Sellers court trouble in real estate disputes

Real estate disputes handled by the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court often arise from illegal or improper behavior by property sellers, the court said on Wednesday in releasing a summary of lawsuit features and typical cases.

The court said that it had concluded more than 1,400 home-buying cases over the past three years, and had identified some trends.

For example, a seller will sign a real estate purchase contract with a buyer, but not tell others the house had been sold, seeking to obtain a higher price from a secondary buyer, the court said. In those cases, first buyers appeal to the court to verify their contracts are binding, said Guo Yanzhi, chief judge of a tribunal specializing in real estate cases.

Guo also cited another kind of common property dispute in which buyers purchase a house in another person's the name.

"Such disputes often happen between the people whose names were used and those real buyers. More than 90 percent of the real buyers, in fact, had no legal right to do such a thing," Guo said. "When sellers find the real buyers' identities, disputes follow."

In addition, she said her colleagues also find some people use housing purchases to transfer their debts or illicit profits.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn