Real Estate Scams & Frauds : 7 Tips & Advices to Save Yourself from the Trap

Usually people’s biggest investment in their lifetime is a home, thus any mistake here could have serious, long-term financial effects on the buyer. Over this, novice buyers should exercise extreme caution when making real estate holdings in order to prevent falling victim to any property frauds.

The Industry of real estate is second only to the agricultural industry in importance to the economy of India. In India, the introduction of urbanisation and globalisation has raised the demand for real estate. Retail, hospitality, housing, and service industries all benefited from these improvements. Although many people are unaware of it, the Indian real estate business formerly came under fire for not having enough laws and guidelines to safeguard real estate developers and buyers. Top real estate frauds are brought on by buyers’ ignorance or developers’ failure to provide accurate information. The RERA Act of 2016 was introduced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government of India as a result of ongoing real estate frauds. In order to safeguard the best interests of both buyers and developers, the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA Act 2016) was introduced.

Here are seven tips that can you from falling into the trap of real estate scams and frauds,

1. Do your share of research

When a real estate agency calls you, you should ask them where their office is because this will give you a better idea of the veracity of the information the person providing the call has provided. The next step is to do some research on the company so you can gauge the calibre of their offerings.

2. Focus on the ownership of the property

The situation where the ownership of the property has not been accurately represented is known as misrepresentation of title. Many people fall victim to it since it is one of the most widespread real estate scams in India. Typically, the representatives make copies of the papers for real estate that doesn’t belong to them before selling it to someone else. These situations develop when a property is unoccupied for an extended period of time.

3. Don’t invest into delayed projects

Project delays are among the most typical real estate frauds. The customer receives a betrayal of trust even though the developer guarantees possession of the product within a specific time frame. Contacting the developer frequently to find out the status of the project is the answer to these kinds of issues, but if the delay persists, you still have the option of taking legal action against the developer.

4. Keep an eye on project cancellation

The developer would delay the development that had previously been offered at reduced prices and then resell the same project at higher rates while pushing cancellations. The developer then cancels the units that were sold at a lower price as property values start to rise over time in an effort to increase profits. The buyer of the property can take action by asking the developer directly for a written guarantee that the units won’t be cancelled if the price goes up in the future.

5. Instant and insignificant changes made to the plan

To mislead the customers, some fraud developers make minor adjustments to the approved blueprint. The developer faces serious problems with regard to the property’s demolition if the city authorities has not accepted the plan’s adjustments. The buyer of the property has the option to complain about the developer’s fraudulent behaviour.

6. Choose traditional modes of transaction and maintain a record

We would advise you to opt for physical proofs and transactions even though we all live in a digital environment where many transactions take place digitally in order to avoid scams by developers. Always request written confirmation of the veracity of the information offered by the developer.

7. Have a complete knowledge about the property

Having thorough knowledge about the property is the greatest approach to avoid real estate scams. To assess the company’s brand worth, you must investigate both the property’s possession and the developer’s past performance.