Dealers confirmed that they were exposed to fraud attempts by companies promoting real estate financing, warning against responding to these companies.
They explained that these companies promote real estate financing without down payment, and with large amounts of money, on the condition of signing contracts with them and paying sums of money until initial approval is obtained from the banks, and in most cases these are “fake approvals.”
They reviewed to “Emirates Today” their experiences with these companies, saying that they constantly change their name and headquarters, pointing out that they received offers with the possibility of financing up to 10 million dirhams, in exchange for these companies receiving a percentage of the amount that is included in a contract with the customer, ranging between 5% and 10%. %.
For their part, two banking experts in the real estate finance sector said that the Central Bank’s instructions are clear regarding advance payments, whether for a citizen or an expatriate, pointing out that the primary task of commercial companies that provide banking or financial intermediation activities is to provide advice and consultation to the customer and choose the best bank for him from among the banks. Where services, interest rates, and fees are in exchange for a commission that you collect from the bank, not the customer.
They advised customers to contact the bank, ensure the accuracy of the information and offers provided, and not to sign any contracts with any company or make any financial payments under any clause, pointing out that all financing terms and conditions are available through the electronic banks’ websites, and therefore any attempts to circumvent them mean fraud. Or fraudulent or fraudulent, and one must beware of it.
Customer experiences
In detail, the citizen (H.S.) said that he paid an amount of 5,000 dirhams, after an employee at a commercial finance company convinced him that he could facilitate his obtaining an amount of eight million dirhams to buy a property that could be rented later, and direct his revenues to pay the monthly installment, which means that it will only cost The transaction fee is estimated at 5,000 dirhams, in addition to a 10% rate when the financing amount is deposited in his bank account.
He continued to Emirates Today: “The employee informed me that he had already obtained preliminary approval, and that I must pay another 50,000 dirhams to complete the procedures. Here I felt that there was something or a mistake, as this conflicted with what the employee had initially offered, so I took the initiative to contact the bank.” Which the employee specified to me, and I was surprised that there were repeated cases of the same story, and that what this company is doing is a scam.”
He added: “I contacted the company employee and told him what I heard from the bank. I also asked him to return the amount, but he stopped answering my calls, and I learned after that that they had left the building in which they were staying after the many complaints against them.”
In turn, the citizen (Saeed H.) reviewed his experience with this type of company, saying: “An employee from a commercial company contacted me, sent me a copy of the license, and said that I was eligible to obtain real estate financing without a down payment of eight million dirhams, and they asked for a signature. A contract to complete the transaction.
He added: “I visited the company’s office located in a well-known building, and I found there many people interested, like me, in obtaining a real estate financing loan, signing contracts to begin the financing procedures, but they asked to pay an initial fee of 10,000 dirhams to start the transaction, so I preferred to pay only 2,000 dirhams, and then the process continued. Events, and I discovered that they exploit the names of some of the banks that citizens prefer to deal with. I also later learned that they change the name of the company and their work locations from time to time.”
In the same context, the client (A.M.) said that an employee from a commercial company contacted her and informed her that he could provide her with financing up to 50 times her salary, in exchange for 5% of the amount approved by the bank.
She added: “The caller asked for copies of my official identification papers, and paid an amount of 5,000 dirhams to apply for financing, and when I told him that according to my information, any personal loan should not exceed 20 times the salary, he said that he would submit the transaction for real estate financing, by purchasing a residential apartment, and in the After certain procedures, the purchase process is cancelled, and I receive the financing amount, because the apartment in use belongs to the company he works for.” She continued: “I had doubts about the matter, but the employee assured me that he had accomplished many Transactions for employees in this way.
Clear instructions
In addition, an expert in the field of real estate financing, Ahmed Arafat, told Emirates Today: “The Central Bank’s instructions regarding real estate financing are clear and specific, and no bank can violate them, whether with regard to the percentages financed or the payments made, and this applies to citizens and expatriates.” ».
He added: “It should be noted that the companies that promote real estate financing or play a brokerage role, their primary mission is to provide advice and consultation to the customer, and to make comparisons between banks, in exchange for a percentage paid by the bank if the transaction is completed successfully. Therefore, any amounts requested from customers are considered… It is not justified, and the customer must contact the bank specified by the company, to ensure the seriousness of the matter.”
Arafat continued: “It must also be noted that the fact that the customer is eligible to obtain real estate financing does not necessarily require approval, as there are conditions that must be met and several stages that the transactions go through, and in most cases banks do not finance such large amounts, whether for residential real estate or Commercial.
Communication with banks
In turn, the banker, Ahmed Mustafa, advised customers to communicate with banks, saying: “It is better for customers to communicate with banks in the event of any promotional offers by commercial companies, to ensure, before taking any action, the seriousness of the services of those companies.” He pointed out that the terms and conditions of financing All of them are available through the banks’ websites, and therefore any attempts to circumvent them mean fraud, fraud, or deception, and you must beware of them.
He added: “Initial approval cannot be sufficient, as these companies usually enter inaccurate data and use the forms available to banks through their smart applications or the Internet without referring to the bank itself, thus deceiving the customer that the procedures are correct, and here comes the role of the customer’s awareness, who must ask directly.” The customer service center in the bank whose name is used in this process.
Promotion letter template
Employees of some companies that offer financing services resort to providing some information to the victim, via chat or text message, to convince him to accept financing and sign a contract with them, and these messages include:
* Hello
* With you…. from the company “…”
* This is an initiative from the UAE for citizens only. You can obtain commercial real estate financing through us, and we exempt you from the down payment required by the bank, which is 20% of the property value.
* The procedure is done through an appraisal company affiliated with us and approved by the bank, and the company evaluates the property at more than its value. If the property’s price is 10 million dirhams, for example, the company values the property at 13 million dirhams, and of course the additional amount (three million dirhams) will be returned to you in cash. Buck.”
* In the case of purchasing the building, there will be an annual return of 30% if you want to manage the property, and the remaining 70% will go to the bank in monthly installments.
* If you want the bank to manage the property, you will have a 25% return on the rental (which is better for you), and the 5% will be the bank’s management, insurance, and maintenance fees.
* The property belongs to you after the end of the repayment period of 25 years, and it is inherited. The period can be reduced if you pay the bank 100%, so that the debt is repaid over 15 years.
Amounts paid
Emirates Today learned that companies that promote real estate financing use the name of a well-known bank in all their transactions, which led to this bank receiving a number of complaints after customers were exposed to fraud by these companies, while the amounts paid by customers ranged between 2,000 dirhams and 50 dirhams. One thousand dirhams, depending on the transaction.
. Banking: Companies that promote real estate financing or play a brokerage role, whose primary mission is to provide advice and consultation to the customer, and to make comparisons between banks.
