Residents fall victim to mainland property scam

Two local women, who are awaiting the results of lawsuits against a Zhongshan real estate company which had deceived them, reminded Macau residents to pay attention to scams when buying properties in the mainland, according to a report by Macao Daily News.
The two women – who are surnamed Tsui and Chung, and are in their 30s – invested RMB805,000 and RMB790,000, respectively, in properties last August located in Tanzhou Town, a region of Zhongshan that is close to Zhuhai. According to the report, the investments were made through a real estate agency based in Zhuhai.
Both owners planned to rent out their properties as shops. However, the contracts specified that the spaces could only be used as garages. The agents told the buyers that said spaces could indeed be rented out, but the contract stated otherwise. The agents further claimed that writing the contract in this way would allow buyers to use the spaces for an extended period of 20 years, even providing deposit receipts with the word “shop” written on them instead of “garage.”
The victims, after signing the contracts, contacted the Zhongshan Administration Bureau for Industry and Commerce, which assured them that the spaces could only be used as car parks.
The agency later admitted that these incidents are a result of the absence of related laws, and that such things are common in the mainland.