The ordinary person must now rapidly learn to be more careful and more conscious of what is going on around them as an increasing number of unscrupulous people walk the streets of our cities.
In all professions there are rules and regulations to follow coupled with a code of ethics to ensure that business is done in a fair manner. To this end, many professionals are obliged to join various associations and be registered with specific bodies in an attempt to use both per pressure and oversight institutions to promote good business practices.
In the property business it often becomes difficult to distinguish the professionals from the conmen.
Furthermore, one cannot easily determine who the perpetrator is and who represents the victim.
Take the property rental business as an example. Too often one assumes that the person renting out the property is likely to be the conman while the person renting the property is labeled the victim.
Experience notes that in many cases people that go into the market to rent out a property will do every thing in their power to rent out the premises. In an increasing number of cases the people renting out the property do not even have an official mandate to rent out the property. The required official mandate will be in the form of a signed agreement between the property owner and the agent that will authorize the agent to rent out the property on behalf of the owner. Many people sign lease agreements with agents, family members, and friends that do not have the authority to enter into any agreement on behalf of the owner of the property. In short, the agreement or contract is null and void, and borders on fraud.
Money will have changed hands and at some point the legal owner of the property can demand re-possession of the property, or claim for un-paid rentals, or both.
The flip side of the argument is that legitimate representatives for property that needs to be rented out can negotiate with a prospective tenant and still find themselves experiencing losses and possible legal action.
A situation where a prospective tenant offers to rent a property and requests for access to the property so that they can start preparing to make new curtains or other furnishings, can develop into a property owner’s nightmare. The prospective tenant highlights that payment for the rentals is being put together within a few days and offers that on the date of payment the lease agreement will be signed by both parties. In the meantime they would like to visit the property from time to time and make preparations to move in once the money comes in. It seems like a harmless arrangement at face value.
The prospective tenant then visits the property a few times to take measurements and comes with different colleagues each time.
Before anybody knows what is happening, the prospective tenant receives six months advance payment rentals for the same property from one of his so called colleagues.
How? The prospective tenant actually offers to other people, the same property that he states that he wants to rent. The fact that he has access to the property gives him credibility in the eyes of the new tenant, and often the rentals demanded will be well below market rates, thereby making the new tenant pay up front in a hurry in a bid not to lose this good deal.
The conman with the cash in the pocket disappears and leaves the fight to begin between the real owner and the cheated new tenant who is unknown to the owner.
This is a common scam in many countries and often the owner of the property and the cheated tenant have to fight it out in court as the cheated person alleges that the conman and the owner were working together to cheat innocent people.
Sometimes the conman even goes further than just renting out property that he has no authority over. Instead of renting the property out, the conman actually sells it at a price that is one third of the market value. The unsuspecting buyer loses even more than a few months’ rentals as he rushes to his bank to withdraw all his savings to pay for this jackpot bargain property!
If one is looking to rent or buy property then it is important to use some basic rules to ensure a legitimate and mutually beneficial outcome.
It is always a good idea to use registered estate agents and to part away with one month of rent for the work that they do to avoid losing money or spending months in court.
If you want to rent property then make sure that the agent has a bona fide letter of authority from the owner. Ask to see the Certificate of Title if you are considering buying the property.
Do a check at the Ministry of Lands as to who the registered owner of the property is and what encumbrances the property has. Is it mortgaged? Is it being contested by another party? Are they any Caveats registered? Is the property owned by an individual or a number of individuals, or an institution?
If you are renting out property through an agent be sure to be clear about whether you are giving them exclusive rights to rent out he property, or whether they have non-exclusive rights that allows others to market the property.
Holding onto a security deposit of one month rent helps to keep both landlord and tenant focused on eventually terminating the property rental relationship in an amicable manner.
The Law Association of Zambia and other bodies in the legal sector have drawn up sample Property Lease Agreements, sample Property Sales Agreements, and sample Property Assignment documents for use by the general public when dealing with property transactions.
It pays to use these professionally developed documents when dealing with property. For many Zambians, property owned reflects the work and achievement of a lifetime. Let us all be watchful for the property scammers that are out there looking for a soft and foolish target.
Published 11 May 2010
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