Checking a file before you pay anything

Do these in order

1. Match the name. The name on the file must match the CNIC of the person selling. If it does not, there must be a registered power of attorney, and you should read it rather than be told about it.

2. Check the mutation. Go to the relevant office and confirm the mutation is recorded in the seller name. A file that has not been mutated is not yet theirs to sell.

3. Ask the society directly. For DHA and the private societies, take the file number to the society office and confirm there are no outstanding dues and no hold on transfer.

4. Look for the demarcation. Stand on the plot with the society map. Corner plots and park facing plots carry a premium, and both are easy to claim and easy to check.

5. Agree the transfer costs in writing before any money moves. Registry fee, mutation fee, society transfer fee and commission should all be named figures, not percentages to be worked out later.

The one rule that matters most

Never transfer money to an account in a name that does not appear on the file. Not to a relative, not to an agent, not for a day. If someone is in a hurry for you to break this rule, that is the signal to stop.