Fraud of Real Estate - Experts Are Deceived As Well

As affordable capital flows into real estate market, the fraud of real estate increases such as cases involving false rights to buy newly built apartments, sale with false information on property development, etc.

Especially, consumers should take precaution against companies presenting a drawing of development plan with signboard of ’00 Consulting’, ’00 Litz’, etc.

▽ Elaborate false allotment rights= Pupyung Police Station in Inchun arrested a Mr. Lee (48) for selling forged allotment rights. The Mr. Lee sold three times in this method and collected 260 millions won such as the case of selling forged allotment rights of Samsan district to Ms. Lee (42) for 140 million won, etc.

The police station reported, “ The written allotment contract made by Mr. Lee is almost same to genuine including envelopments and the form except fonts, the real estate agent was deceived as well” and added, “the purchaser should confirm the owner of the allotment and his/her resident ID to the companies, institutes concerned before buying the rights”

▽ deceivable allotment rights= A housewife, Ms. Kang (41, Daechi-dong, kangnam-gu, Seoul) received a call from a staff of real estate consulting company in the early of this month. The staff recommended to invest with the a explanation “ if you buy an unlicensed house located in Jangji-dong, Songpa-gu, you will gain a resident right of a apartment”

Kang enquired Seoul City Hall with the expectation to own a apartment, but Seoul City Hall replied that the unlicensed house is not the subject to resident rights.

Kang talked “It was sound too good not to believe in” and added “ If I didn’t enquired to Seoul City Hall, I must have lost financially”

▽ The deception of stolen information in advance=there are many cases that induce investor with honeyed words of “we have obtained development in advance”. They approach to investors with false information such as “Kyunggi, Kangwon, around DMZ, or West Coast will be developed soon”

They purchase the land at low price and sell three or four time higher than purchasing price by cheating to investor and disappear.

Oh Kun-suk, executive of Uniasset, a real estate franchise, explained “as real estate market become animated, the real estate fraud increases” and added “when purchasing real estate, the buy should confirm by enquiring to the authority and by visiting the site if the development plan is true.

Jin-Hup Song jinhup@donga.com