Myth Or Reality: Property Dealers Are Cheaters

For many of us even buying food items such as fruits & vegetables, chicken, beef, mutton etc is nothing short of a challenging task. No matter how you try but when back at home most of the time you are disgusted to find that yet again you have been cheated by the shopkeepers. You are furious to recall that how courteous and honest the shopkeeper posed himself while welcoming you at their shop or stall. You feel not only angry at yourself but depressed as well that the items you purchased were far below in terms of quality and quantity.

These are the basic food items that we consume daily and we are fooled by the vendors almost on weekly basis yet we can not do much about it. Since it involves just few hundred to thousands of rupees people normally digest it easily.

Next example is the purchase of a sacrificial goat. Under intense pressure from your family you go out and look for a goat within your budget. Please note that how vulnerable you feel in front of an illiterate villager you have to deal with for want of a goat. He will make excellent presentation of his animal with brief "goat walk" its weight, age and blood lineage. He will laugh out, ridicule your offers and upset you by using various tactics. Soon you realize that the apparent poor illiterate goat seller was actually a hardened businessman with full command on marketing and communication skills and fully equipped with ability to read your mind and see through your pocket. Outclassed and puzzled, at this point of time hands on the hips you smile helplessly as a sign of conceding defeat.

Next day, your wife wake you up to a shock that the goat was either under age, under weight or way expensive if put on comparison with the neighbor’s goat. That’s an annual ordeal.

The list goes on, be it car mechanic, plumbers, carpenter, electrician, milkman, construction workers, private schools, religious leaders, medical practitioners, politicians, you just name it and you will find the society as whole is infested with cheaters.

Now, what to talk about property that people buy or sell once in a blue moon. Because of the lack of knowledge and experience people could be at risk when dealing with a bad dealer. It is ironic that most of the property dealers are uneducated and the myth or reality about them is that they are cheaters.

No wonder, in Pakistan most of the cases pending in the lower courts are related to the claims or disputes on the ownership of the land or property.

It is unfortunate that government has done little to fix this problem that affect everybody and have ruined life of many. Certainly, there have to be some rules and regulations for those who deal in property business. We should switch to systematic technology based record keeping of property ownership. There has to be special courts that should only deal in property disputes and complaints with exemplary punishment for the wrongdoers.

There are two types of cheating in the property business. Firstly, the sale and purchase of property on counterfeit documents or fraudulent ownership which is common in unplanned or rural areas of Islamabad. Secondly, cheating in price which is common or possible everywhere. Obviously one should not forget issues related to Qabza Mafia or fake societies/non possession plots. That is an altogether different story.

Fortunately, in Islamabad’s regular sectors or in any other good society of the city the chances of selling property or plots on counterfeit documents or false ownership are rare. But there are chances that property dealer will have its undisclosed share (top) from the deal.

My observation is that in search of a perfect deal many people miss out big opportunities. At the same time it is important to involve some experienced person/s for necessary consultation and guidance before sealing any deal. Or if you have any doubt you could hire any legal expert on little payment of fee to oversee the buying process.

Property dealing is a business and business is all about making money. I think we can compromise on price issue to some extent if you are getting what you are looking for.

It is also true that in many cases highly educated people appear pathetic when dealing with illiterate dealers. Though perception of dealers is bad but one should not feel vulnerable against a dealer. One should be confident and never hesitate even to ask dumb questions because it is always better than making dumb mistakes that could cost you dearly. In contrast, many people unnecessarily pose or pretend themselves to be well versed about the issues in property dealings and get cheated due to their over confidence or negligence.

Having said all that, it is possible for you to get verified the ownership and documents of the property. At the same time, it is hard to know if the property dealer is not cheating you in terms of price which is somewhat accepted norm these days and can be compromised because in the longer run the property will give you good high return. But obviously you have to bargain hard and check the market price from different sources.

Before investing double check and cross check the credibility of the society and its developer, society location, NOC and the land acquisition issues. Prefer possession plots over files with approved and declared map.

There is no perfect formula in the property dealings but one must be smart enough to get closer to a win - win situation. That should be the approach. Life should move on because a bad decision is better than no decision at all.

Last decision should be yours, make best use of your money based on market research and feedback. Everybody here is selling his “product” you should know what suits your budget and requirement.

Dear

nowadays most dealers waive off 1% commission considering u brother or son even u never ask them this favour

1% does not satisfy their hunger they need "top" so make u wear TOPI

Its a reality. Almost every dealer try to cheat his client regarding the price of property.

Idris, many thanks for taking the time out to write this valuable article for the benefit of all of us.

Dear Idris:

Very simple and extremely knowledgble post for all of us.

May Allah blessing be upon you.

I must add that one should be very careful while dealing with these dealers and must cross check the prices in the vicinity...

Regards

Thanks to Mr. Idris by taking his time out and to write down these facts for us. I myself face this kind of double standard everywhere in my daily life. Sabziwal, fruitwala, mechanic, plumber, electrician, taxi driver even some old persons with white Dari used to come homes and ask you come out please as Qari sahib came from your Madrasa and give some donation for your mosque/madrasa. I used to asked question to these fake religious people and believe me after some questions when I found them fake I used to asked them OK I am calling police and they ran……………but I saw in my street people are giving them 100 or 50 and some 500 rupees to these fake people.

In fact in our society we are have more Muslims who care about Haqooqul Allah but very very less people who care about Haqooqul Aabad. We prayer five time and fasting regularly (Haqooqul Allah) but mostly not care about Haqooqul Aabad while in business. We only believe that when we prayer only that time Allah see us but in business Maaz Allah (Allah Maaf karain) Allah hum ko nahi dakh patay. What kind of this belief is on Allah!!

I, personally, believe that if I will cheat to one person (whether he/she is Muslim or non-Muslim) for PKR 100 I will lose my PKR 1000 coz I formally believe that Allah is everywhere. Thanks to God that if not perfect but I am a good Muslim who cares about Haqooqul Aabad though I am struggling to become regular Muslim who perform Haqooqul Aabad (five time prayers).

So with this message I would request everybody while doing business keep in mind that if you cheat someone for PKR 100 you will lose your PKR 1000 coz Allah is everywhere and this formula is from His side.

@ idris

lovely post, should be printed in some newspaper. Good job.

In my opinion when talking about poor shop keeper or sabziwala or some illiterate villager selling his goat, keep in mind his point of view, his hardship, the way he is struggling for making his living in the present tough time when inflation is so high, when basic necessities of life are getting so expensive that even financially strong people sometimes struggle, then how that poor man is managing to make a living for his family and his children. He has full right to make some profit out of his small business. Anyway it does not mean that he start cheating, and lying, no excuse for that.

As far as property is concerned, there is no perfect deal. Sometimes we have to give these peanuts deliberately to dealers, because we know in the long run, it will be profitable for us.

Very well said. Straight forward, People have no strong believe on Allah. They never realise that the money they earn by cheating was really meant for them but the way selected was wrong.

Excellent post by idrees sahib.

Nice Share/thoughts.

Dear Shabbir:

If we will start thinking like this individually, we will prosper as society.

Regards

Idris Bhai,

This is the irony of our society. We are getting use to of it, there are many other mafia's around us CNG stations these days entertaining the one's coming without lines from the front side neglecting the rights who are stuck in the que for hours. Mostly they entertain Local transport (Hiace, loading cars suzuki vans and taxi etc).

I was thinking that why this is happening and nobody from the que is questioning the pump manager or the staff !

I initiated the step and inquired about all this from the staff, that person refer me to ask from Manager sitting inside. I went there and inquired about all this, that lunatic gave me a straight answer " sir ye hamaray daily costumers hain aur hum in ko naraz nahi kr saktay" ..:)

Han then what are the people waiting in the que "are they getting CNG for free ?"

simple maths equation solved my curiousness !

All the local transport comes under the umbrella of some association. The President of local transport association of that area knows exactly the number of vehicles operating in his area of jurisdiction.

The manager of the pump was having a register and was writing the plate numbers of the ones filling up the CNG without lining up in the que and coming from the front side.

For example if the rate settled between them is 100 / vehicle (extra amount over the actual meter reading).

Now if we consider the least number of vehicles being filled this way is 100.

100 x 100 = 10000 / day

At the end of the day the manager takes the register to President, the president count the total number vehicles and pay off 50% to the owner which is 5000 / day and keep 5000 / day with him.

Now for a month :

5000 x 30 = 150000

Both the parties are all happy that without doing anything they are enjoying the TOP PREMIUM !

But by doing this they forgot that they are sabotaging the rights of all the others lined up in the que for hours and they will be accountable on the day of Judgement for this INJUSTICE !

What ever is written in our fate we will get at whatever time is decided by ALLAH. Not less not more then that.

Once Hazrat Ali (RA) had rode on a Horse to a place and as it was time for prayer, he told a man standing there to take care of his horse till he comes back for prayer. After praying, Hazrat Ali (RA) went towards his horse, with the intention to pay 4 Dinars to the man for taking care of his horse, but found that both, the man and the saddle of his horse were missing. He rode on his horse in search of the man and came to a market place and found another man who was selling the same saddle that

had been stolen from the horse of Hazrat Ali (RA). As Hazrat Ali (RA) approached the man to whom the saddle was sold, he asked him the price at which the man (who Hazrat Ali identified) sold the saddle to him. The shopkeeper replied that the man had sold him the saddle for 4 Dinars. Hazrat Ali went on to narrate to his companion his intention to pay the man 4 Dinars, and that the 4 Dinars was in the destiny of that man but he made a wrong choice to earn it by stealing it.

Moral of the Story: Provisions lie in Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta’alaa)’s hands. You get to eat what Allah wills. Now it is upto you to earn your livelihood by the Halaal source of Income or by Haram.

This INJUSTICE is the cancer of our society and you will find this everywhere !

The Soceity is leading towards Cannibalism . Even the Vultures eat the dead, but look at our society. Pitty on us !!

Bhai har koi agar apne aap ko theek kar le tu ye maashra theek ho sakta hy

It's tragedy of our nation that we point finger on others but individually we don't think what we are doing.

Idrees sahib my two pence.

Lately our Pakistani brethren have started using sewerage water,containing human excreata as fertilizer for growing vegetables.How bad it is and even the govt is not taking any notice.

@Muhammad Rehan

REGARDING SABZIFAROSH AND OTHERS,

If you realize, I am just saying that fleecing by the shopkeepers may be OK given the reasons of inflation, shop rents, transportation etc but one must be feeling hurt and angry that he has been cheated in terms of poor quality and less quantity or weight. So you are cheated thrice in one go by the vendor….inflated price, low quality and less weight.

ILLITERATE VILLAGER SELLING GOAT,

Actually I am appreciating the goat seller that though apparently illiterate villager but he outsmarts you when negotiating the price. I am also appreciating his business skill and maneuverings but again one must be frustrated to find that the goat he sold you was either under age or unfit for the sacrifice for one reason or another. That’s cheating and dishonesty.

I am not attacking the dignity of anybody be it Sabziwala or property dealers and fully agree that everybody need to make money to support himself and his family. That’s fine but what is the difference between business and cheating.

By the way these people in cattle business are not poor as we perceive them to be. They make handsome profit every year. I have no personal grudge against them :)

What I am trying to say that the property dealers should not be blamed alone for being cheaters.

But as we know that there are so called property dealers or mafias who swindles and deprive people of their hard earned money. So the word cheating is too small to describe their crime. They are fraudsters and not dealers.

Perhaps it is impossible for a businessman to survive being fair and honest these days. We are caught in the vicious cycle of cheating one another.

It hurts in the beginning and tickles later on. :))

So lets we keep enjoying it.

PROPERTY DEALERS LIES ARE MAJOR REASON THAT MOSTLY FAIR DEAL ARE NOT MADE.

THEY CREATE HYPE THUS CAUSING SELLER OVER DEMANDING AND REDUCING BUYING POTENTIAL...

BUT OUR COMMON PPL PREFER LIES, FLATTERING AND SWEET DECEPTIVE TALK OF DEALERS.

BELIEVE ME EVEN PPL DO NOT BELIEVE THEIR FRIENDS OR BLOOD RELATION'S EXPERIENCE BUT RELY ON WHAT DEALER'S LIES.

Not every post is making its way to the thread due to some technical or administrative reasons.

95% are cheater and rest of 5% did not get a chance to cheat. This is 100% true and all the property dealers look for own interest. I am dealing in property sice 10 years and did not found a single property dealer who do not cheat if found opportunity

Well another fact we must discuss here is that most of the investors, buyers/sellers don't pay commission which is legal and must be given to the dealer who is dealing. It is 1 percent of the sale consideration.

Most people give half or don't give at all, the poor dealers are left with no other way to put up a top and in those circumstances i think it is very fair, they must do it.

It is sad when i see a man selling his house/plot for 4 crore and when time comes to give 4 lac commission to the dealer he backs off. Pity for the rich