How to check a stand before you pay

When you are offered a stand in Zimbabwe you cannot visit yourself, you may never meet the person offering it. Records and a visit to the site can show whether what you have been told matches what is on the record and on the ground.

This guide describes what can be checked before any money is paid.

Start with the stand's identity

Everything else depends on knowing exactly which piece of land you are being offered. Collect:

• the stand number and the township or area name
• the title deed reference, if the person offering it has given you one
• the address, or map coordinates for land without an address
• copies of any documents you have been given, such as an agreement, a deed or a council letter

The Deeds Registry record

Searches at the Deeds Registry offices in Harare and Bulawayo are open to the public. A search returns the registry's record for the property: the registered details and the entries recorded against it.

Compare the record with the documents you have been given. Note every difference, including spelling differences in names and stand numbers. A difference is a fact to record and ask about; it is not, on its own, a conclusion.

A visit to the site

A visit records what is there on the day:

• whether the stand can be found at the number and location given
• survey pegs or boundary markers that can be seen
• whether any building work has started, and what stage it is at
• whether anyone was seen at the stand, how many people, and any visible signs of occupation
• photos of each of these, with the place and time recorded

Council records

The local authority may hold a rates account for the property. A rates statement shows the account's balance on the date it is issued.

What a check cannot tell you

A check records what the records show and what was seen. It does not:

• give a view on what the stand is worth
• give an opinion on the person offering it, or on the sale
• replace the work of a registered conveyancer or attorney on a transfer

What you do with the facts is your decision. If you want advice on the law, a registered attorney can help.

How Plontiv handles it

A property check from Plontiv includes a Deeds Registry search, a site visit with photos stamped with place and time, a record of whether anyone was seen and any visible signs of occupation, and a comparison of the documents you upload with the registry record. The report sets out what we found and saw, with dates and photos.

We don't hold money for sellers, builders or attorneys, and there are no balances or wallets.