Monday 11 May 2015

Beware of fraudulent deals and transactions of unscrupulous developers.

It is indeed true that the real estate sector seems lucrative from the investment return point of view but one needs to be cautious as well. The reason is the increasing law suits relating to land and the unscrupulous developers trying to scam and indulge in fraudulent activities. This is especially true in Bengaluru as the land prices are increasing in leaps and bounds and in the competition of getting the land and property cheaper the developers are taking recourse to unfair means. Real estate sector is thus plagued with scams, fraudulent transactions, identity theft and misrepresentation and rackets of black money. 

This is also a truth that buying a land in Bengaluru can garner lot of profits both in the short and long term. This is a known truth that lands were sold for a song few years back and those lands have turned out to be gold now. In places like Devenahalli and Doddabellapur land owners have become millionaires overnight after the declaration of the construction of Investment Technology Investment Region (ITIR). This is probably what happens when there is rampant development, job generation and influx of people from other parts. But at the same time there is a growing concern about fraudulent and illegal aspects of the property deals that are being reported.
 
How are the property owners deceived?

There are many instances where the land owners are being deceived especially the NRIs who fell prey to the unscrupulous developers and real estate agents. They are reported to have taken advantage and sold land illegally at a higher price by misrepresentation and by doing identity theft. There have been instances where the fraudulent brokers and buyers got hold of the copies of the documents and misused them by way of misrepresentation at a later stage.


 
Prevention of fraud

There has been a long standing demand of more transparency in the real estate sector of India. There have been individual initiatives of the state like Delhi where the Land Title Registration System had been introduced with a procedure to track the sales of property. 

The Role of BDA

Private layouts are being licensed by the BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) and the plots away from the city get a sanction from BMRDA (Bangalore Metropolitan Development Authority). The BDA’s role is to check thoroughly before it sanctions licenses for construction and execution of private layouts. According to the regulations of the BDA, 49 percent of the area of the layout should be land plots or sites, 15 percent should be reserved for playgrounds and parks, 10 percent should be reserved for construction of civic amenities and the rest for roads, infrastructure facilities and drains. 
  Few developers have been reported to falsely claim that their lands have been granted BDA
 approvals. In an incident in Indiranagar a developer was reported to convert a playground and a park into a residential locality and disappeared after selling the property. There was another incident where a property in Whitefield which was reportedly sold twice.  In another the General Power of Attorney papers were shown who had died 9 years ago.
 
The BDA had issued notices of show cause to all the layouts which have been unauthorized as per the law and the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. The BDA also published a list of unauthorized layouts to caution the public and the prospective buyers. There are other authorities also like the Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority which has set up a website which lists out the proposed land usage and the approved layouts. The website is biappa.in. However we point out some of the key points the buyers need to remember while buying a land.
 
  • A property should be purchased only if there is a clear title. It is advisable not to be swayed by the pomp and the glossy advertisements and rather a research of the background of the developer is essential. 
  • The sale deed and the mother deed should be checked and verified. 
  • An approved layout plan is very helpful which facilitates a hassle-free sale of the land in future. 
  • The original Title deed or the document should be checked and it’s not advisable to sign any document without full understanding of it. 
  • Encroachments and probable dangers of dispossession are always there and thus occasional visits are recommended. 
  • A caretaker should be employed in case your presence is not possible.

2 comments:

  1. I booked a flat through Sahebrelators (http://www.sahebrealtors.com) in Sector 127 Shivalik City, Mohali and Rupinder Singh assuring me that they will take all the responsibility for document. I gave them 10% of the total amount of flat. He never gave me the receipt of payment made to him nor giving me the address of developer. He said money is taken by the developers.

    Kindly suggest me the process to get the whole amount refund from the fraud by Sahebrealtors

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  2. https://www.change.org/p/1000s-of-victims-of-maxworth-realty-india-government-of-india-keshava-k-of-maxworth-realty-india-bangalore-land-scam-fraud-cheating-amp-threatening-c96b9a58-6063-4124-9f06-e306a96bf49c

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