Sunday, August 13, 2006
Choose your real-estate agent with care
To escape from the humiliation meted out by his friends and relatives (including his wife), Aneesh Kumar, an employee with a private firm, embarked on a mission to own a property in the Garden City.
News had spread that Mr. Kumar was looking for a property and his journey began on a happy note. A person approached him and introduced himself as the "big" real estate agent of the locality. He spoke highly of himself and gave some tips to Mr. Kumar on property hunting. The "good Samaritan" told Mr. Kumar that he should be "very careful" while dealing with matters pertaining to property and said that he had helped many people buy "good houses and sites at throwaway prices."
Impressed by his talk, Mr. Kumar felt his mission had began on a right note. His Sundays and holidays were packed with appointments and he went around Bangalore looking for his dream property along with the agent.
Finally, he zeroed in on a 30'X40' site located in one of the upcoming layouts of the city. The real estate agent, through his contacts, traced the owner of the site, who was a film distributor. Mr. Kumar, without informing his wife or relatives, went for a discussion with the owner, accompanied by the real estate agent.
Not interested
The owner said he was not interested in selling the property as he was expecting the prices to rise soon. Mr. Kumar and the real estate agent tried to convince the owner to sell the property but the owner did not yield.
He claimed that the rate per square foot in that area was Rs. 1,000 and he was expecting the rate to go up by another Rs. 300 in the next two months. Mr. Kumar returned disappointed, thinking that he was not destined to buy that property.
After a few days, he received a call from the real estate agent. He said that the owner had changed his mind and was ready to sell the property.. This time too, Mr. Kumar went for discussions without informing any of his relatives or friends, as he wanted to surprise them with the "good" news.
The property owner showed him the copies of the documents and told Mr. Kumar to get them verified from a legal adviser. The real estate agent intervened and said that it was not necessary, as the property owner was a well-known person. After a protracted discussion, the owner agreed to sell the property at Rs. 1,100 per sq. ft. He said he wanted the deal to be settled soon and needed the money in full. Mr. Kumar expressed his inability to do so, as he had to borrow money from others.
The owner then told Mr. Kumar to pay Rs. 5 lakh as advance and the balance amount at the time of registration. Finally, the owner agreed to accept Rs. 2 lakh as advance.
After a couple of days, Mr. Kumar met the owner and gave him the money. This time too, he had not informed his family members or friends.
The owner gave a letter that he had received Rs. 2 lakh as advance and the balance amount would be paid at the time of registration. Mr. Kumar had complete faith in the real estate agent and followed all his instructions. He did not think twice while paying the advance too.
Rude shock
In the next few days, Mr. Kumar got himself busy arranging the balance amount. On a Sunday, he went to see his site. He was surprised when he saw some men working at the property. When he spoke to a person, he came to know that the film distributor had sold the property to another person.
Mr. Kumar contacted the film distributor. The "well-known" person informed him that since another person agreed to pay the amount in full, he had sold the property to that person. The film distributor also assured Mr. Kumar that he would return his money soon. However, a year has passed and Mr. Kumar is yet to get his money back. All his attempts to contact the real estate agent have also gone in vain. The "good Samaritan" is "not at his office" or is "out of station" at any given time.
Muniraju, a real estate agent with 20 years experience, says that a buyer must choose a real estate agent with care. "Buyers must not go by the glib talk of a person. They must verify the facts."
If the agent says he has helped many people buy property, the buyer must speak to a few of them. They must know how the person handled the earlier deals. While buying a property, you must always inform your family members. They must not be kept in the dark.
