we all want to know is: are you comminted to sign up to a purchase simply because you have booked one of the companies Inspection Trips?. Is there any 'hard sell' involved akin to Time Share Touts?

Do these companies expect you to pay some sort of deposit?

Or are they indeed simply what they are called.....Inspection trips with no obligation to buy?

My experience is that you are not obliged to purchase anything, otherwise no one would go. It is the luck of the draw though as to whether you get an agent who will hard sell or not. There was a very small element of it during our trip but it did not bother us. We were lucky and the chap who accompanied us could not have been nicer. The only thing was, after we had signed, he wanted to take us to meet their solicitor, a journey that would have taken six hours. There was no way that we would have entertained that Anyway, we already had our solicitor sorted out, that is a point that I can not stress too much. Have your own solicitor, not one recommended by the agent. We had already made that mistake on a previous, unsuccessful, purchase. Our solicitor was the daughter of one of the builders, and worked in the developer's office Go on the trip with an open mind, you may surprise yourself and find something you really like.

I am also going to turkey in july to the same area with parador for the same cost. may see you there! lol

I can't see the harm in this, but go with eyes wide open, know it will be intense sales and they will rubbish all the others in the area, will probably give you horror stories - take them with a pinch of salt - but make sure you do things properly and not on the cheap obviously. if you decide to buy, they will ask for a deposit, then the rest in 2 or 3 stages.

Something i have been told was don't broadcast that you have the cash in the bank. keep certain things like that to yourself until you are sorting out the last stages.

We chose parador because unlike many others, they won't drop a bill on you if you decide not to buy, they seem to have the attitue that if you don't buy that time, maybe you will on your next trip with them... I have plenty of other companies offering inspection trips which you pay towards, but who then bill you even more if you don't sign with them. defeats the object of the inspection tour I believe - may as well get a last min package holiday!

I have the intention of going there to find out exactly what I need to know about buying out there, am not going with parador with the view to buy there and then, because this is a lot of money which I am investing (well, to me anyway!) and therefore want to be 100% happy with everything. you hear so many horror stories that I think it's wise to do research first - if that means going on 100 inspection trips, then so be it! if parador show me something I like, then great, but am guessing they will be over-priced when compared to others there - they have a lot more overheads!
Have to say though that so far, am impressed with them.
time will tell though!

We've just been on an inspection trip with Parador to Almeria. We went as the deal was cheap to go and we wanted to see whether we liked Spain. We were prepared for a hard sell and to walk off from the rep if we had to. We didn't, there was no hard sell and we were taken to places we wanted to see.

There was no way that we would pay loads to go with a company as they want you out there and can afford to do it. (Otherwise they won't).

The rep really took our feedback and acted on it and the financial advice was good too. We had talked about buying a place abroad for years and have now decided to buy an off plan toenhouse. We've checked the developers website and its the same price no matter whether we had found it ourselves or on this trip. We also checked out the solicitor and don't have any issues with them.

We are treating this as buying any big purchase - do the research, ask the questions and don't continue until you're happy.

HTH's

Well, if you are happy, fine

Surely there must be reputable companies doing inspection tours to Turkey & you do not have to 'brace' yourself for the onslaught of dodgy agent practices I am sure people on this forum can receommend decent companies!

Well, there seems plenty of agents on the Turkish topics

we too have been on a parador inspection trip, (to cyprus) in february, excellent service and no pressure from the rep, really looked after us from picking up to flying out. we have bought what we wanted, the only down side is the solicitor they advised us to use. were not impressed with their competence, contract details and dates incorrect, wrong property address, telling us there are outstanding balances even though all funds have been paid in full, not confirming receiving of funds/e-mails etc, we appear to have done all the chasing up and phoning around etc., and this is just to date. parador 10 solicitor nil

Hi Ojays, you must have a totally independent solicitor, do not take the one your agent recommends. There is always something in it for them, NOT FOR YOU!!

hi natie,
some things you learn the hard way, it's great that there is a site like this so you can pass your experiences on.
we only wish that we had seen this site before we went.
apart from the solicitor, and the slow way things are done in these countries we have no real gripes.
iv'e worked and lived abroad before and i like the slower laid back approach to life, but incompetence grips my ****