Safety tips for buyers

Before you pay

• Visit the property and meet the owner there. Go in daylight and take someone with you.
• Ask to see the owner's original CNIC and match the name to the papers.
• Show a copy of the fard, registry or allotment to your lawyer, and confirm with the relevant government record office yourself.
• Check the listing's reference number (MM-#####) and badge. A higher badge helps but does not replace a lawyer's check.
• Check the boundaries and access, and ask the neighbours. Ask about unpaid utility bills and who is in possession.

Warning signs

• A price far below the market, or pressure to decide today.
• The owner avoids meeting, or a representative does all the talking and the real owner never appears.
• Being asked to send a token or advance to a mobile wallet or an unknown account.
• Reluctance to show papers, or the same plot listed elsewhere under different owners.

How to pay

• Pay large sums through a bank (cheque or bank transfer), not in cash.
• Get a written receipt for every payment and put the deal in writing on stamp paper.
• Do not pay an advance before the papers are verified; if you must, keep it small and covered by a written agreement.
• Mera Makaan never asks you for money. If anyone asks for money in our name, do not believe them.

If you are renting

• Get a written rent agreement covering rent, deposit, duration and conditions.
• Verify the owner and property as you would for a purchase, and ask locally about legal requirements such as tenant registration.

If something looks wrong

Tap Report on the listing. Our team reviews it, and a listing with several reports is hidden until we have checked it. If you have been cheated, also tell the police.