eBusiness Weekly
Arthur Marara
Owning a piece of real estate is an exciting part of life for many people. In fact, this is a goal that many people have in their life, and is a significant milestone.
However, some people have suffered serious losses in the process. You may have read of stories of people who lost their properties to demolitions on allegations that they were in an illegal settlement, or some other explanation.
This is really sad because people would have committed significant resources to building their properties. However, where a property is built is very important.
Are you planning on buying a property in the near future? The tips below are important in order to safeguard your interests. I have developed some of the tips from the research that I have undertaken.
As it is, I read them, and decided to add one or two accompanying notes so that it can help you.
Some of the common frauds in stands transactions
This is where many people have suffered. You may also know of people who may have been duped whilst trying to acquire properties. I have just taken 5 basic examples which I want to discuss with you:
1. Fictitious Sellers — Be careful of the person who is selling the alleged property. Several people only realised after parting with money that the purported seller was not the seller. These “sellers” even produce Identification Cards that matches the details on the title deeds.
So, IDs are not enough for purposes of verification. You need to go an extra-mile to check whether the person you are dealing with is the real person.
It might mean visiting the Registrar’s office for confirmation of IDs, and requesting other documentation like copies of certificates, even birth certificates, marriage certificates to ensure that you are dealing with the real person.
Estate Agents have been conned before hence you need to be alert. In one case I had to represent a client to successfully sue a Real Estate firm after being introduced to a bogus seller, and the client lost over US$24 000,00.
When signing the agreement of sale, also get thumb-prints in addition to the signature on the agreement.
Additionally engage the previous conveyancers to get further clarification on the person you will be dealing with. That will save you a lot of trouble.
2. Non-Existing Stands or properties — There are people who excitedly rush to purchase stands after seeing them on a site map without undertaking any physical visits to do verifications as to whether or not this piece of land actually exists.
The suggestions below will help guard against this. Do not part with your money until you have visited the land and inspected it amongst other safeguards.
Do not fall prey to adverts on social media, and some deals that look too good to be true. Do your due diligence before committing yourself to a transaction.
3. Occupied land — Some people buy land only to realise that there are squatters on the land, and removing these people may not be that easy. Physically visit the land and ensure that you have seen that there is no-one who is occupying the land in question.
There are instances that a physical visit may protect you from buying land which is already owned by someone. There are instances you can also see that the land you were about to buy has some buildings on it. This will protect you from parting with monies, with a chance of not seeing it again at all.
4. Double Sales — These are very common, and some unscrupulous developers are responsible for this. In other instances, some sellers sale the land deliberately knowing that there is someone with interest in the property.
I once did one case where two innocent purchasers had to fight over the same stand. Fortunately, we were able to secure a compromise between the parties. Buy land only from reputable land developers.
Do not buy promises, buy what you can see. There are people who sell promises, and never deliver. There are people who bought land and were promised roads, and infrastructure, and to date they are still driving in dust roads with ditches midway.
You will be aware of some of several cases of land barons in the courts now. Sadly, recovering the money will not be that easy because these unscrupulous dealers do not usually keep the money after swindling-off people.
5. Properties with Court orders and legal disputes — You need to be careful of this. I am aware of a case where someone was innocently advertising and selling land whose ownership had been cancelled by the Supreme Court.
The advert was online. Please do not respond to Online adverts from random people. The digital age has also made frauds easier. Check if there are no cases pending connected to the land in question or the property.
There are several examples of frauds. We will touch on them in the next articles. We will also discuss in greater detail some of the other safeguards at your disposal.
Below I share some hints that you may have encountered already. They may assist you in your acquisition of your first or next property.
Some important tips
When buying stands the first point of call is council, then Deeds Office and Surveyor General
Ask for the following documents and information;
1. Subdivision permit — issued after layout plans have been approved
2. Development Permit — issued after engineering designs have been approved by council engineers
3. Dispensation Certificate — issued after title survey have been approved by Surveyor General
4. Certificate of Compliance — issued by council
5. Title deed of the property (title deed gives the legal name of the property which can be verified by the Registrar of Deeds on payment of the relevant fees, including the person who owes the property or stand) or Offer letter from the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works & National Housing (this can be verified by the Department of State land or Department of Physical Planning)
6. If he/she holds an offer letter from Ministry of Lands be suspicious because he/she needs to get a change of use permit from say agriculture to residential/housing, then layout has to be approved by Department of Physical Planning
7. NB In Zimbabwe only 2 Local Authorities are allowed to give subdivision permits (at this point in time) without passing through the Ministry of Local Government, that is City of Harare and City of Bulawayo.
If he/she fails to produce these when you request for them put a big ?? It’s highly likely that their project or development is not compliant and you might be duped.
Even if he/she tries to persuade you that we will be done with all the paperwork soon, just walk away. Many people have been told that before and there are areas which have no compliance as far back as 1998. You will not work and It won’t work simple!!!
NB: Work with reputable Real Estate firms and attorneys in the process of acquiring a property. It’s better to part with legal fees to protect your interests than to part with money in a bid to recover money. When you go to court, the real winners are lawyers.
Legal disclaimer
The material contained in this post is set out in good faith for general guidance in the spirit of raising legal awareness on topical interests that affect most people on a daily basis. They are not meant to create an attorney-client relationship or constitute solicitation. No liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the post. Laws and regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements.
Arthur Marara is a corporate and family law attorney. He is also a notary public and conveyancer. Follow him on social media (Facebook Attorney Arthur Marara), or WhatsApp him on +263780055152 or email [email protected].
