Real estate fraud and how to avoid falling into it

Real estate fraud and how to avoid falling into it

There are many forms of fraud, forgery, and financial fraud carried out by fraudsters to steal from others and seize their money, and their method of fraud and fraud varies and their methods are constantly renewed, such as fraud through identity theft, fraud through fictitious investment, fraud through fake websites, and many other fraud methods that must be warned against.

One of these methods is the method of fraud in the real estate sector in the Kingdom, which will be detailed in this article and warned of its danger and how to avoid falling into it.

Real estate fraud and how to avoid falling into it

What is real estate fraud? What is real estate fraud?

What is real estate fraud?

Real estate fraud is any process in which a property is used to defraud customers and steal their money.

Parties to the rental process:

Lessor:

He is the person who owns the property and wants to rent it to the tenant for a specific fee.

Tenant:

He is the person who rents the property from the landlord and uses it for a specific fee that he pays to the landlord.

Mediator:

He is the practicing person who is allowed to mediate in the sale and rent process in exchange for a commission, and he is like real estate offices that have a commercial record and are allowed to practice the profession of mediation in sale and rent operations in Saudi Arabia.

Real estate fraud and how to avoid falling into it

Some real estate fraud methods in Saudi Arabia:

• The fraudster offers a fictitious property that does not exist on the ground or is under construction without actual planning, and tries to defraud the victim by asking for a sum of money in exchange for renting or selling it, or asking for a deposit and then stealing the victim’s money.
• The scammer impersonates a landlord or broker and advertises a real property that does not belong to him, then attempts to defraud the victim by offering an attractive price and urging him to pay in advance or pay a deposit, often via letters and communications without a personal interview.
• Giving unrealistic attractive prices that attract the customer’s interest.
• Manipulating and forging real estate bonds and contracts to defraud the business and delude it into credibility.
• Exploiting the customer’s need for the property and deceiving him that there is a large demand for it to urge him to pay or pay the value of the deposit to ensure that the property is reserved for him.
• Sometimes, the broker, whether intentionally or ignorantly, enables the fraudster to use his license on a rental platform, and then the fraudster defrauds the victims by exploiting this license, in which case the crime of real estate fraud is linked to other crimes such as cover-up and is punishable by law.

You can consult a specialized lawyer from Abdul Majeed Al Rashid Law Firm and Legal Consultations if you are exposed to a real estate fraud situation or want to verify the validity of your real estate contract and other services with ease.

How to avoid real estate fraud?

How to avoid real estate fraud?

• Go to real estate offices or log in to licensed applications to see the property in Saudi Arabia and find out the full details before paying.
• Not trusting any conversation that takes place via messages without meeting the broker or the property owner.
• Make sure to know the seller’s identity, personal data, and ownership of the property, and only deal with a licensed broker.
• Do not pay any amount before seeing the person or broker, seeing the property, and verifying all procedures.
• Pay via a rental platform only and do not accept payment from outside the platform, to guarantee your right and the landlord’s right.
• Ensure that the contract is documented electronically through the Ejar platform.
• Do not give any private personal data such as numbers, passwords, etc.
• It is necessary to read the rental index in a residential application so that the customer knows the prices in the area he wants to rent in and does not fall into the trick of low and unrealistic prices.
• Make a comparison between the real estate deed on the rental platform and the information sent by the broker and read it well.
• Consult a real estate lawyer to verify all documents and review real estate contracts.