Sri Lanka’s real estate dilemma: Tuk-tuk drivers the biggest culprits of false information
Sujan Shan
People are not only smart but cheat when selling a property; may be a land, house or an apartment by providing false information about a particular property to a potential buyer. It’s something that happens everywhere in the world. Sri Lankans are famous for selling properties through tuk-tuk drivers who have mastered the art of selling ‘stories’ to gullible customers about a property and demand a brokers fee from the seller and buyer. However this trend is fast being replaced by people consulting a reliable real estate company to confirm and verify all information pertaining to a property considering all legal documents, before making an investment.
American international real estate company Re/Max set up its branch in Sri Lanka in early 2014 and the trends in the market were explained by the company’s Business Development Manager in Sri Lanka, Roshan Rodrigo to the Business Times in an interview. Mr. Rodrigo said that those were the days where properties were sold through tuk-tuk drivers, who virtually took customers for a ride, providing false information. Even today there is lack of transparency when buying a property – land, house or an apartment. With 20-30 per cent growth in the real estate market worldwide, the supply of properties is less than its demand in Sri Lanka, he added.
“In Sri Lanka there is no proper system to sell or buy real estate properties considering all information in depth. There is no professional selling model, it’s a completely different system here,” he noted. ”At Re/Max we want the property sellers to give precise and correct information about their property. We demand transparency of all information about the property to be fully disclosed. Not disclosing information is considered unethical,” stressed Mr. Rodrigo. Re/Max Sri Lanka Director and Regional Owner, Sujan Shan also told the Business Times that with more Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) coming into the country, investors look for a company to trust and invest.
When FDI come into the country prices of properties will increase in the cities. There is a lot of untapped potential for more foreign investments to come into Sri Lanka, he added. Mr. Shan noted that every 30 seconds a property is sold through the Re/Max network worldwide. The company plans to open three more offices in Sri Lanka with three already operating – Re/Max Central, Re/Max Cornerstone and Re/Max Infinity. Re/Max branches are present in 100 countries worldwide and the company is one of the recognized real estate companies in the world. “Our target in Sri Lanka is to sell 10 franchises while looking for more business oriented people,” noted Mr. Shan.