Leasing Fraud – A Cautionary Tale

As economic conditions tighten, people get desperate.  Unfortunately, desperation can keep good people from exercising caution and, even worse, can turn already bad people into criminal fraudsters. While Dubai is generally a safe and secure city, people should always practice due diligence when it comes to serious transactions, such as buying or leasing real estate.

Better Homes has been made aware of a number of scams specifically involved fake leasing agreements.  Fortunately, there is an easy way to protect yourself from falling victim.  Below is a recent story reported by Better Homes Property Management division:

“A member of our Leasing Team was negotiating with a lady interested in multiple units at a building we were managing in Barsha. This building is exclusively leased by us at Better Homes- nobody else can lease out the units.  The lady claimed that another leasing company was offering multiple units in this building at a much lower rate than Better Homes was charging.  She showed us the ad online.

We called this other company, posing as an interested client, to see what was going on.  The man who picked up the phone stated that he was able to offer the units at such a low rate because his client had reserved two floors a while ago but, due to economic conditions, no longer had employees to set up in the units.

After hearing the man’s story, our Leasing Consultant identified herself as a Better Homes agent and the man started to panic.  We knew that the story was fraudulent because we’re the exclusive agency for the entire building and two floors had never been rented to anyone.  After warning the man that he better stop such fraud he made up excuses such as we dialed the wrong number, he was talking about a different building, etc.

A couple days later, we followed up and called him again posing as a different interested client.  Again, the man made up the same story. When we asked to see the original Tenancy Contract, the man said he would obtain it and then never called back. Basically, the man was scamming people into giving him security deposits and agency fees.  A victim may unknowingly pay this money only to be told upon moving into the building that nobody has any idea why they’ve arrived.” 

Janine Crisp, Head of Property Management, explains, “All it takes to avoid these scams is to ask for a copy of the original sales agreement and title deed. Most clients don’t know this and they are vulnerable to fraud.”

There are three morals to the story:

• Always make sure to check the original title deed and tenancy contract. Feel free to contact RERA to double check anything.

• Always work with a reputable sales or leasing agency, and make sure agents are who they say they are.  In some cases fraudsters pretend to work for reputable agencies, so if you’re concerned just call the company and confirm the employment… get the agent’s mobile number from the company and then call that number.

• If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  If you’ve really found a bargain out there, a double check on the credentials won’t derail it, and may save you from significant financial trouble.

Feel free to give Better Homes a call at +971 600 52 2212 with any questions or concerns.