How to avoid scams if you are about to buy a property

With the arrival of the national month, many Peruvians receive their gratification and they take advantage of the promotions to be able to buy clothes, toys or accessories for the home. Some will add this bond to their savings and thus invest in what for many is the dream of their lives, to have the own home.

This desire can be affected by the scammers who are on the prowl at this time due to the increase in sales, online and offline. Faced with this situation that is increasing in the country, Luciano Barredo, marketing manager of the Navent Group, owner of Urbania and Adondevivir, gives us some information that you must take into account to avoid going through this bad time.

Data to take into account before buying a property?

1. Extremely low prices: the attraction for many people to buy a product is the low price at a level not seen before, this allows criminals to generate interest and offers quickly, this being the reason why most people end up being scammed by these criminals . Therefore, be wary of ads with low prices or make comparisons on real estate platforms.
2. Long-term vacant properties: places that are without inhabitants for several months, lots in which their owners do not make a presence or are outside the country can be the basis of a fraudster’s plan of deception. A property without someone in charge and without supervision even facilitates its access, making the person who shows the house look like the owner. In some cases, the tenants of a property have pretended to be owners without the buyers taking the precautions to identify if the alleged owners are who they say they are.
3. False documents: Most buyers are not very familiar with the procedures and guidelines required to identify that a document is real. You may be signing a promise of sale, but this may be based on fictitious documents and you would be giving your down payment for the purchase of the property to a criminal. Until you realize this bad move, the tricksters have already left the scene, making it difficult to track and capture.
4. The property shown is not that of the documents: Another modality used due to the lack of experience of the buyer is to offer a different property to the one that appears in the deeds. In this case, you may be buying a property that is located in another place, but they are showing you a different one and you would pay several times more thinking that what you see is what you buy. This scam is facilitated with the purchase of land, mainly by not having the precaution of reviewing the limits of the land and the location stated in the deed.
5. Contract clauses: In order not to fall into deception when reading the contract of sale, it is necessary that you first identify the complete data of the buyer and seller, followed by the verification of the property title. In addition, this must specifically include the property data such as location, condition, material, payment of taxes, extra expenses, etc. Unquestionably, the total value of the purchase, delivery date, penalties, taxes must appear. Make sure that all this information is recorded to avoid surprises in the future.

Remember that before a purchase you must identify the sellers, make sure that they are part of the company you are going to, document all the papers that you must sign, and write down everything they offer you. It is better to be aware of the new modalities of these criminals.