Buying a Stand in Zimbabwe: How to Avoid Losing Your Money

More life savings are lost to bad land deals in Zimbabwe than to almost anything else. Buying a stand in Zimbabwe can be perfectly safe — the people who lose money almost always skipped one of the checks below.

Understand what you are actually buying

• A titled stand — the seller holds a title deed and transfer is registered at the Deeds Office in your name. This is the strongest position.
• A cession — you take over rights under an agreement of sale where title has not yet been issued, common in newer developments and cooperatives. It can be legitimate, but the chain of rights must be clean and the underlying land must be properly held.
• A cooperative or scheme allocation — you buy a share and are allocated a stand. Verify the cooperative exists formally, holds the land lawfully, and has council approval for the layout.

If a seller cannot tell you clearly which of these you are buying, stop there.

The checks to do before paying anything

1. Deeds Office search. A conveyancer can confirm the registered owner, the property description and whether there is a mortgage bond or caveat over it.
2. Local authority confirmation. Check with the city or rural district council that the layout is approved, the stand number exists, and the land is zoned residential.
3. Servicing status. Are roads, water and sewer reticulation actually in? Who is responsible for installing them, and by when, in writing?
4. Rates and levies. Ask for proof that municipal rates on the property are up to date; arrears follow the property.
5. Physical inspection. Walk the stand with the beacon certificate or survey diagram. Confirm the pegs match what you are being shown.
6. Seller identity. Match identity documents against the name on the title or agreement, and be very careful with sales conducted through a "representative" holding a power of attorney.

Warning signs

• Pressure to pay a deposit today to "secure" the stand.
• A price well below comparable stands in the same area.
• No paperwork beyond a receipt, or paperwork that names a different entity from the seller.
• Land on a wetland, a floodplain, a road reserve or under power lines — councils demolish structures on these.
• Sellers who discourage you from involving a lawyer.
• The same stand being shown to several buyers, which is the classic double-sale fraud.

Doing the deal properly

• Use a conveyancer. The fee is a fraction of the purchase price and it is the only stage that reliably prevents catastrophe.
• Get a written agreement of sale setting out the parties, the property, the price and currency, the payment schedule, who pays transfer costs, and what happens on default.
• Pay traceably — bank transfer or through the conveyancer's trust account — and get receipts. Never pay cash to an individual without documentation.
• Follow through to transfer. An agreement of sale is not ownership; ownership is registration in your name.

Building on it

Once the stand is yours, building requires approved plans from the local authority and inspections at stages of construction. Building without approved plans risks demolition and makes the property difficult to sell or bond later. Budget for plans, connection fees and inspections from the start rather than treating them as optional.

If something goes wrong

Report fraud to the police and keep every document, receipt and message. Civil recovery through the courts is slow but real, and the evidence you kept at the time determines whether it succeeds. Legal aid organisations can advise where a lawyer is unaffordable.

Related: renting a house safely. All our guides are on the guides page.