My recent experience in buying a flat has compelled me to conclude it may not be altogether a far-fetched claim to say that some real estate agents act unscrupulously to swindle the innocent.
I believe agents play a vital role in property transactions. An agent, as a middleman in the transaction, is required to tell his clients as much detail as possible about the property and provide accurate information.
Unfortunately, I was deprived of correct information when I signed up in May to buy a flat through an estate agent The flat was sold with a tenancy lease which was due to expire in September of this year.
Persuading me to strike the deal, representatives of the agent reassured me that the tenant would have to go when the lease expired. However, as I found out later, the tenant has rights to stay under local rules.
The more annoying thing was that the tenant had already owed the original flat owner several months of rent. This was not revealed to me until after I signed up the purchase.
In fact, the tenant refused to go and refused to pay rent. This has derailed my original plan to sell my existing flat and move into this flat.