Now a day, real estate is considered one of the safest investment opportunities in Pakistan. But due to some legal and procedural hindrances people avoid stepping into real estate without a helping hand. By helping hand we mean real estate agents or consultants. 

Whether you need to sell the property or you are going to buy one, you always need to get proper consultations. In Pakistan getting a true and sincere agent is not that easy. People face many scams while dealing with agents, sellers, or any realtor. There are certain scams and frauds which we are not even aware of. So, how do we avoid them? To avoid scams, you must first identify them. We have listed some of the real estate scams and ways to avoid them to help you out in the future.

Selling one property to many people

Agents sometimes sell one property to many people at a time. It is the most common real estate fraud in Pakistan. They first receive a little amount from several people in the name of a down payment. After accumulating a huge amount, they simply run away with the money. 

To avoid this situation first you have to visit the site yourself and ask the authorities if this property is for sale or not. You can also investigate the neighborhood by asking relevant questions about the ownership, legality, and status of the property.

Online fraudulent websites

Some bogus real estate marketing websites tend to sell the property. People in return send them their personal information like CNIC details, bank account number, and credit/debit card details. Some even convince innocent investors to pay online down payments. 

The only way to save yourself from such fraud is that first, see the authenticity of the website by asking them about the office address. You should also check the review and comments of people about the website on multiple internet forums and every relevant person about the website. But first, you have to identify online robbers and thieves. For that, you have to keep insisting to visit their office and provide you with strong evidence. After that support that information with your personal research.

Fake registry papers

Some thieves are just working here to prepare fake registry papers. First, they gather all the information about a piece of land, create fake registry papers, and start to find the seller. They take the down payment and confirmation fee from multiple parties and run away with everyone’s money. 

The best way to stay away from such thieves is that you have to ask relevant people like neighbors, developers, and other agents about the project. If the project is legit then someone will be there to guide you all about it.

Plot replacement in non-developed housing societies

Sometimes people buy a plot, pay all the installments, and get possession. They somehow forget to build the boundary walls of the plots and someone else builds a house there. Any other party comes and pays a heavier amount and society’s management replaces your plot in a total non-developed area. 

So first thing first, make a boundary wall of the plot as soon as you get the possession and after that keep visiting the society once a month. Stay updated about all the notifications regarding development charges because the management can sometimes put this as an excuse to replace the plot in case of non-payment.

Fake real estate consultants and agents

When you want to sell or buy the property first make sure that after paying the agent’s commission you stay in direct contact with the other party. Agents sometimes ask one party to pay an amount on behalf of the other party and just keep receiving money like this. 

Here the main key is communication. You have to communicate directly after the agent’s job is done. Don’t let your agent decide further matters like forfeited money, token money, security amount, adjustment cost, or even rent amount.

Fraud by tenants

Some tenants make fake property papers, sell the property to anyone and run away. It gets complicated when things get out of our hands. So, here the real owner and the party who has paid the amount have no other choice rather than filing a complaint.

To avoid this kind of situation you should keep visiting the property and have to keep an eye on the tenants as well. 

Caretakers acting as owners

In past years this has been a huge real estate scam. Overseas Pakistanis hire caretakers for their properties and as a result, the caretakers make fake papers and manipulate their rights. They simply hire an agent and find buyers. They sell the property at cheaper rates by telling them that the owner has to leave the country in an emergency and now he wants to sell the property as soon as possible. 

To avoid such scams, you have to be careful whenever you listen about surprisingly low prices. Start your research right away and save yourself from a big monetary loss. 

Conclusion

No doubt real estate is an ideal industry to invest in. But every seed breaks open to become a fruitful plant. Just like that, you have to go through many phases and during every phase, there is a scammer waiting for you. We have mentioned multiple real estate scams and told the ways to avoid them. All it takes is keen research about the property owners, developers, and agents.