When selling off-plan property, some people have sadly fallen victim to a dirty trick.

Here’s how it goes: 

-    A buyer offers to purchase a number of units from an owner on a development at full price and issues a cheque (yes, from a foreign bank account)! 

-    Before the buyer’s cheque has cleared, he comes back to the seller with a sob story and asks to buy one apartment less.   In order to “save a lot of hassle”, he suggests the seller writes a cheque to him for the one property.

-    If successful, the buyer walks away with a valid cheque which he cashes before his dodgy one bounces.

This scam was first heard of 8 or 9 years ago, but more recently some 10 or 20 sellers have allegedly fallen into this old trap.  None of them, I hasten to add, say they were conned, but sadly it must happen…