Nowadays, the announcement of selling/renting a house is more convenient. Because there are many channels to reach the desired target group. At the same time, consumers can also find information about the house/condo they want more easily with just a click of their fingertips.
What makes buying a house different from buying and selling general goods is that real estate is considered an asset that cannot be moved. Interested buyers can see the actual product and make the best decision when visiting the project themselves. Therefore, deciding to buy/rent from reading the announcement alone is not enough. It has become a loophole for ill-intentioned people to deceive others to seek benefits as well.
ACI Worldwide’s It’s Prime Time for Real-Time 2023. Report found that countries that use real-time payment systems at high rates tend to have higher financial threats. Thailand has the 6th-highest fraud rate in the world at 25.7%. Online product or service fraud was the type of case with the highest number of online police reports in 2023.
Reflecting that financial fraud is closer than we think and that these scammers are always trying to find new tricks. Including in the real estate buying/selling or renting industry. Therefore, no matter what financial transactions consumers make, they should always be aware and careful about transferring and receiving money.
5 ways to strengthen your defense against fraudsters. Make sure you don’t fall victim when you want to buy/rent a home.
When searching for a home, sometimes people who plan to buy/rent a home do not have enough identity verification information to verify. Which leads to concerns about reliability or fear of falling into a scammer’s trap. DDproperty, Thailand’s No. 1 real estate platform, would like to recommend 5 ways to strengthen protection against scammers when choosing to buy/rent a home. What are the points that people who plan to buy/rent a property should check. Before making a transaction in order to close the loopholes and prevent them from falling victim to those who may lose their assets and personal information to ill-intended individuals?
- Check the credibility of the source of the sale/rental advertisement. Currently, there are many channels for posting advertisements for the sale/rent of residences. Both offline and online, each with different strengths to reach a wider target group. Therefore, consumers who want to search for residences must also consider the credibility of the source of the advertisement. If you see a billboard in a public area, take a picture of it to search for information online and check various details, such as comparing the sale/rental prices in the market. Checking whether the project location is in an area at risk of flooding, checking whether the project has had any disputes or pending lawsuits with nearby communities or other agencies, and checking news about the past project to help you make a decision. Or go to the project to see more sale/rental advertisements from residents of that project directly.
In addition, searching for information about housing online is still a popular method. Data from the latest round of the DDproperty Thailand Consumer Sentiment Study on the housing market by DDproperty revealed that 9 out of 10 consumers prefer to search for information about housing online. Because it is convenient and allows them to choose a search channel that matches their lifestyle.
- Check the background and work results before choosing a real estate agent or choose an agent who has been verified ( Agent Verification). Buying/renting a residence takes quite a bit of time to process. So many people choose to use a real estate agent as an assistant to reduce the complexity of the process. Data from the latest DDproperty Thailand Consumer Sentiment Study questionnaire found that the main factor that more than 2 in 3 consumers (69%) use in considering choosing a real estate agent is specialized expertise. As it helps build confidence that they will receive a service that meets their needs more precisely. Next is length of experience at 61% and agent reputation at 55%. In addition, the expertise of real estate agents that consumers want the most is communication skills at 31%, followed by knowledge of the law at 21%. As well as financial skills and marketing skills at 16% each, all of which will help facilitate negotiations and transactions to go smoother.
However, what consumers should consider before choosing a real estate agent is to check the agent’s background, past work, and reviews from other customers who have used the service before initially contacting them to request information about projects in locations. Where the agent has expertise or networks to help them make a decision before choosing them again. They can choose to use “Agent Verification” on the DDProperty website.
Which collects registered real estate agents. This will show clear contact information and basic expertise of each agent for consumers to consider. This can be seen from the green “Verified” sign, which is another option that helps increase confidence and ease concerns for consumers looking for an agent.
- Check the quality by visiting the actual project. Visiting the actual project to survey the quality of construction and decoration will help in making the best decision. When consumers experience the actual atmosphere of the project. It will be easier to evaluate satisfaction along with the selling/rental price. It also helps to see the actual environment and various facilities of the project to see how much the common fee is worth. It also allows you to see the environment of the surrounding community to help you decide. Before making a purchase contract and putting down a deposit. It is also a good opportunity to meet the real seller or agent to talk and negotiate the price.
- Check the title deed and the real owner. When you have found a residence that you like, the buyer should clearly agree on the selling price and various expenses with the seller or agent. Before agreeing to sign the sales contract. This step is the buyer’s opportunity to check the title deed from the personal information documents that the seller has attached with the sales contract. Including a copy of the seller’s ID card and house registration. As well as the land title deed or other title deeds as follows:
Check the property to be purchased. The buyer should check whether the property specified in the sales contract matches the one that appears in the title deed by looking at the title deed number. In the case of horizontal property and vacant land, look at the title deed number. Which will have the land number and location of the land. In the case of a condominium, compare it with the condominium title deed (A.C.2) instead. Look at the details of the condominium and the location of the project to see if they match the unit you are interested in purchasing.
Verify the owner . That the seller is the real owner of the property to be sold. And is the owner of the property to be bought and sold. Check by comparing the seller’s name and ID card number to match both those appearing on the sales contract. The ID card copy, and the title deed. In addition, the title deed will have the name and address of the first owner. In the case that the seller is not the first owner, the seller’s name must be on the actual title deed. Which will show the names of all past owners and specify the date of issuance of the title deed. If you have any doubts. You should go to the land office to request a copy of the title deed that the land office keeps for comparison to check for accuracy again.
Check the details of the property. The buyer can check the information from the title deed of the land to see if it matches the sale advertisement. The title deed of the land will show the size and details of the land. Including the boundary of the land that connects to neighboring land and the boundary number of the land. For the condominium, check the following details: the usable area, the room area, the balcony area, the condominium plan, the proportion of ownership of the condominium area to the common property. If buying a condo with a parking space, the parking space must be shown in the title deed.
Check the related liabilities. Another issue that should be checked to prevent rights being violated is the easement that is attached to the land. such as a public road that is regularly used as a thoroughfare, etc., which is specified in the land title deed. In addition, you should check the entrance and exit to see. The title deed will show the history of all past legal transactions. In the case of purchasing a property awaiting sale (Non-Performing Asset or NPA). You should check whether the previous owner has already moved out to prevent problems that may arise later.
- Check the contract details carefully before making a transaction. Consumers should pay attention to reading the details specified in the sales contract carefully. Because it will be binding and related to future sales transactions. The sales contract must specify the details of the contract, details of the contracting parties, details of the property being purchased. The agreed-upon sales price and payment, details of the registration of the transfer of ownership and delivery of the property. Including various conditions if the contract is breached or the contract is suspended.
On the day of signing the contract. The buyer and seller must sign the contract, with one witness from each party signing to acknowledge it. The sales contract will be made in two copies, with the same content, and one copy will be given to each party to keep. If there is a breach of contract, whether it is the buyer or the seller. The legal consequences will be affected according to the terms and conditions specified in the contract.
The most important thing that consumers should pay attention to is checking the information and various ownership contract documents thoroughly. Before making a deposit or paying. The name of the account to be transferred should be checked to match the name of the actual homeowner/condo owner by asking the juristic person or checking with the ทางเข้า ufabet name on the electricity or common fee documents of the juristic person. Avoid paying in cash to have evidence of the transaction, and pay directly to the property owner or the actual owner only. Without going through a middleman or agent to prevent problems from occurring later.
“Be careful – be careful” is a sacred mantra to close the loopholes and prevent fraud when being a seller.
However, from the perspective of sellers/renters, they should not neglect to close loopholes to prevent themselves from becoming targets of fraudsters. They should choose to advertise their properties for sale/rent on websites. That are reliable and popular among home seekers to increase the chance of reaching a larger target group and increase their carefulness in every step, as follows:
Read the policy carefully before posting an ad. Before deciding to register a sale/rental ad on any website, you should read the privacy policy to clearly understand what the website will use the personal information you provide. The website should never give your information to any other person in order to eliminate the risk that the information will be used in an inappropriate way.
Post an announcement by specifying the basic information of the property. Such as the selling price, project location, environment, common areas, etc. Along with highlighting the points that attract attention. ฆuch as free electrical appliances or newly designed and decorated with built-in furniture, etc., by providing details of the advertiser and clear contact channels. You should also post pictures of the house/condo that you took yourself with a watermark and contact information to prevent others from claiming it. If you use pictures of the project, you should also provide complete details of the source.
Do not disclose too much personal information. Advertisers should not disclose too much personal information. As fraudsters may use it to create fake social media accounts to deceive others. They should also strictly not disclose important documents and official documents, such as contracts and land title deeds.
Keep a close eye on the website for updates to keep up with any changes to their terms of use or policies. If you come across any links to strange web pages or links from untrusted sources. Report them to the platform and block any further contact.
Avoid leaving keys with agents who do not have clear identification information. Sellers/renters should not leave house/condo keys or keycards with real estate agents who do not have clear identification information or are not affiliated with them. This is because some scammers have used the trick of pretending to be real estate agents to offer themselves to contact buyers/renters. When they keep the keys or keycards with them. They sneak into houses/condos that are advertised for sale/rent without the owner knowing. Sometimes, they steal things inside the property before fleeing.
Therefore, sellers/renters should not leave keys or keycards with agents for too long. They should also regularly check the condition of the properties advertised for sale/rent or check the water and electricity bills to see if they are unusually high compared to other months. Alternatively, they should switch to using a digital door lock and set a new password every time. After the agent brings interested parties to view the room.
DDproperty, a source of information on advertisements for buying/selling/renting residential properties in various potential locations nationwide, places importance on the privacy policy of its users and operates under the country’s privacy laws in collecting personal information. All users can be assured that every path to searching for housing on the website will always be protected.
For posting advertisements for sale/rent with DDproperty. Interested parties must fill out a form via the DDproperty platform or contact us by phone at 0 2-204-9555 to inform us of their intention to use the service. DDproperty staff will contact you via the aforementioned phone number only. If it is necessary to send an SMS, the sender’s name will always be displayed as DDproperty. DDproperty has no policy of allowing employees to contact us to collect money for usage via channels other than the aforementioned channels.