More property scams

cosmos

I am purchasing a property at the moment and the estate agent has recommended and is doing my due diligence as i write, he is charging .5%, which i find extremely cheap, considering i read it could cost between 2-4 %, the agent has also stated that when i have signed off on this, to send the balance directly to the owner who lives in New Zealand, is this normal

Mark

Hmmm. Usually the estate agent commission is paid by the seller. It seems he is charging you separately for the due diligence, which is a blatant conflict of interest as the agent only gets paid his commission if the deal goes through, so he has no incentive to highlight problems to you. Also, the payment needs to be coordinated through the notary. Do nothing at the direction of the estate agent, and follow only the notary's advice. Also, it is strongly recommended that you choose the notary yourself and not use the one suggested by the seller or his agent.

spicyayam

Sounds very dodgy. My wife is a lawyer and she does due diligence on properties. Almost every time that I know she has done this she has found problems. For example, just recently, someone stayed in a villa for their holiday (let's call them C). They loved the villa and the person they rented it from (let's call them B) said it was for sale. B turned out not to be the owner but he told the buyer he was the owner of the villa. That was the first lie. He then admitted, he wasn't the owner but had leased the villa for 30 years from the actual owner (let's call them A). When his lease was checked it turned out B had "leased" it for 30 years from A, but he was paying the lease on an annual basis. The agreement was made in a notary's office but not a proper agreement. Obviously, he didn't want C to know that this was the case. B had paid for 1 year, and then 2nd year's rent is almost due. So he was desperate to make a deal with C. B also has a sick family member so needed money fast. C was required from B to make the full payment of 30 years. I mean what could go wrong?

Mark

spicyayam wrote I mean what could go wrong?

Agree spicy, what could go wrong indeed! As we've seen, the Bali property road is littered with the carcasses of foreigners (and some locals as well) who have been scammed in all manner of ways. What's truly amazing to me is that in such an environment, many foreigners are far more trusting (to the degree of delusion) than they would be in their home countries, where the rule of law, legal protections and judicial remedies are typically much stronger.

Juggler

I am going through the due diligence now and have found what I believe is a upfront notaris. I definitely wouldn't be allowing the selling agent to do it. I am only paying 1% of the purchase(lease) price. The way I see it you are giving the agent a extra 0.5% and he will more than likely do nothing just say "it's all good" pay the balance. IMO you need to adjust your strategy. Its going to be a gamble whoever you use but try at least to shorten the odds of being ripped off.

Markit

I think you'll find that in most western civil courts the majority of cases revolve around property ownership and all the fun that can be had there. My point is that it's not just Bali/Indonesia/Asia where fools and their money are often separated but it happens everywhere - we just don't hear about it. Golden Rule(s) for doing property business here - take your time and understand what the system is all about, ask questions (here and from people that have done it - not FarceBook!) and trust your guts about the people (notary, lawyers, sellers, buyers) you are dealing with. Oh and maybe take someone whose opinion you trust to watch your back. Simple really, not.

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