Is it safe to invest in Bahria Town Karachi?

[paladin]

Dear all members of Pakwheels! I hope that you're doing great!

I have some queries and doubts regarding the Bahria Town of Karachi. Please feel free to contribute to this thread as it will help not only me but others as well.

I have always wanted to move to Bahria Town Karachi, although, things like corruption in their sale department or real estate agents always held me back.

As many people have somewhere been a victim of their fraudulent ways of selling ’un-leased’ plots with their own kind of allotment certificate, which is a scam as per people’s saying.

However, when I visited Bahria Town Karachi in 2015, I saw all the houses, apartments, parks, mosques, stores, etc, being built there. And even if you search the area in Google Maps, it seems to get a lot of traffic from people. I am totally unaware if those people eating at those restaurants reside in BTK or not.

What irritates me more is the sheer thought of BTK being constructed there for literally no means? Why are they building all of the houses if no one is going to buy? I've seen KFC, McDonald's, Burger King and other big stores like that being moved there.

They have their own Bahria School & College with children departing on a yellow school bus, still, I can't say for sure if they have residents there.

They have their free-of-charge back-up generators in case of a power cut. Their very own fire brigade, and Bahria security.

Is it really all for nothing?

This brings me to the threshold of skepticism.

1. Can I ask if there are any people unaffiliated with the BTK department living there without any problems?
2. How was your experience while purchasing the plot/house?
3. What problems do other people face when purchasing plots/houses?
4. What are the mistakes to avoid while buying the plot/house in Bahria Town Karachi?
5. What are the current prices these days?
6. Is it safe to invest further in plots/houses?
7. Do they offer ”lease” of Paki govt in other places in Bahria Town Karachi?

Please feel free to contribute, everything will be appreciated. Thanks.

Also, MODS, please don't merge this thread with an ancient-old-thread! Thank you!

[paladin]

@Automotorsport_Lover @capsat

Kindly help dear sirs.

[Massive_One]

Please feel free to contribute, everything will be appreciated. Thanks.

i had the same question in my mind in Bahria Orchard Lahore.
I went to their property dealer and asked them if the society is approved by LDA and they said no sir, it is not approved, but when i went inside, it was so lavish and people were living there without any worry or anything. Parks, mosques, markets, gyms, schools, PSO petrol pump, PTCL exchange everything was there inside the society , construction work was happening there at full throttle... heck, once you go inside, you dont need to go to outer world for anything : )

Property dealer also told me sir everyone is living there without any tension, don't worry, nothing has and nothing will happen to BT : ) approved or not approved! Malik Riaz has a lot of muscles to flex in this regard !!

anyway i did not end up buying anything there because it was out of my budget, but what i figured out was that so many ppl are already living there and looking at Malik Riaz's investment in the project and his name...BT isn't going anywhere !

[capsat]

maymar housing scheme is better choice to invest in real estate at out skirts of Karachi. It is fully developed self sustaining project within city limits of Karachi.

[paladin]

LDA = Lahore Development Authority?

Well, Bahria Orchard is safe, or for that matter, people seem to living there. However BTK has its hands deep in corruption or something.

I have called and still trying to collect more information about it.

I appreciated the input.

[paladin]

Dear sir, what do you say about DHA 9 located on the Hyderabad Motorway, 56 kilometers away from Karachi, spanning 20,000 acres, 47 kilometers, claim to have independent electricity and water supply one day.

They are selling 500-yard residential plots for 60-70 lakhs.

[capsat]

am sorry real estate is not my field of interest therefore can not offer any further guidance

[paladin]

I appreciated your input nevertheless. Thank you.

Please tag those who are associated in this field to take this matter further.

[Massive_One]

LDA = Lahore Development Authority?

Well, Bahria Orchard is safe, or for that matter, people seem to living there. However BTK has its hands deep in corruption or something.

yes, LDA is Lahore Development Authority.
my point was that even in Lahore, Bahria Town projects are not approved, and nobody seems to shake Malik Riaz or his projects ... and as mass number of people are living there without any hesitation, it seems they trust BT projects a lot more than we expect : )

[Taimur92]

There are currently more than 10000 families living in Bahria town karachi. The initial Ali block and Quaid block are almost completely populated.

1. As far as basic amenities are concerned, people are living there very lavishly and problem free. However, do keep in mind the factor of isolation since it still feels very scarcely populated and is quite far from the city.
2. If the plot/house/villa/apartment you are purchasing from another person or dealer already has an allotment number and on ground existence on the legally approved btk map then it is safe to purchase.
3. The overall process is very streamlined and there is nothing apart from paying quarterly installments in bank if you purchased the property on booking. The only panic and headache which people face is because of Bahria towns inconsistency in policies sometimes and the Supreme court and NAB cases on it. Like recently some of the precincts were declared illegal and people who had plots and houses there had to be readjusted in other precincts or go for a refund. In my experience, not just BTK but bahria town all over Pakistan has been like this. Whenever they launch a new project around 70-80% people successfully get their plot/apartment while the rest have their property in the air which is later adjusted in other places or refunded. However, you will not face this issue if you buy from a person who already has an on-ground existing property.
4. Just make sure the previous owner has paid all the dues on time, there are no pending surcharges or bills, visit the property on ground and thoroughly inspect it to see it is exactly as described, all documents, including all monthly installment receipts and allotment certificate should be with the owner.
5. Sir I am not in real estate at all but my recent experience has been that the market is overall down these days. Most are selling on break even or just a little bit of profit. Not a good time to sell. It is a buyer's market overall. Like they say in stock exchange; it's a bear market these days.
6. Yes, if you do your due diligence.
7. Nope, the whole land of BTK is in bahria towns name so no such concept of Government issued lease to individuals in any BTK property.

[paladin]

I appreciate your in-depth response.

[paladin]

Controversies

2016

On 1 August 2016, Supreme Court, the top court of Pakistan ordered Bahria Town Karachi and Malir Development Authority (MDA) to halt the construction work at 5,786 acres of land with an immediate effect. In an interim order, the apex court has ruled the land was illegally allotted to Bahria Town by the development authority.

The court also directed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to complete its investigations and submit a report within two months. It also restrained the Sindh government from allotting any further land to Bahria Town.

2015

Pakistan Rangers claimed in a meeting that Bahria Town has been allotted 44,000 acres from Sindh government, while the amount of land in records is less than 44,000 acres.

Bahria Town officials rejected the claim and report. One of the officials said that the land has been purchased from local.

2018

The Supreme Court decided to investigate the Bahria Town Karachi development in May 2018, citing massive irregularities in the way land was acquired. The apex court barred Bahria Town from selling or allotting land in the Bahria Town Karachi project after declaring that the allotment of land to the company by the Sindh government and a massive land swap with the Malir Development Authority (MDA) was done illegally.

2019

After 10 months of legal wrangling, the Supreme Court agreed to Bahria Town Karachi final settlement of Rs460 billion (approximately US$3.1bn) on 21 March 2019. Under the terms of the settlement, Bahria Town Karachi will have to pay the entire amount over seven years. In its ruling, the top court ordered Bahria Town Karachi to pay Rs25 billion by August 2019. From September 2019 onward, it will have to pay monthly instalments of Rs2.25bn for the next three years. If the company fails to deposit two instalments, Bahria Town Karachi will be considered a defaulter. The first tranche was successfully received on 30 August 2019.

Under the terms of the settlement, only 16,896 acres of the total 24,571 acres has been validated by the Supreme Court - the other 7,675 acres are still disputed.

Source: Wikipedia

Bahria Town Karachi