For most Dhaka flat-hunters, the search now begins on a screen. Listings can be filtered by area, size, price and floor, photographs can be compared in minutes, and a shortlist can be built before a single visit. That speed is genuinely useful. It is also the reason care is needed: a listing is an advertisement, not a verified fact, and the gap between the two is where trouble begins.
The first habit is to read a listing for what it does not say. A careful listing gives the building's location, the flat's size, floor and facing, the age or completion status of the building, and the key terms — price or rent, service charges and what is included. A vague listing that leans on superlatives, gives no clear location, avoids the building's name or age, or refuses basic questions should slow a searcher down, not speed them up.
Photographs deserve the same scepticism. Wide-angle photographs can make a small room look large, and a single well-lit corner can hide a damp wall elsewhere. Look for photographs of every room, the kitchen and bathrooms, the staircase and lift lobby, and the view from the windows. If a listing shows only one styled room, treat the rest of the flat as unverified until a visit proves otherwise.
Verify the lister, then the property
Before visiting, establish who is listing the property. Is it the owner, a developer's sales team or an agent? A genuine agent should be willing to give a name, an office or a verifiable contact, and to explain their relationship to the property. Be cautious of anyone who pressures a viewer to decide quickly, refuses a visit, or insists on payment before a viewing. No legitimate viewing requires an advance payment.
On the visit, check the flat against the listing, room by room. Does the size feel consistent with what was advertised? Is the light, noise and ventilation as suggested? Are the common areas — lift, stairs, parking, water supply, generator — in the condition a resident would need? Visit at a different time of day if possible: a quiet morning street can be a congested evening one, and a bright flat at noon can be a dark one in the afternoon.
Then comes the step no photograph can replace: documents. For a purchase, the chain of title, mutation records, approvals and the developer's handover record should be examined by a lawyer before money changes hands. For a rental, the ownership or authorised letting status of the person signing the agreement, and the written terms on rent, deposit, notice and maintenance, should be clear before moving in. A seller or landlord who discourages independent legal checking is giving a warning, not a reassurance.
The most common traps
Several patterns recur. One is the too-good price: a flat advertised well below comparable properties in the same area, used to attract enquiries and then replaced by a different, dearer property, or to extract an advance fee. Another is the borrowed photograph: images copied from another listing or another city, attached to a property that looks nothing like them. A third is the unauthorised listing: a property advertised by someone with no right to sell or let it, where a deposit paid in haste is difficult to recover.
A fourth trap is subtler: the genuine flat with a hidden cost. The price may be real while the service charge, parking charge, registration cost or pending building repair bill is not mentioned. Ask for the full monthly and one-off costs in writing, and compare the total — not only the headline figure — with similar properties.
None of this means online platforms should be avoided. Used well, they widen choice, reveal price ranges and save wasted visits. The discipline is simple: treat every listing as a lead to verify, not a fact to trust; verify the person, visit the property, check the documents, and never pay before verification. A good flat will survive those checks. A bad listing will not — and that, in itself, is the answer a buyer needs.
This article is informational only and is not financial advice. Buyers and tenants should confirm documents and terms with their lawyer before paying any amount.
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