Property Verification Steps

🏚️ Property Verification Steps — before you pay ANY token money

✅ The 8 checks (do them in order)

• 1. Title: ask for the owner's original title document (Registry / Allotment / Transfer letter) and the owner's original CNIC — verify names match exactly
• 2. Land record: verify ownership + any mutation (intiqal) at the land records authority — PLRA in Punjab (via punjab-zameen.gov.pk / ARSA centre), SPLRA in Sindh; other provinces have their own land record authorities (verify the current portal on the official government site)
• 3. Encumbrance: confirm the property is not mortgaged or under dispute — check with the relevant bank/registry and ask for a written statement
• 4. NOC: for societies/projects, verify the NOC with the development authority (CDA in Islamabad, LDA in Lahore, KDA/SDA etc. in Sindh — call the authority directly, numbers from their official website)
• 5. Approved plan: plot/file must appear in the approved layout plan — an "upcoming" scheme with no approved plan is a file scam in waiting
• 6. Utility dues: get clearance letters for electricity, gas, water, and any pending property tax (check with the excise/taxation office)
• 7. Society/developer: visit the society office, verify the seller is the member on record, and confirm transfer will be registered IN the society's books — not just on a plain paper receipt
• 8. Possession: physically visit the plot with the seller; match boundaries, plot number and corner position to the map

🚩 Red flags — walk away

• "Pay token today, documents later"
• Price dramatically below market "because of an emergency"
• Seller is "buying for a relative abroad" and can't meet or video-call the owner
• Duplicate files / same plot sold to multiple buyers — verify with the society record BEFORE paying
• Society file being sold before the society has land or an approved plan
• Dealer pressuring you to skip verification "everyone buys like this"

📝 At the time of transfer

• Biometric verification of seller at the registry/NADRA centre (where applicable) — never skip
• Payment by crossed cheque / bank transfer in the seller's OWN account — traceable, no cash
• Witnesses + photos of all pages; get the original, not a photocopy
• Register the transfer with the land record authority / society the same week
• Keep every receipt, token, and chat — your protection is the paper trail