Vijayan was shocked to learn that a vacant plot of his had been put up for sale without his knowledge and the deal was almost at the stage of execution.
He had to act immediately to establish his ownership over the property and send out the message that his land was not for sale.
In another instance, living in one of those localities in the city that was yet to see buildings come up on all its plots, Kumar and his neighbour decided to clean up a couple of vacant sites, which belonged to their friends, around their homes.
Strangers
In an hour or so after the cleaning, two strangers approached them and said the vacant land “belonged” to them.
Shocked at the “claim”, Kumar and his neighbour got back to the documents and checked out the details to ensure the ownership.
(Names have been changed in the examples cited, in order to protect identity).
K. Kathirmathiyon, secretary of the Coimbatore Consumer Cause, says different kinds of problems can crop up in dealing with immovable properties.
One such issue that needs more awareness among the public is ensuring genuineness of the documents.
Documents
There are quite a number of cases where counterfeit, colour photocopy and forged documents had been used in real estate transactions, even leading to legal tussles.
In years gone by, people put their money in land or building as an investment. However, of late, a lot of these properties are bought and sold without a long-term perspective.
The demand for properties has gone up tremendously leading to hurried transactions, giving room for instances of counterfeit or forged documents, false claims on vacant land, and similar issues.
He points out that many such transactions happen in the case of properties where the owner lives in a faraway place and does not visit often and also if the property is not maintained properly.
“The onus lies on the buyer to check for genuineness of the document,” he says. “Caution is certainly necessary when buying a property.”
Some of the points to be checked are: genuineness of the seller/buyer.
In the case of vacant lands, enquire with the neighbours too.
Try to trace the original document and verify the details. Ask for the original parent document. Check out the Encumbrance Certificate.
It is always advisable to seek legal opinion regarding the title of the property, he says.
A local official adds that the name of the owner can also be checked in the tax paid for the property – Property Tax if it is a building and vacant land tax if it is vacant land.
Mandatory
For more than a year now, the photograph and thumb impression of the buyers and sellers have been made mandatory on the document.
Of late, a hologram is also fixed on the document in order to avoid counterfeits.
Caution needed
â– Demand for properties has gone up tremendously
â– Hurried transactions give room for instances of counterfeit or forged documents
â– False claims on vacant land are another problem encountered
â– Onus is on buyer to check for genuineness of document regarding land
â– Ask for parent document and check for encumbrance certificate
——M. Soundariya Preetha
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