Oman property: Check papers before buying a house

Muscat: After a series of frauds, house buyers have been warned to check out all the papers before buying a property, government authorities are cautioning buyers.
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The warning comes in the light of instances when many buyers, after having invested in properties in Oman, realised that the papers were not forthcoming, or there was inordinate delay on account of incomplete paper works or procedures.
The Ministry of Housing is asking Omani and expatriate investors to insist for licences and legal documents for properties before paying even one rial to the real estate companies.
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Following several advertisements from real estate companies through the print and social media offering to sell properties, without obtaining the required licences for construction work or legal documents for the business, the Ministry of Housing has called on the public to be alert.
The ministry has urged buyers not to sign any paper before confirming if the said company possesses the legal documents required to construct properties from the concerned authorities.
An announcement to this effect was made yesterday by the Ministry of Housing on its official account on social media stating that the public should be careful when dealing in purchase of properties as many real estate companies sell properties without obtaining legal document to carry on construction work, and therefore, not sure if the property would be built or not.
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When contacted, Engineer Mohammed Salim Khalifa Al Busaidi, Chairman of Oman Real Estate Association and a Shura member, said it is a good move by the Ministry which will help spread awareness among public on this issue.
“The regulations and requirements regarding the selling of properties have not yet been clearly spelt out by the Ministry of Housing,” said Al Busaidi.
He, however, added that the Ministry of Housing had promised earlier to announce these requirements by August this year.
“The ministry’s announcement comes to handle the issue until it all regulations are made clear to the public,” said Al Busaidi.
There have been many such cases earlier when some companies sold properties to individuals and investors without even obtaining any legal documents to establish the business, and at the end, the construction licence was not issued to them.
“In such cases, buyers might lose their money or may have to wait for long time to get their money back,” noted Al Busaidi.
Like the Ministry of Housing, Al Busaidi has also called on the public to ask for the legal documents or the licence for the business and construction work from those offering to sell properties.
“It is not logical to pay such a huge amount of money without checking the credibility of the project,” explained Al Busaidi.
He also hopes that the Ministry comes out with the requirements to regulate the market as such cases affect the transparency of the market locally and internationally.
Ahmed S., a lawyer based in Muscat, told Times of Oman that such purchase contracts do not rely on real documents and they are tilted more in favour of companies than buyers.
“I have asked several friends if they had checked the legal documents before paying money for the property projects but only a few replied in the affirmative,” said Ahmed.
He said the Ministry of Housing must do something as such flats are being sold in market nowadays.
“Clear regulations and requirements should be imposed in the market to secure all parties,” said Ahmed.