Property Scams in Mysuru: Common Frauds and the Checks That Stop Them

What it looks like: a seller sells a plot that has already been sold, mortgaged or promised to someone else. Sometimes the earlier buyer never took possession, so the plot still looks unclaimed. The later buyer often discovers the problem only when the earlier one turns up with papers.

The check: an Encumbrance Certificate (EC) shows the registered transactions and charges on a property over a period, so a sale or mortgage that has been registered will appear on it. Ask your lawyer how far back the EC should go, apply for it yourself through the Kaveri portal or the sub-registrar office rather than accepting the seller's copy, and get it updated again just before registration. Our guide to the Encumbrance Certificate explains how to read one.

An EC cannot show what was never registered, such as an unregistered agreement or a cash advance taken from another buyer. So also check that the khata and tax receipts are in the seller's name, ask neighbours whether anyone else has shown an interest in the plot, and consider having your lawyer publish a notice in a local newspaper inviting objections before the sale — a common precaution.

What it looks like: documents that appear genuine but are not — a deed with a forged signature, a fake khata extract, an approval letter no office ever issued. A related trick is impersonation: someone with a forged identity card poses as the real owner, often of a vacant plot whose owner lives in another city or abroad, or is elderly and rarely visits. The buyer meets a convincing "owner", sees what look like papers, and pays.

The check: never rely on photocopies, or on documents that come only from the seller. Your lawyer can obtain certified copies of registered deeds from the sub-registrar's records and compare them with the seller's originals. Confirm the khata and tax details with Mysuru City Corporation or the relevant local body, and any layout approval with the authority said to have issued it.

For the person, match the name, photograph and address on their identity documents with the title deed and tax receipts, and ask how they came to own the property. Visit them at their home address, not only at the site. Registration records the photographs and biometrics of the people who appear, but that only shows who was there — not that they were the true owner. Establishing that is your job, before the day.

What it looks like: plots advertised as "approved" when the approval is only "in process", belongs to a different survey number, or covers the layout next door. Sometimes the plot being sold sits on land the approved plan reserves for a park, a road or a civic-amenity site. A related pattern is agricultural land divided into "sites" without ever being converted to non-agricultural use. Such plots can look exactly like a real layout, with stones, painted numbers and even an entrance arch.

The check: ask for the layout approval with its reference details and the approved layout plan, confirm that your plot number and measurements appear on it, and verify the approval with the authority directly. Our guide to MUDA, DTCP and panchayat layouts explains who approves layouts where.

Agricultural land must be converted to non-agricultural use — commonly called DC conversion, as the order comes from the Deputy Commissioner — before it can lawfully be used for a residential layout. Ask for the conversion order, and have your lawyer verify it with the office that issued it and check it against the land's RTC (also called Pahani), the agricultural land record available on the state's Bhoomi portal, to confirm it is genuine and covers this land. Our guide to DC conversion and land records goes into the detail.

What it looks like: the person selling is not the owner but says they hold a power of attorney (PoA) — a document in which the owner authorises someone to act on their behalf. PoA sales are legitimate when an owner lives far away or is unwell, which is exactly why fraudsters like them. The PoA may be forged, may not actually include the power to sell, may have been cancelled, or the owner who gave it may have died; a power of attorney generally ends when the person who gave it revokes it or dies.

The check: ask for the PoA itself, not a description of it, and have your lawyer read exactly what powers it grants and for which property. If it was registered, your lawyer can check it against the sub-registrar's records. Most importantly, contact the owner directly — in person, or by a video or phone call on a number you found independently — to confirm they are alive, that the PoA is still in force and that they want to sell. Where possible, pay the sale price into the owner's own bank account.

Remember that a PoA only lets someone act for the owner; it does not make them the owner. Our guide to buying through a power of attorney covers the safeguards in more detail.

What it looks like: a seller, agent or so-called developer collects token advances or booking amounts — often in cash, often from several buyers — for plots that are not theirs to sell, or for a layout that never materialises. There is usually urgency ("only a few sites left at this price"), a discount for paying today and a handwritten receipt. Then the phone stops being answered.

The check: pay nothing until the documents have been verified. When you do pay, pay by bank transfer or cheque to the person named as owner in the title documents — never in cash, and never into a middleman's account — and get a signed receipt that names the property and states the terms, including when the money is refundable. Larger payments belong in a written sale agreement drawn up or checked by your lawyer. Keep in mind that a sale agreement records the terms but does not by itself transfer ownership; only a registered sale deed does.

Be especially careful with offers far cheaper than similar plots nearby. A genuinely low price usually has a reason, and you want to know that reason before you pay, not after.

What it looks like: the plot on the ground is not the plot on paper. A neighbour's wall has crept onto it, someone has put up a shed or is storing material there, or part of it has quietly become a path. In other cases the plot was smaller than stated from the start: the deed says one size, the tape says another, and the difference surfaces only when an architect draws the house.

The check: visit with the layout plan and the property description from the deed, find the boundary stones, and measure every side yourself. Where the plot is irregular or the boundaries are unclear, have a licensed surveyor measure it and mark the boundaries formally. Compare the measurements with the sale deed, the khata and the approved layout plan; they should all tell the same story. Look for structures, fencing, crops or dumped material that suggest someone else is using the land, and ask the neighbours about it. Our site visit checklist covers the checks on the ground step by step.

If there is a difference, settle it in writing — a price adjustment, a corrected description or the removal of the encroachment — before you sign anything. After registration, it becomes your dispute.

You do not need to memorise every trick. A short routine, followed every time, catches most of them:

1. Verify documents before paying anything, with a property lawyer, using certified copies and an EC you obtained yourself.
2. Confirm approvals and land records with the offices that issued them.
3. Confirm that the seller is the real owner — and in a PoA sale, speak to the owner yourself.
4. Measure the plot and match it with the layout plan and the deed.
5. Pay only by bank transfer to the owner, with receipts, and put the terms in writing.
6. Treat urgency, cash-only requests and unusually low prices as reasons to slow down.

Keep every receipt, message and bank record from the first conversation onwards. If something does go wrong, that paper trail is what a lawyer will need.

If you would like to start with approved sites, you can browse MUDA-approved plots in Mysuru. Siddaganga Real Estate has helped families and investors in the city for over twelve years and can help with document verification, e-Khata and registration.