No, La Villa Coliving is not a scam (and here's how to check)

A few days ago, an applicant wrote to us after several weeks of not answering our messages: "honestly, I'd been warned about scams in Annemasse, and I was shocked to see this listing was real." He'd ended up believing us because one of our residents, a doctor like him, had invited him over to the house.

We don't hold it against him at all. But we'll be straight with you: it's frustrating. It happens regularly — people get in touch to ask whether we're for real, and others, we know, never get in touch for the same reason. We put a lot of energy into making houses we'd want to live in ourselves, and the first reaction they trigger in some people is "too good to be true".

So rather than take it badly, we wrote this article. It does two things. It shows you how to check for yourself that we exist, without taking our word for it. And, even more useful, it helps you spot the housing scams that really do go around in the area, because they hurt everyone — the people looking, and the people offering something honest.

Why we tick every box

Let's be honest with ourselves. From the outside, here's what an applicant sees: photos of houses with a pool and a sauna, rent that covers everything, a first exchange on WhatsApp from a Leboncoin listing or a Facebook group, and two people they've never met. That's exactly what fake listings look like.

The difference is that you can check us. And that's precisely what a scam can't survive.

What we'll never ask of you

1. No payment before the lease is signed. No deposit, no "booking fee", no down payment "to hold the room". If someone asks you for money before you've signed, it isn't us.
2. A viewing before any commitment. On site with someone from our team, or by live video if you're far away. You see the room, the house and the person showing you around.
3. A completely standard furnished-rental lease, signed by both sides, with an address, a company and named contacts. Nothing unusual, nothing hidden.

One detail says it all: fake landlords almost always ask for a bank transfer before the viewing. It's the most reliable warning sign there is. We do the opposite.

Three checks, thirty seconds

And one last sign, if you want one: more than 100 residents have lived with us since October 2021. Some are still here, and others have recommended us to their colleagues.

Two of us, not a platform

La Villa Coliving is us: Jérôme and Fanny. We opened the first house in 2021 and we run all three houses ourselves, with a small team on site. If you apply: reply within 48 h, then a video call to get to know each other. After that, someone from our team shows you around. From one message to the next, you're always dealing with named people, with a first name and a face — we introduce ourselves on our who we are page.

The steps, in order

1. You apply online, or you message us.
2. Reply within 48 h, then a video call to get to know each other.
3. You view the house — on site or by live video.
4. We approve your application.
5. You sign the lease, then you pay the deposit and the first month's rent. Not before.

The scams we see around Annemasse and Geneva

The cross-border market is tight, people search fast, often from far away, and that attracts scammers. Here are the four patterns we come across most:

• The transfer before the viewing. You have to "hold" the room with a deposit or an application fee before you've seen it. Once the money's gone, so is everyone.
• The landlord abroad. They can't show you around, but they'll post you the keys as soon as you've paid the first month. There are no keys, and no flat.
• Stolen photos. Do a reverse image search: if the same room shows up elsewhere, at another address or under another name, walk away. And if you see our houses under a name other than ours, tell us.
• Pressure. "Three other people are interested, you need to decide tonight." A good landlord gives you time to think — at least a night.

The right reflex, in one sentence: no viewing, no verifiable identity, no lease → no money. In that order, no exceptions.

For the other traps (fake leases, illegal fees, subletting, fake platforms) and what the law says, we wrote the full guide to housing scams near Geneva. And if you're unsure about a listing that claims to be ours, send us a screenshot: we'll tell you straight away whether it's us or not.

What now

If you've read this far, you know everything you need to check that we exist and to avoid getting caught out elsewhere. There's one thing this article can't do: show you around. That's our team on site.

Before you apply, three useful reads: your rental application file, where to look between Annemasse, Ville-la-Grand and Ambilly, and life in our houses.

Jérôme and Fanny