Good Harvest's columnist Adam Sen is concerned with numerous property scam happening in Malaysia

4 most common property scams happen in Malaysia.

1) Fake company posing as a developer or property marketing agency, to market a good deal, pricing is far below market value. After purchaser pay a booking fee, the company disappear from the market. All the information provided by the company doesn’t exists.

2) Buyer / tenant pay an earnest deposit to a real estate negotiator to secure a sale / rent deal. The real estate negotiator disappeared after that.

3) Buyer successfully secured a land deal & made payment, but later, realized that the vendor is not the actual vendor, together with a fake title & NRIC as well.

4) Marketing company proposing a new development with a promise of high investment return / rental income every month. Just pay an initial investment fee on a certain amount & you will get the % of return every month.

Solution:

1) Always check the developer background history & check with the authority on the genuine of the developer.

2) Always deal with a registered real estate negotiator with a REN number. Real estate negotiators are registered under the Board of Valuers, Appraisers & Estate Agent. So, if anything happen to your money, the negotiator can be easily trace by the authority. Always deposit / pay your earnest deposit / booking fee directly to a property agency bank account. Never pay cash directly to a negotiator or to any individual personal bank account. You can check the real estate agent information & property agency information whether they are registered under the board at www.lppeh.gov.my. Do not deal with unlicensed estate agents, your money will be at risk if you go through them.

3) Ask lawyer to check with the land office on the genuine of the land title. Fake title mostly happen when dealing in land because it involve a lump sum of money. If you’re the land owner, do a regular check every 1-2 years with the land office to make sure your title is still under your name.

4) This type of scam is usually called money game. They will promise a high return, some up to 30% every month. Check with the authority on the marketing company background. Some of these company has already been blacklisted by the authority. Do remember, high return will always come with high risk.