Indian property investors warned about real esate scams

Prospective buyers of property in India have been warned to be vigilant for a series of property scams.  A new Bollywood film has been based on real-life experiences of unscrupulous behaviour in the country’s property industry and people have been urged to be alert for property fraud.

Buyers avoided to avoid agents and representatives when buying property in India

Amit Prasad, a Hyderabad-based businessman has been fighting through the courts for twenty years regarding the control of a piece of land his late father bought.

Mr Prasad said: “My father put money into land and discovered he had no control of it and couldn’t build on it.  To this day we still don’t have a property on it.”

His father spent his savings on a plot of land in the 1990s.  The BBC reports that the land he found was owned by local villagers, but an agent approached him. Mr Prasad said: “He said he had the power of attorney on behalf of the villagers.”

However, this was not the case and the agent made off with the money.  The villagers then started a court case to reclaim their fields and the case has been ongoing for decades.

Mr Prasad advised buyers of property in India: “Your purchase should be from the prospective owner.  Not agents or representatives.”

Be careful when buying from developers

Other problems can occur when buying new build property in India from a developer.  Harsh Roongta, CEO of home loan comparison website ApnaPaisa.com, said that sometimes ‘the same flat is sold to more than one person’.

Buyers are encouraged not to register the sale of their new flat in order to avoid property tax.  Fraudsters pose as builders, defraud clients and claim the flat was never sold. 

And, builders sometimes fail to complete the construction of properties.

Mr Roongta advised: “Ideally, avoid an under-construction project.  But if you have to go for one then at least choose a project where two or three banks have pre-approved the project.”