Real estate fraud costs 600 million pesos a year; here the guide to avoid them

Buying a property to live in is the dream of many people, which, many times, is taken advantage of by thugs to be able to scam; However, although everyone can be exposed to dealing with this type of person, it is necessary to follow a series of steps in order to mitigate the risk of falling into this type of trap.

The proptech firm Flat.mx presented a guide on the steps to follow to avoid this type of fraudssince, according to data from the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI), each year about 600 million pesos are lost due to illegal activities in the real estate industryspecifically for scams.

This figure, according to Flat.mx, makes the real estate fraud are recurring in complaints filed with the Federal Consumer Attorney’s Office, which is mainly generated by the following reasons:

• Lack of knowledge about the market.
• Lack of information regarding the instances to which one can turn in this type of problem.

“The offer of real estate on social networks has become a promotion method that has unclear elements and that lend themselves to deception, with very attractive proposals that may not be real,” Flat.mx explained in an analysis on the matter.

investigate the seller

One of the fundamental steps to avoid falling into this type of trap is to make sure that whoever you are dealing with in this type of operation is a legitimate seller, whether it is an individual or a company. real estate organization.

“Looking for reputable platforms and reviewing platforms such as their social networks, their website, and the content they create, is essential before scheduling an appointment with the seller,” said the proptech.

In this context, Flat.mx highlighted that it is estimated that in the country there are 80,000 real estate agentsof which only 15% are members of a recognized association.

Compare the offer

Another of the measures that can help avoid falling into a real estate fraudis to make a comparison of the market costs in the area that you plan to buy.

In this sense, there are technological platforms that work based on Big Data, which can make the search faster and safer. “In this way, an appraisal of the property can be carried out in a few minutes and detect when a property is well below market value, which is a first sign of fraudulent operation.”

Analyze the contract

According to Flat.mx, emotions can often do a bad move for the buyer, since they get carried away by them without carefully reading every word of the contract, so it is always suggested to do a careful analysis before any signature, advance payment or delivery. of documents.

“A bad sign for any seller is that they go too many days without answering, especially when it comes to visiting the property. Not seeing enough photos, videos, or any information about the property is another sign that the ad is false,” Flat said. .mx.

Turn to the specialists

For Flat.mx it is extremely important that, in the process of acquiring a property, the buyer is always accompanied by a professional in real estate matterwith guaranteed credibility, which guarantees that all the processes of buying or selling a property are carried out correctly.

“It is important to be aware of the incidence of real estate fraud and know that it is a more common problem than you think. The technology and expertise of expert companies in the field is a first step to ‘shield’ operations and take steps towards the safe house of your dreams.”