Check one: the property at DHA
Take the plot or file particulars to the relevant DHA transfer office and confirm them at the counter: recorded owner, dues position, and any flag — lost-file report, court order, or hold. This costs little and kills the majority of bad deals on the spot. Insist on the check being against DHA's record, not a dealer's photocopy folder.
Check two: the seller
- Match the CNIC/NICOP in person (or on a verified video call) against the name on DHA's record — not just against documents the seller provides.
- If an attorney is selling under a power of attorney, verify the POA's attestation and that the principal is alive and aware; call the principal directly.
- Be slow with urgent sellers. Genuine urgency accepts verification; manufactured urgency fights it.
Check three: the money path
- Pay token and balance to the recorded owner, by cross cheque or pay order in their name — never cash to an intermediary.
- From overseas, remit through banking channels and keep the trail matching the transfer documents.
- Release the balance only at the transfer office, against biometric transfer — simultaneous exchange is the whole point of transfer day.
If something feels off
Walk away from any deal where the seller resists a DHA counter check, the price is meaningfully below the daily sheet with a story attached, or the documents are 'with a relative' until after payment. In DHA markets a below-sheet price is not a bargain signal; it is a verification signal.