According to The Chronicle, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) reported that between August and September 2016 there were 26 property fraud cases in Bulawayo alone. The newspaper wrote that certain lawyers connived with fraudsters in creating fake title deeds which they then used to sale a non-existent property to a woman and $50 000.00 was stolen. “ The woman was shown forged title deeds which she was made to believe were up to scratch and deposited the amount into the fraudsters’ account,” The Chronicle reported an Assistant Inspector as saying.
By Cain Ndhlovu of Property Matters News
In another criminal case a lone con artist (partially pictured above) The Chronicle reported, stole $20 000.00 by allegedly selling a non-existent Hillside, Bulawayo property to an absent Zimbabwean buyer based in the UK. The criminal later disappeared from his rented residence when his victim returned from her overseas base in order to view her buy. The police later on in the report expressed concern that members of the public were doing business transactions with people without office address and urged home seekers to first seek verification of documents with the City Council, the Magistrate Court and the Master of High Court before engaging in any purchase of property.
On March 29, 2014 the CID Serious Fraud Squad, Harare published an awareness article in The Sunday Mail informing members of the public about “ Bogus property sellers on the prowl.” Amongst the various dirty tricks that they conjured which the police exposed in the publication was that of the creation of fake title deeds which is the very same tactic that The Chronicle reported to have been employed (about 2 years later) by the criminal syndicate of lawyers and fraudsters that stole $50 000.00 in Bulawayo. Its clear that people fall into the very same trap over over again. The purpose of this article therefore, is to zoom in on some of the loop holes noted by the police and to give practical advise in view of these on how to nip this pestilence in the bud. The advice given does not replace that which you should get from reputable legal practitioners. One should however, note that its based on the strength of it being proven to work in my 9 year real estate career. The information furnished by the police though it alarms the public sometimes it does not equip them enough. Though the police have a duty to make awareness campaigns they do not give professional advice.
THE PROBLEM OF FAKE TITLE DEEDS
I believe that the best advice here is not to give you a check list of title deeds security features because some con artists can be so good such that they can run you over despite your best efforts. Some criminal syndicates can even steal the government copy of a title deeds available to the public for information purposes. It will be difficult for a layman to avoid being conned here because the title deed itself will be original. So my advice is to pay a visit to the registrar of deeds’ office and seek audience with the registrar concerning deeds validation.
THE ISSUE OF OFFICE ADDRESS
Having offices is not proof of legitimate operations because dangerous criminals are operating from lovely offices wearing designer suits. Many unsuspecting home seekers have been duped because of this. The only undisputed proof of legitimate operations is registration with industry regulators namely The Estate Agents Council of Zimbabwe (EAC) for estate agents and The Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) for lawyers. These entities are established by the Estate Agency Act and the Legal Practitioners Act respectively. Though offices are professional they are secondary to this. Before you deal with anyone you must first pay a visit to the regulators because all bona fide legal practitioners and estate agents should mandatorily register with them.
THE CITY COUNCIL, MAGISTRATE COURT AND MASTER OF HIGH COURT
These entities together with The Surveyor General, ZIMRA and The Deeds Office play an indispensable role in real estate. But for a layman to be able to know which document to ask for and from which office is a serious problem that can be capitalized upon by criminals. These offices issue various documents that are critical for legitimate property ownership in Zimbabwe for example The City Council produces the subdivision permit, Magistrates Court & Master of High Court – certificate of administration , The Surveyor General – survey diagram , ZIMRA – tax clearance certificate and The Deeds Office – title deeds. Property sales situations are diverse and one does not necessarily need every document in any given scenario. For example if its a deceased estate the first office one should visit is the Magistrates or The Master of High Court for a certificate of administration not The City Council. As a solution to this puzzle one is advised to use registered estate agents simply because they are required by The Estate Agents Act to first inform their clients about these circumstances and attendant costs before anyone proceeds. This is the reason why the same law requires the training of estate agents to be thorough in terms of Town Planning, Taxation and Land Law. A person operating according to the law will strive to do things in a prospect’s best interest because there is a name to protect. Other advantages for taking this option include 1) possibility of a legal recourse if anything goes wrong , 2) people who intend to buy do not pay anything upfront.
