Buying & Investment
What is a Resale Property?
You can walk the corridors, meet the neighbours, and see the flat at 4pm in June. That information is worth more than most buyers realise — and so is what you inherit with it.
The short answer
A resale flat is bought from an owner, not the builder.
No GST. No delivery risk. And you can INSPECT everything — the flat, the building, the society, the neighbours.
But you inherit things. Property tax arrears. Unpaid maintenance. A society with no sinking fund. A conveyance that never happened. Arrears follow the property, not the person who ran them up.
What's genuinely better about resale
- Zero GST. On a ₹1 crore flat, that is ₹5 lakh you simply do not pay.
- No delivery risk. The building exists. Nobody can fail to build it.
- You see the actual flat. The real carpet area under your feet. The real view. The real light at 4pm in June. The real noise from the road at 8am.
- Immediate possession. Rent stops. Tax deductions start from year one.
- Negotiable. You are dealing with a person, not a company with a rate card.
- You can inspect the society — which is worth more than almost anything else, and which we come to below.
What you inherit — and this is the part to be careful about
The previous owner did not pay property tax for six years. They have sold you the flat and gone.
The arrears are now your problem. The municipality's claim is against the property, and you own it.
Check five years of receipts. Not one. Five. And verify them on the municipal portal, not on the paper you were handed.
You may also inherit:
- Unpaid maintenance to the society — get a No Dues Certificate.
- Unpaid utility bills — old dues can follow the meter.
- A mortgage that was never released. If a bank took a charge and it was never formally released, it will still be on the encumbrance certificate — and it will stop your purchase.
- A society with no sinking fund — which means a ₹2 lakh levy when the lifts need replacing.
- A corpus fund the builder never handed over.
- Conveyance that was never done — so the builder still owns the land, and the society cannot redevelop.
- Structural problems the society has been deferring for a decade.
Inspect the SOCIETY. Not just the flat.
This is the great advantage of buying resale, and almost nobody uses it properly.
You can walk the building. Look at the lifts, the corridors, the basement, the water tank, the generator, the STP. A three-year-old building that already looks tired is telling you exactly how the next twenty years will go.
You can talk to residents. Not the seller — residents, in the lobby, by the lift.
Ask them:
• “Has conveyance been done?”
• “Does the society have a sinking fund?”
• “Did the builder hand over the corpus?”
• “What's the water situation in April?”
• “How's the power backup?”
• “Any structural issues?”
• “Is the association functioning?”
They will tell you the truth. They have nothing to sell you, and they rather enjoy being asked.
No amount of due diligence on a new project can give you this — because the new project does not exist yet.
The resale checklist
- Title chain — 30 years. With a lawyer.
- Encumbrance certificate — 30 years. Check no mortgage is still live.
- Occupancy certificate. Ask the society, not the seller.
- Property tax receipts — five years. Verify on the municipal portal.
- Society No Dues Certificate.
- Society NOC for the transfer, and the transfer fee — find out what it is before you agree a price.
- Has conveyance been done? Ask a resident.
- Khata / patta / revenue record — and is it an A khata?
- Approved plan — and does the flat match it? Any unauthorised alteration is now yours.
- The sinking fund and corpus position.
- Inspect the flat properly. See the inspection checklist.
- Inspect the society. Ten minutes in the lobby.
New vs resale
| New (from the builder) | Resale (from an owner) | |
|---|---|---|
| GST | 5% if under construction. Nil if the CC has been issued. | NIL. Always. |
| What you see | A render, a sample flat, a promise | The actual flat. The actual view. The actual neighbours. |
| Possession | 1–5 years, if on time | Immediate |
| Delivery risk | Real. Delay, quality, worst case a stalled project | None. It exists. |
| Price | Builder's rate, and rarely negotiable | Negotiable — you are dealing with a person, not a company |
| Condition | New | Used. Budget for renovation. |
| The society | Doesn't exist yet. You are betting on your future neighbours. | You can INSPECT it. How is it maintained? Is there a sinking fund? Was conveyance done? |
| Hidden liabilities | The builder's problems | Arrears follow the property. Unpaid tax, maintenance, utilities. Check five years. |
| Loan | Staged disbursal; pre-EMI while you wait | One disbursal. Full EMI from day one. |
| Tax deduction | Deferred until possession | From year one |
| Choice | Wide — pick your floor and view | Whatever is available |
The under-rated advantage of resale: you can walk the building, meet the residents, look at how a three-year-old lobby has been maintained, and ask the society whether conveyance was done. That is a quantity of real information that no amount of due diligence on a new project can replicate — because the new project doesn't exist yet.
Frequently asked questions
Is GST applicable on a resale flat?
No. GST does not apply to resale property at all. On a Rs 1 crore flat that is Rs 5 lakh you simply do not pay, compared with buying the same flat under construction.
What do I inherit when I buy a resale flat?
More than people expect. Property tax arrears follow the PROPERTY, not the person who ran them up — so if the previous owner didn't pay for six years, that is now your problem. So can unpaid maintenance, unpaid utility bills, a mortgage that was never formally released, a society with no sinking fund, a corpus the builder never handed over, and a conveyance that never happened.
What should I ask the residents when buying a resale flat?
Has conveyance been done? Does the society have a sinking fund? Did the builder hand over the corpus? What's the water situation in April? How's the power backup? Any structural issues? Is the association functioning? They will tell you the truth — they have nothing to sell you, and they rather enjoy being asked. Ten minutes in the lobby beats ten brochures.
What is the biggest advantage of buying resale?
You can inspect everything — the flat, the building, the society, the neighbours. A three-year-old building that already looks tired is telling you exactly how the next twenty years will go. No amount of due diligence on a new project can give you that, because the new project does not exist yet.
Should I check property tax receipts on a resale flat?
Five years of them, and verify them on the municipal portal rather than trusting the paper you were handed. Arrears attach to the property, and the municipality's claim will be against you once you own it. Also get a No Dues Certificate from the society.