There are a range of benefits for having a property. You can either live in the home, rent it out or sell it when you see a lucrative deal. You can first look at the real estate market if you are planning to sell land. Do your research and find out the latest worth of your land. Setting the price, a little higher than the market rate is preferred. You have a property possession that means you basically own the title of the property.
When you are transferring your property that means the title of the property is shifted to another person. It is not a necessity to always sell your property, it could be a gift, a mortgage or a rental.
In Pakistan, the eligibility criteria for selling property is having a valid national identity card (CNIC) (18 years and above).
Let’s start the discussion regarding the token money and bayana without which a property deal will not take place.
Token Money
The token money is a small amount of money that the buyer has to pay as a sign of a serious intention to buy a property. On a mutual understanding between the buyer and the seller, token cash is paid depending on the sale price. In most cases, an intermediary who holds the confirmed contact information of the seller facilitates the transaction.
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The agreement specifics are written on the letterhead of the agent if you are negotiating with an agent who is registered with the respective society where the property is located. This contains data about the token money, the buyer’s name, the plot number, the name, the property’s size and price, and the time period in which the residual payment has to be made by the buyer. Now the question arises that whether the token money is refundable or not?
There are two kinds of token money:
- Conditional Token
- Confirmed Token
Conditional token
The token given and obtained on relaxation basis is a conditional token. A small amount ranging from PKR 25,000 to PKR 100,000 is given when a buyer wishes to purchase a certain land. If the transaction falls through for whatever reason, there is no liability and the same money is returned to the buyer.
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Upon paying the conditional token amount, the buyer can then check the property rights of the respective housing society to ensure that the seller is the real owner. For this method, the seller permits written permission to allow the competent authority to share the details of ownership and legal status with the purchaser, whose name and CNIC number are also indicated on the application along with owners’ CNIC copy.
Confirmed token
The documented token money is called confirmed token money, in which the terms and conditions are unanimously set between the buyer, seller and the agent (if there is any). This arrangement contains provisions such as the time period for the payment of the bayana, the purchase price of the property and the penalty on the condition that one of the parties backs out of the deal.
Buyer loses his token money if he fails to meet the bayana deadline; if the seller backs out of the contract, he is legally obliged to pay the buyer twice the amount of token money.
If the buyer is in a position within a week or two to obtain the property at hand, the confirmed token also serves as the bayana. The confirmed token is generally a greater value than the conditional token and less than the bayana. Meanwhile, bayana is the next step once the token amount is paid. It’s just like token money, however it’s written and signed officially.
Bayana
Bayana is a legal contract with relevant conditions set by both the buyer and the seller, written on stamp paper. Typically, it is charged one week after the token cash. The terms include the time period for the transfer of the property and the payment of the remaining sum, often between 10 and 30 days, but can be longer.
Preferably, the sum of bayana must be one-fourth of the total price. The longer the time frame for clearing the remaining amount, the greater the amount of bayana. In the meantime, the seller requests for the No Demand Certificate during this period. This authorization is granted in the presence of both parties by the relevant housing authority. The property is transferred on the spot and the seller received bank draft.
If the deal falls after the bayana because of any issues at the seller’s end, then seller is obliged to pay twice the value of the bayana as a penalty. Meanwhile, the buyer will lose the paid bayana amount if he backs out from the deal.
Popular Housing Societies and Their Rules for Selling Property
If we talk about the popular housing schemes measures while selling property then Defense Housing Authority (DHA) comes in mind which recommends its sellers while contracting to add special clause regarding transferring the outstanding amount within due date or else seller have the authority to obtain all the advance paid by buyer. Similarly, if seller declined to transfer the property rights to seller then seller is legally responsible to return the advance payment he received twice.
However, according to the guidelines of DHA Karachi, while sellers sign the agreement before the appointed officer of DHA, they own the property until documents are officially transferred. In the event of a conflict with the buyer, within the specified time, the property may be re-validated in your name again.
However, once you have passed the paperwork to the purchaser, you cannot claim the land.
Property buying and selling contains heavy risks, however, you make sure an intensive market research is done by you in order to identify the common real estate scams.
