A GP who paid £230,000 for his dream house has discovered that he only owns half of it due to a bizarre issue.
Dr Babar Akbar claims he was sold a lie after losing £150,000 on the property in Dunfermline, Scotland.
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The problem was that Donald Booth, the man who sold him the home, did not disclose that it was still jointly owned by his estranged wife.
This meant that Mr Booth was only legally entitled to sell his 50% stake in the house and had no right to transfer full ownership to Babar.
The distraught doctor took the case to court for the alleged fraud, claiming that he was shown forged documents suggesting that Mr Booth was the sole owner.
He told The Courier: “Essentially you can spend your life’s savings and earnings after serving your community non-stop from the day you qualified on buying a house for yourself and your family.
“You go through every proper legal channel, including a conveyancing firm, the land registry, assured everything is in order.
“Boom – a year later someone appears saying ‘the signature was forged and actually I still own the house’.”
He added that he was an “innocent victim” and that the awful scenario could “happen to anyone”.
Mr Booth was sentenced to four years in prison at a hearing on Monday, as well as being ordered to pay Mrs Booth over £54,000 in compensation.
He was convicted of forming and pursuing a fraudulent scheme, retaining the proceeds of sale and obtaining £123,597 through fraud.
Speaking after the hearing, Babar said that “justice” had been served but called for a harsher sentence.
He added that his “belief in society” had been “shattered” through years of “mental stress”.
What are your rights in this situation?
When ownership of a house changes hands, it needs to be submitted to the Land Registry or, in Scotland, the Registers of Scotland.
If you are buying from a part-owner of a house, you can only buy the stake they own at the time of sale.
For example, if a husband and wife are equal co-owners of a property, each can only sell 50% of it.
In this event, this can only be changed by the parties agreeing to place the house in sole ownership or by dividing it as an asset in divorce proceedings.
However, if, as in Babar’s case, you are sold a home under fraudulent pretences, then you can claim compensation and have the seller prosecuted.
This can be done by reporting the crime to the police, in the same way as other common forms of fraud.
When buying a house, always make sure that your solicitor or legal advisor checks the registry documents and that you are buying what you pay for.
