Buying & Investment
Property Due Diligence Checklist: Everything, In Order
Everything in this glossary, in the order you should actually do it — and with the free checks that cost nothing at the front, where they belong.
The short answer
Do the FREE checks first. They take an afternoon, they cost nothing, and they eliminate most bad properties before you have spent a rupee.
Then pay a lawyer — for the title, which is the one thing you cannot do yourself.
Then pay the token. In that order. Never the other way round.
Stage 1 — Free. Before you even visit.
An afternoon. Costs nothing. Eliminates most bad properties.
| Check | Where |
|---|---|
| RERA registration — does the project have a number, and is it real? | State RERA portal. Search by name, not a builder's link. |
| Search by PROMOTER, not project — every project they've registered, including the delayed ones | The single highest-value check available. Ten minutes. Nobody does it. |
| Declared possession date — not the one the sales team says | RERA filing |
| Quarterly progress reports — a project that stopped filing has usually stopped building | RERA filing |
| Carpet area schedule — compare with the brochure. The gap is your loading. | RERA filing |
| Approvals uploaded — CC, layout, land conversion, environmental | RERA filing |
| Master plan zoning — is a road planned through it? Is it even zoned residential? | Development authority |
| Circle rate — so you know your real stamp duty before you negotiate | State registration portal |
| Rental yield in the locality — 3 flats for sale, 3 for rent, divide | An hour's work |
| Khata status (Bengaluru) — A or B? | BBMP portal |
Stage 2 — Free. At the property.
- Visit three times. 4pm on a hot day. 8am on a weekday. After rain.
- Talk to residents — not the seller. “Would you buy here again?”
- Water in April? How many tankers?
- Has conveyance been done? Ask a resident.
- Is there a sinking fund?
- Walk the building — lobby, lifts, basement, generator, STP, fire staircase.
- Count the floors on the building. Count them on the sanctioned plan.
- Check cross-ventilation and orientation. Use a compass.
- What could be built in front of that view?
Stage 3 — The lawyer. Pay for this. It is not optional.
India has presumptive title, not conclusive title. The state does not guarantee that the person selling you the flat owns it.
This is the one thing you cannot do yourself, and it is the one thing that can cost you everything.
A title search on a ₹1 crore purchase costs a fraction of a per cent. People spend more on the housewarming.
| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Title chain — 30 YEARS | Not 13. Thirty. A gap means an owner nobody accounted for. |
| Encumbrance Certificate — 30 years | Any mortgage, charge or attachment. Including one never released. |
| Mother deed & all intermediate deeds | The full chain |
| Land title / revenue records | 7/12, RTC, patta, khasra — whose name is on it? |
| Land use conversion order | If it was ever agricultural |
| Approved layout & building plan | And does the building match them? |
| Commencement & Occupancy Certificates | No OC = do not take possession. |
| Litigation search | Any pending suit or injunction |
| Vendor's capacity to sell | Are there co-owners? Minors? An unrevoked POA? |
| Public notice | In some states, standard practice |
Stage 4 — Before you pay anything
- Property tax receipts — FIVE years. Verify on the municipal portal. Arrears follow the property.
- Society No Dues Certificate.
- Society NOC for transfer — and what is the transfer fee? Find out before you agree a price.
- Get a bank to look at it. Even if paying cash. Their legal and technical check is free, and a refusal is the most valuable information you will get.
- Section 13 — the 10% cap. A builder cannot take more than 10% before a registered agreement for sale.
- Read the agreement. Every clause. Especially:
- The grace period on possession
- The force majeure clause — how widely drafted?
- The interest asymmetry — what they charge you for late payment vs what they pay you for late possession. Under RERA these should be the SAME.
- Any pre-consent to future plan changes — strike it out.
- The carpet area, in writing, in the agreement.
- Your undivided share (UDS), in square feet.
- What is included — parking, and how many. Club. Corpus. Advance maintenance.
Stage 5 — At and after registration
- Stamp duty on the HIGHER of your price or the circle rate.
- TDS. 1% if the seller is a resident and the price is ₹50 lakh+. Far more if they're an NRI — and the liability is YOURS. Establish their residential status in writing, with a passport copy, before you pay a rupee.
- Register the sale deed. Read it before you sign. Check every name, every number.
- File Form 26QB — within 30 days of the month end. Each instalment.
- Give the seller Form 16B.
- Apply for MUTATION. Do this. Nobody does, and it is how a bill for someone else's arrears arrives at your door.
- Collect every original document. Count them.
- Get a fresh EC a few weeks later — and check the transfer actually appears.
The five things never to do
1. Never pay before RERA registration. No registration = no escrow. Your money goes into the builder's general funds and is protected by nothing. The 'pre-launch discount' is not compensation. Nothing is.
2. Never pay more than 10% before a registered agreement. Section 13. It is the law, and it exists for you.
3. Never take possession without an Occupancy Certificate. Once you move in, your leverage is gone — and it never comes back.
4. Never skip your own lawyer. Not the builder's. Not the agent's. Yours. India has presumptive title, and the bank's check protects the bank.
5. Never let anyone hurry you. “Last flat at this price” is a technique, not a fact. There is always another flat. Always.
We are a property portal. We make money when people buy flats. So you are entitled to ask why we would tell you that Indian rental yields are poor, or that renting may be the better decision.
The answer is straightforward: a buyer who understands the numbers and buys anyway is a good customer. A buyer who was sold a fantasy is a complaint waiting to happen.
We would rather have the first kind. So the numbers below are the real ones, including the ones that do not flatter us.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important check before buying a property?
The title — a 30-year search by your own lawyer, not the builder's and not the agent's. India has presumptive title, not conclusive title: the state does not guarantee that the person selling you the flat owns it. It is the one check you cannot do yourself, and the one that can cost you everything.
What free checks can I do before buying a flat?
A great many, and they eliminate most bad properties in an afternoon. Verify the RERA number. Search the portal by PROMOTER rather than project, to see every project they've registered including the delayed ones. Read the quarterly progress filings. Check the master plan zoning for proposed roads. Look up the circle rate. Work out the locality's rental yield. And in Bengaluru, check whether it's an A khata or a B khata.
How much should I pay before signing the agreement?
No more than 10%. Section 13 of RERA prohibits a promoter from taking more than 10% of the price before a written, REGISTERED agreement for sale. If they ask for 25% 'to hold the unit', that is a breach of the law before you have signed anything — and it tells you what the next four years will be like.
Should I take possession without an occupancy certificate?
No. Once you move in, your leverage is gone and it never comes back. Without an OC you cannot lawfully occupy the flat, may not get legal water and electricity, may struggle to resell, and the building may have a deviation from its sanctioned plan that has not been regularised.
How do I check the seller's residential status, and why does it matter?
Get a written declaration and a passport copy before you pay anything. It matters enormously: if the seller is an NRI, TDS is deducted under Section 195 at a far higher rate and generally on the WHOLE sale consideration — and if you deduct 1% assuming they were a resident, YOU are liable for the shortfall, plus interest and penalty, while they are abroad with your money.