Investment in property in recent years has proved to be the most reliable investment in Pakistan. But if a certain industry is doing very well, it does not necessarily mean that there are no frauds or issues in the industry. There are a lot of people in Pakistan that have lost a lot of money for the various frauds. Due to the economic condition of the country, saving up money is very difficult. A lot of people, after losing all their money to these property scams, cannot even afford the fees of courts and lawyers. Therefore, a lot of care is needed whenever you go out to buy a property.
How to avoid property frauds:
There are various things that you need to consider whenever you go out for buying a property. If you are not very careful, your money might fall into the wrong hands, never to be seen again. Below are some things that you need to consider while buying a property.
The property dealer:
Never trust an unknown property dealer over the phone or the internet. This is the most common method for scamming innocent people. Do not offer a single penny before you have authenticated the location of the property dealer’s office. Make sure that he belongs to a real and authentic real estate advisor or an agency. Also, gather information from other people around him to know about the reputation of the property dealer.
Listings on the websites:
Never trust the listings that are available on various websites. A large number of people have lost their money to the listings that do not even exist in real life. Therefore, before paying any money or finalizing a deal, always insist on seeing the location of the property in real life. Also, ensure if it is available for sale or not from other estate agencies that are close to the location.
Falsified documentation:
This is the most common scamming technique. All the documents that have been given to you by the other party must be verified from the relevant authorities like LDA, KDA, and other development authorities. Another way to verify the documents of properties in various housing schemes is from their offices. Before finalizing the deal, ask for the photocopy of the documentation and then confirm it from the relevant authorities.
Meet the buyers:
A lot of the buyers for properties are fraudulent criminals. Therefore, never hand over the documents or any personal information to anyone that you have not met in real life. Insist on meeting face to face before any deals and ask for a photocopy of CNIC also to ensure that the buyer is authentic.
Always do homework:
Buying a property for any purpose is not a small thing. Therefore, whenever you are going to buy any property, always do your homework. Another technique that the scammers use for committing fraud is that they communicate un-realistic market trends to the buyer. The value of the property is not as much as they have communicated to you. The trends that they have shown you might be falsified also and you will have to suffer losses in the future by investing in a certain property. Therefore, always do your homework before getting into a deal.
Have complete paperwork:
Another technique that you can use to stay away from the various scammers and frauds is to never enter into a verbal agreement. Always have complete paperwork for the agreements. It is better to use stamp papers to list all the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Use pay orders:
Never pay in terms of cash. If you have paid in terms of cash, there will be no physical evidence of the payment. Always use pay orders instead of cash. It is even better to make a photocopy of the pay order and ask the buyer to give a “receiving” of the pay order. This can be done by signing with the date on the pay order through which the buyer acknowledges the receipt of payment.
Therefore, by using all the techniques above, you can avoid being scammed and save your hard-earned money from falling into the wrong hands.