FBR’s guidelines on how to secure your real estate investment

Real estate has been one of the most profitable business avenues in the country, yielding high returns in a relatively short time. As with all businesses that boast high returns, risks can be a concern. With Pakistan’s real estate, the equation stands somewhat like this: as long as you have the right holding power and the project is reliable, you can expect good profits, in time. This is not particularly surprising considering the high housing demand of the country. So, reliability of projects is the basic concern.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in view of these concerns, recently published a list of guidelines to assist real estate investors. The list puts forth everything you should look at before investing in a project.

• Visit the location: buyers are advised to visit and take a thorough look at the location of the property/housing scheme and compare it with the promises made in the advertisements.

• Check the registration: confirm if the developers are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the registrar of firms. Even if they are, are they even allowed to develop a housing scheme?

• Confirm with revenue department: see if the developers of the housing scheme actually owns the land they need to develop the housing scheme.

• Get the map: not only should you confirm with the relevant development authority (RDA/FDA/CDA/LDA) that the map for the housing scheme has been approved, you should also get an attested copy of the approved map.

• Confirm the NOC: confirm that the housing scheme has acquired a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the local development authority or the Tehsil Municipal Authority.

• Legal Proceedings against the scheme: check if there are any legal proceedings or cases against the society in any court of law or institution.

• Development Charges: the development charges for some housing schemes are not mentioned in their advertisement campaigns. Acquire written details of the development charges before you invest. This way you will know the exact amount you will have to pay for a unit.

• The status of utilities: check the current status of basic utilities in the society: electricity, gas, water, telephone and sewerage. Has the project acquired connections for these utilities?

• Confirm the facilities: check up on the facilities promised in the advertisements. Have the promised parks, schools, hospitals, and mosques been developed? If not, has the land been allocated to them on site, as shown in the map?

• Bank payments: always make payment through banks and acquire a stamped receipt.

• Save the contact details: information such as addresses and telephone numbers of the main/side offices of the housing schemes and its developers should always be saved.

Taking care of these things will help you secure your investment and ensure that you don’t face any serious issues at any time in the future.

You can also call FBR with more detailed questions. Alternatively, you can comment in the section below for anything you may want to know,