Frequently asked questions

Four things, in this order. The approval status of the scheme with the relevant authority (LDA, RUDA, CDA or the local development authority). The seller's title documents and that the name on them matches the person selling. Any outstanding dues, taxes or utility arrears on the property. And whether the plot physically exists where the file says it does — for a plot file, that is not a given.

We do all four before we list, and the listing shows the date we did them. You should still confirm the approval yourself on the authority's portal; every listing links to it.

No, and this is the single most expensive misunderstanding in Pakistani real estate. A file is a claim on a plot that has not yet been allotted or balloted. You own a position in a queue, not land. Files can be genuine and profitable, but the risk is different in kind: if the scheme stalls, is denied approval, or the developer changes the layout, you may never receive a plot at all.

We label files as files. We never describe one as a plot.

Budget roughly 5–8% on top for a purchase, depending on city and value. That typically covers stamp duty, registration, capital value tax, town or authority transfer fees, mutation charges, and legal fees. Filer and non-filer status materially changes the tax component under current FBR rules (these change periodically — we confirm the exact figures when we prepare your written breakdown).

We give you a written breakdown for your specific transaction before you commit. If a number in it is an estimate, it says so.

Two to three months' rent is the common range for residential property, and it is negotiable. Anything above three months should come with a reason. We put the deposit terms, the return conditions and the deduction basis in the agreement in writing, because "we will sort it out at the end" is how deposits get lost.

The default position we recommend: the landlord covers structural and major systems — roof, plumbing, wiring, fixed appliances. The tenant covers consumables, minor wear and anything they broke. Where we manage the property, this split is written into the agreement with a rupee threshold, so neither side is arguing about whether a repair counts as "major".

It means that on a specific date we checked specific documents: the approval status with the relevant authority, the title chain, and the physical existence and dimensions of the property. The listing shows that date.

What it does not mean: it is not a guarantee of title, it is not insurance, and it is not a substitute for your own lawyer's due diligence. We are telling you what we checked and when. You should still check.

Because a check has a shelf life. Our verification expires after 90 days automatically. Approval status changes, dues accrue, and a document that was clean in January may not be in June. Rather than leave a stale badge showing, the listing downgrades itself and we go and look again. A badge that never expires is a badge that means nothing.

No. Nobody honestly can, and anyone who does is either misinformed or lying to you. Property values and rents fall as well as rise. What we publish is a target derived from stated assumptions, and we publish the assumptions so you can disagree with them. If you think our rental growth figure is optimistic, you can change it in the calculator and see what happens.

Annual rent after realistic vacancy, minus running costs, divided by total acquisition cost including taxes and fees — not the sticker price. That last part matters: quoting yield against the asking price rather than the all-in cost inflates the figure by roughly the 5–8% of transaction costs, which is enough to change a decision.

The calculator shows every input so you can see exactly which number is doing the work.

For a standard sale or purchase we work on the customary commission for the city and value band, agreed in writing before we start — no surprises at closing, and no fee at all if the transaction does not complete. Construction, interior and property management are quoted per project after a site visit, because a fixed rate card for construction would be a fiction. Ask us and you will get a number, not a range.

Yes, and it is a large part of what we do. We handle viewings by video with the timestamp visible, send document scans before originals move, and can act on a properly executed power of attorney. We will also tell you plainly when something genuinely requires you or a trusted representative to be physically present — some transfers do, and pretending otherwise wastes months.

A consultant aims to call or message you within one working day. First conversation is about your constraints — budget, timeline, purpose, financing — not about pushing whatever we have available. You then get a shortlist with the numbers attached, including the ones that make a property look worse. If nothing fits, we say so rather than sending you the closest thing.

Both, and we started as neither. The firm began as a consultancy, moved into brokerage, and now also builds and manages. That matters practically: the person who advised you on a purchase is still reachable when the tenant calls two years later, and we have to live with the quality of construction we recommend.

Lahore is home and where our coverage is deepest. We also work across Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi, and we will say when an area is outside our real competence rather than guessing. An agent with no genuine knowledge of a neighbourhood is a liability, not a convenience.