APPLICATION FORM FOR :

6. If you wish not to be fooled then the first thing when you wish to own a flat/house is buy a Brochure, tear off the Application Form from it and throw away rest of the coloured-photographs. This will save you from future mental torture.
7. First read the Price. As a counter check show this price to some one in your home or to some colleague to re-read. Mostly you will find price written like “price of the flat Rs. 10,000 excluding development charges”. In this shape development charges have not been mentioned or disclosed by the company which could be Rs. 20,000 or Rs. 30,000. Hence this word excluding development charges should be the first naked electric wire shock to you. Some time at the end of word “excluding development charges” or just near the Price in very thin font there would be an asterisk mark @ or # which is usually given in text books showing that an important Note or Reference about the test was on the bottom of the page. If you go to the bottom it would be written like “estimated May 2007”. This means the price of the flat/house mentioned or written they calculated was in May 2007 on which they are selling it to you in July 2009. These two things (a) Estimated (b) May 2007 are most dangerous. As soon as you have booked the plot, flat or a house, paid the advance payment just after two three months you will receive a letter that since by now material prices or labour costs in the market have increased, new taxes imposed, currency re-adjusted etc hence the price of Rs. 10,000 has been revised and it now stands at Rs. 25,000 and you immediately pay Rs. 15,000 as first installment to this revision. After you have paid this amount on the jugglery of May 2007 to July 2009 technique, do not think your headache has gone. That price increase for the past. This price will keep increasing as the law allows and you have agreed to the price escalation.
8. The other sword will remain hanging on you and no body can tell you definitely how much would be at the end of the day the total development charges.
PROJECT COMPLETION:

9. It must be remembered that a Developer/Building has more interest in getting your booking cancelled rather than completing the project. At least I am not aware of if any such private project during the last 25 years has ever been completed timely. The more the delay the more free income for the Developer hence on one ground or the other excuse the completion will keep lingering on. During 70s to 90s there had been two three very good developers how though as usual delayed the projects but acted on the true terms and condition. One is believed in Lahore. The best performance shown in this regard was when the House Building Finance Corporation built flats/houses for Overseas Pakistanis and the other in old days KDA completed similar houses in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and flats in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. DHA is a exception to all above but a lot is now a days being read through letters of editor but generally its performance is good but middle class like me can not afford it.
Cancellation more important:

10. It may be remembered the Builder will get more benefit in canceling your booking rather than completing the project. The reason is on one excuse or the other mostly “not timely payment” he will cancel your booking by deducting from your money paid and sell the same flat/house/plot to another new buyer soon to cancel his and sell to some other new one. This circle will keep going on for some long time. How it is beneficial to the developer/builder is explained in later paragraphs.
Have Read Terms & Conditions:

11. The first and the most important to be remembered is that buying a property is a very sensitive issue under which both the buyer and the selling are supposed to fully in clear terms know exactly where they stand. It applies not only in the case of property but even eg. on purchase of Defence Savings Certificates etc. One must fully understand before signing the Form, the whole pros and cons. Even often the highly educated do not understand the critical, stylish, sugar coated language of such Forms hence every one of us must at least from some other get an advice before signing any Form.
12. In case of purchase of a flat/house from the developer building in 95% case the applicant gets a colorful brochure showing coloured photographs of different portions of the flat/house when it will be completed. This is in fact a photograph of temporarily decorated house some where else. Either in the Brochure as a detachable or as a separate there will be a page titled “Application Form”. This application form is the biggest tool in the hands of developer/building to keep you under pressure and keep extracting from your pockets. This Form in 95% cases will contain entries like name of the applicant, address, ID Card No. occupation, salary etc half of which information is just to fool. At the end of the Form there is a very small sentence but the most lethal doze and the mother cause of all your future sufferings - a sentence reading “I have READ and UNDERSTOOD terms & conditions”, I will pay timely, will abide by these terms and conditions prescribed including those proposed by the developer/builder from time to me and conditions, the finger will go to the entries on the Application Form reading, name, occupation, salary etc.
13. In some cases there would be two three explicit undertakings on the Form reading like “the buyer undertakes to pay timely all the installments”, the buyer undertakes to do this and that etc. But no where it will even a single line would be what in return the Seller is to do. The sale and purchase of a property whether from a Developer/Builder or from a person is invariably under a written agreement signed by both. In this agreement both sides explain their individual side of obligations and responsibilities. Even in case of a person selling his personal house in the agreement undertakes to deliver the vacant and safe peaceful possession of the sold house to the seller. But in the case of Developers/Builders the reading of those lines shown as terms and conditions will indicate nothing whatsoever if he Builder too is to do anything or not. All the terms written will show only what the purchaser is to do. As such it is very important to be careful.
14. As stated above the Builder/Developer’s main interest is to get you book a flat/house and then get it cancelled through hook and crock, sell it to third one and do the same to him and then sell it to fourth and continue so. This way his income keeps increasing. When he has repeated this technique 10-20 dozens time and had got enough money, then he announces another new project with same fanfare and advertisements. When new people book their flats/house in this new project, the money obtained from them is then diverted to the previous project in which you have booked and thus work on your project starts.
15. Under the asterisk (*) or the fine print you have verified and signed on the dotted line that you “have read and understood all terms and conditions and undertake to abide by those rules or those which the company may from time to time prescribe”. By singing this in fact one cuts his own hands. How it effects one can be understood from one single example. A huge advertisement appeared in newspapers selling plots in Hub Chowki area Karachi. This area in fact is near Balouchistan bordering Karachi. Technically speaking it is suburban area to Karachi. The heading of the advertisement as usual was very attractive “Gold in the price of sand”. The total cost of a 120 sq. yds. plot was Rs. 10,000/- as area was deserted expected soon to witness huge industrial development. Thousands and thousands rushed and booked signing on the dotted lines certifying that they had read the rules and regulations. No body cared to think for a minute can a plot just in Rs. 10,000 really be had. No body cared to check is this the net price and is it inclusive of development charges or not. This Rs. 10,000 were to be paid in easy monthly installments of Rs. 700 or so which was very easy and convenient for every one. Having paid the advance and having relayed the news to the relatives about purchase of the plot, all the allottees in next two months received a Notice from the company demanding within two weeks in one go Rs. 17,500 towards their contribution for the Islamic Centre otherwise plot was to be cancelled. What was this? It transpired that the company had a plan to create an international level Islamic centre in the colony for which every member was to contribute Rs. 35,000 in two installments. When people objected that it was not disclosed to them earlier, they were shown their signature having declared that they had read, understood and agree to abide by all terms & conditions. Where were these terms &conditions? In the company’s office file of course. Every one started getting the plot cancelled which the Developer actually wanted and which in fact the buyer should not had at this stage opted for cancellation.
16. As explained above that the main interest of the Developer/Buyer is to book and then get you cancel your flat/house/plot which is the builder’s main big income. As soon as one books a house/flat with a down payment which is always very easy eg Rs. 10,000/- assuming that he is only to pay monthly Rs. 4000/- installment, within two months the allottee gets a demand note from the company asking to pay like Rs. 25,000 towards first installment of Development Charges. Now the allottee cries that this was not told to him but he has actually signed on the dotted line. This is in fact a technique to harass viz seeing the huge to pay one gets the plot/flat/house cancelled.
17. Sending the allottee the above demand notice another technique invariably is used. This is that while the Demand Not is dated say 01 July 2009 with last date for payment by 20 July 2009, this demand note is mailed/posted around 15 or 16 July to ensure it reaches the allottee after the due date so declaring him defaulter his allotment is cancelled. The unfortunate is as generally our society lacks awareness no one cares to keep the envelopes on which such mail comes more safe than the cash payment receipts. Always keep the envelopes in tact attached with the relevant demand note, mark the date on which it was received. This envelope is a tool for protection of your rights.
Deductions:
18. The second biggest thing is one single word which is the second biggest cause of one’s sufferings. In the terms & conditions on the Application Form there will be a very innocent looking sentence that in case the Buyer wishes to cancel his booking he can request the company in which case the company after deduction of 5% or 10% of the “price” will refund him. This word 5% or 10% of “price” looks like a very soft pill but in fact it is a lethal injection. When having your got harassed through designed-late arrival of payment notice, demanding immediate payment of Rs. 17,500 for the Islamic centre, you will wish to get the allotment cancelled then a bomb will be dropped on your heard. Before going to the company for cancellation you will calculate that you so far have paid Rs. 2500 advance and 500 as two installments hence @ 10% Rs. 300 will be deducted from you which is not that bad and will come home with balance Rs. 2,700/-. But when you will reach the company which is already very eagerly patiently awaiting you to cancel will smilingly agree with you for cancellation. On this visit the company would offer you a cup of tea and receive from you application for cancellation. When you will wait for your Rs. 2,700/- you will be asked “OK, good bye”. But where is the money you will be told out of your Rs. 3000 paid Rs. 2000 will be deducted and balance Rs. 1000 will be paid to you when the company finds any new buyer for your surrendered plot/house/flat which practically takes a year or two in most cases. On your correcting that 10% comes to Rs. 300, you will realize how uneducated you were because the word price to the company means the “total price” of the plot/flat which comes to Rs. 10,000 price plus so far Rs. 15,000 development charges and not merely the “price of the plot” or what “you so far paid” namely 10% of paid.
Completion of the Project:
19. The advertisement or the Brochure will very prominently say that the project will be completed with speed in 3 years. 3 years starting from which date? As you will not ask this question likewise the company will too not tell you unless you have actually booked and paid some installments. If a developer says 3 years take it the project after keep revising upward prices will be completed in 06 years if you are lucky. Reason being the same that it is main interest of the company to book you, cancel you, book another cancel him and so on.
20. Every company by law is bound to seek public objections before obtaining Completion Certificate from the concerned development agency like CDA, LDA, KDA. While the company had ample money for releasing daily huge front page colour advertisements in the press/TV at the time of announcement of the project, this time money would get exhausted and a 2 inch by 2 inch classified advertisement in small fonts only to fulfill a legal requirement will be released ensuring you did not read it and file an objection that the company had in the brochure shown US made kitchen sink whereas now it had installed from cheapest local or Chinese brand.
21. Some advertisers/builders/developers to fool would mention in advertisements that if project not completed in time the developer gives Guarantee and would pay to the buyers. Till today not a single example is known if anyone has got any compensation for late completion of the project reason being the that to keep themselves safe these developers keep taking extensions in completion dates from the concerned development authorities who are always ready to oblige the developers. Secondly merely mentioning the Guarantee has no legal standai. A guarantee is something material. Merely mentioning a word I guarantee but what guarantee does not mean anything.