Buying an apartment in Bangladesh is the ultimate dream for many middle income people but sometimes some real estate companies can take advantage of it and turn the dream into a nightmare. Here is a list of 5 common real estate scams you need to be aware of before investing in real estate properties.
Title deed and property ownership
There are several incidents when some real estate companies or apartment sellers use duplicate copies of title deeds or disputed projects and sell those to gullible buyers. The real estate fraud will pretend to be the property owner and use forged documents to transfer property ownership. Therefore, it is highly imperative to check that the title deeds and relevant documents are authentic. You can check the documents at the sub registrar office. Verify there are no discrepancies, legal cases or any other property disputes. Once you have paid the booking money, you should receive an allotment letter or Sale Deed. This is very important because it is the evidence against purchase of your property.
After sales and follow up activities
Some real estate companies may promise you a certain date for handover but often companies will delay the project due to lack of fund or buyers for which they cannot complete the project on time. Receiving handover on time is an important factor as many dreams and plans are tied up to your home. If you do not receive handover on time, you will face financial crisis too as you need to pay rent as well as pay home loan debt.
After you receive the handover of your apartment, the developer still has some responsibilities towards you for providing services such as formation of homeowner’s association and other property management services. They will also make sure to follow up with you after you have moved in to ensure there are no problems in your new home.
Intentionally delayed handover
Sometimes real estate companies may delay the handover of a project intentionally due to unethical intentions. For instance, it may be a newly established company whose main target is to deceive buyers, take money and then disappear from the market. Sometimes they may even have a few successful projects in their portfolio as a means to gain trust initially from new customers and then hoodwink them. One way to prevent this is to check the years of experience the real estate company has and previous track record. Before signing the Deed of Agreement, you should check if there is any delay clause and mention of date of completion of the project.
Utility connection not present
Delays in approval and permission in getting utility connection may also lead you to fall in despair despite getting possession of the apartment. So before buying an apartment, ensure that the project has permission for utility connection such as electricity, water and gas connection etc. Problems like plot in unofficial layout, building with land use violation, setback violation, FAR violation, etc. found after agreement has been signed and commencement of construction can lead to delay in getting approval for utility connection as well as registering the apartment.
Deviation from approved plans
Another important thing to make sure when buying a property in Bangladesh is to check adherence of the building design to the approved plan. Many projects are completed after which the dissimilarities are found out. For instance, you might find that your apartment size is less than what the developer promised. You might be deprived of basic amenities like allocated parking space for which you have already paid. The best way to tackle such issues is to firsthand see the approval plan and get everything written in the Deed of Agreement. However, sometimes real estate companies can deviate even after they have written down everything in the contract. At the end of the day, you need to ensure the company you are investing your hard earned money is reliable.
When you have decided to buy your first home, it is important to do your due research and check out the property, plans, real estate company etc before finalizing the deal, after all real estate is most often a once in a lifetime investment. To start your home search now, you can browse through bti properties for sale.