Red Flags and Common Scams in Egypt's Resale Market — and How to Avoid Them

Egypt's resale market is overwhelmingly made of honest people doing normal deals — but the exceptions are costly, and they rely on buyers being rushed, trusting, or unfamiliar with the process. The patterns repeat, which means they can be learned and avoided.

Red flags in the listing and the seller

• A price dramatically below every comparable unit, paired with pressure to pay quickly before another buyer takes it.
• A seller who refuses to meet at the developer's office or resists any contact with the developer.
• Someone selling through a power of attorney but unable to produce the original notarized document, or holding one that does not clearly permit selling and receiving money.
• Requests to send deposits by transfer to third parties, or to pay meaningful amounts against nothing but a promise.
• Original contracts that are unavailable, damaged, or different from the developer's records.

The classic schemes to know

The most common problems are: selling a unit to more than one buyer at the same time; selling units with undisclosed arrears or developer penalties that surface after transfer; fake or expired powers of attorney; and impostors listing units they do not own, collecting deposits, then disappearing. A rarer but real variant is the accomplice broker who stages viewings of a unit the group has no right to sell.

Habits that make you a hard target

Verify the seller's identity against the contract, confirm the unit's status with the developer before paying anything, insist on written receipts for every payment, and finalize only at the developer's transfer desk. When a deal involves a power of attorney, have a lawyer confirm it is genuine and still valid. If anyone pushes you to skip a verification step, that pressure is itself the loudest red flag.

The takeaway: scammers sell urgency; protect yourself by refusing to be rushed. Every legitimate seller can wait a few days for verification.