Dear CL,
What is important is that you have done a due diligence on the ownership of the property before you pay the downpayment to the person claiming to be the owner.If it is a landed property, you may conduct a title deed search at the land office. If it is a strata property, you may verify the ownership with the management company of the said development. Secondly, whatever deposit payment you make to the owner, a written Letter of Offer specifying the agreed price and all the commercial terms to be signed and accepted by the owner. Such Letter of Offer is usually done by the licensed agencies and deposits are paid to them as stakeholders prior to Sale & Purchase Agreement (S&PA).(you may want to hire an agent to do this for you).Lastly, if you do not want to go through an agent you may want to hire a lawyer to draft the S&PA for you and pay 10% downpayment.
David Wong
Principal
QUANTUM real estate
Tel:+60193330573
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