Real estate industry is facing a large number of conmen who are stealing money from people buying land and houses. Below are tricks, which are used by the conmen. Read and follow the steps below to avoid falling into the trap of the conmen.
Title fraud– many conmen are duplicating title deeds of disputed land or vacant and sell them to buyers. The scammer then vanishes and leaves the buyer struggling with the lawful owner of the land .
Hurried sales– avoid sellers who are trying to hurry you to make the purchase decisions since they must be scammers. Take time to Conduct due diligence and a search on the property
False promises– most sellers tell false promises to the buyers to lure them in buying the property
Deliberate delays– conmen launch projects without enough money to fund the project. These conmen wait till they acquire a number of customers so that they can accumulate some more money, which takes a lot of time causing delays. Some developers may close their companies and run with customer’s money leaving them struggling paying for the loans from the banks.
How to outsmart real estate conmen
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Site visit
It is important to view a property first before paying for it. When buying a plot, a house, or an apartment you must visit the place physically to view it. You can also visit the site at your own time and talk with the neighbors about the property so that you can get all the details even those the seller did not disclose to you. This is important before paying any amount on the property.
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Due diligence
Conduct due diligence to ensure all the documents relating to the property are legal. When buying property make sure the person selling the property is the legal owner of the property. You can get a lawyer to help you conduct the search, or get a professional. Ensure the property has no caveat, or any outstanding land rates rent. Hiring a lawyer, or a professional will cost you some money, but you will be sure that the property is legitimate. Before paying for the property confirm that the property, or the land is not stolen, or does not belong to the government. It is good to get approval from the government if you are building a structure.
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Check the developer’s background
Conduct a search on the background of the developer. Check on the projects they have done both from the past and the current to see their consistency. Check them on their social medial platforms and see the testimonials, or complaints from their customers.
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Get a valuer
If you do not know how much the property will cost it is advisable to get a valuer who will help you with the valuation of the property. When you are planning to take a mortgage from the bank it is good to consult a bank valuer who will help double check the property.
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Read the fine print
Your lawyer will help you go through and study the documents before signing the contract. Agree with the owner of the property on the method of payment. The contract should be in writing with your lawyers as the witnesses.
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Delay clauses
Remember to include a delay clause and a structure timeline in the contract. With this you will be secured from any delays from the developer. Keep all the documents you got throughout the transaction like sale agreement, legal documents, lease agreements and also agreement from the mortgage safe and secure.
