25 Things to Check Before Buying Any Property in India

25 Things to Check Before Buying Any Property in India

A practical pre-purchase verification checklist for plots, apartments, villas, land and commercial property

By Jamin Bazaar & Jamin Properties

Buying property is one of the largest financial decisions most people make.

Yet many property disputes in India do not begin with some sophisticated fraud. They begin with something much simpler.

A question nobody asked.

A survey number did not match.

An heir was never informed.

An approval was still “under process.”

A road everyone used turned out to belong to somebody else.

The frustrating part is that, in many cases, the warning signs existed before the money changed hands. Nobody went looking for them.

This guide tells you what to look for.

Not every one of these 25 checks will apply to every property. A completed apartment in Bengaluru needs different scrutiny from an agricultural parcel outside Coimbatore.

The important thing is to know what applies to your purchase, what you have verified, and why you have chosen to skip anything that does not apply.

For every check below, we answer three questions:

✓ What should you check? ✓ How should you verify it? ⚠ What answer should make you stop and investigate further?

A. Ownership & Title Checks

1. Does the Name on the Title Deed Match the Seller?

Start with the most basic question:

Does the person asking for your money actually own the property?

How to check

Compare the registered title document with the seller's identity documents.

Names should match exactly, including spelling.

🚩 Warning sign

“It's in my father's name, but he's given me full authority.”

Verbal authority is not enough. Ask for the legal document establishing that authority.

2. Is the Chain of Title Unbroken?

Every property has a history.

The mother deed and earlier deeds establish how ownership moved from one person to another until it reached the current seller.

How to check

Ask your independent property lawyer to trace the previous deeds and verify each transfer.

🚩 Warning sign

A missing link in the ownership chain.

If one transfer cannot be properly established, everything after that transfer may need further investigation.

3. What Does the Encumbrance Certificate Show?

The Encumbrance Certificate, or EC, is one of the important documents in property due diligence.

It records certain registered transactions and charges affecting the property during the period searched.

How to check

Obtain an EC covering a sufficiently long period from the relevant Sub-Registrar's Office or state registration system.

In Tamil Nadu, EC applications can be made through TNREGINET.

🚩 Warning sign

Someone gives you a short-period EC and says:

“See? Completely clean property.”

An EC reflects registered matters captured in the records searched. It should be treated as one component of title verification, not as a substitute for comprehensive legal due diligence.

4. Is There an Existing Mortgage?

A mortgaged property is not automatically a bad property.

The important question is:

How will that mortgage be cleared?

How to check

Find out:

• Which bank or lender holds the mortgage
• The outstanding loan amount
• How the loan will be closed
• When the original documents will be released
• What documentation will evidence discharge/release
• How your payment will be structured around the closure

Have your lawyer review the proposed sequence before transferring money.

🚩 Warning sign

“You pay us first. We'll close the loan afterwards.”

The payment and loan-release sequence should be properly documented before funds move.

5. Have All Co-Owners and Legal Heirs Been Accounted For?

Inherited and jointly owned properties require special care.

How to check

Establish exactly how the seller obtained ownership.

If the property was inherited, identify the relevant legal heirs and determine whether appropriate consents, transfers or registered release documents are required.

🚩 Warning sign

“My brother lives abroad. He doesn't have any objection.”

No objection over the telephone is very different from legally documented consent or relinquishment.

6. Is the Power of Attorney Valid?

If somebody is selling through a Power of Attorney (PoA), verify it carefully.

Check whether it is:

• Properly executed
• Registered where required
• Still valid
• Not revoked
• Granted by the correct person
• Applicable to this specific property
• Sufficient to authorise this particular transaction

🚩 Warning sign

A vague general Power of Attorney being presented as authority to sell anything and everything.

B. Property & Land Checks

7. Do the Survey Number and Subdivision Number Match?

Compare the survey details appearing across the property's records.

Check the:

• Sale/title deed
• Revenue records
• Patta or equivalent state record
• Tax receipts
• FMB sketch, where applicable
• Survey/subdivision records

The identifying details should correspond.

🚩 Warning sign

“That's just a typing mistake in the old document.”

It might be.

But you need to establish that before buying, not discover otherwise after registration.

8. Does the Extent on Paper Match the Land?

If you are buying 2,400 sq. ft., make sure approximately 2,400 sq. ft. exists within the legally identifiable boundaries you are buying.

How to check

Engage an independent qualified surveyor.

🚩 Warning sign

“There is a small difference, sir. That's normal.”

Small differences become less charming when you calculate their value per square foot.

9. Can You Physically Identify the Boundaries?

Do not buy an invisible rectangle in somebody's imagination.

Walk the land.

Check:

• Boundary stones
• Existing fences/walls
• FMB or survey sketch
• Adjacent survey numbers
• Physical measurements
• Neighbouring properties

You should be able to identify what you are actually purchasing.

🚩 Warning sign

Someone stands in a field, waves an arm and says:

“Basically from that tree up to that fence.”

That is not a boundary survey.

10. Does the Property Have Legal Road Access?

This deserves serious attention.

A beautiful property becomes a very different proposition if you cannot legally reach it.

How to check

Determine whether access is through:

• A recognised public road, or
• A legally documented right of way/easement where applicable

🚩 Warning sign

“Everyone has been using this path for years.”

Usage and legally enforceable access are not necessarily the same thing.

11. What Is the Land Classification?

Revenue classification matters, particularly when buying land.

In Tamil Nadu, for example, you may encounter classifications such as:

Nanjai • Punjai • Grama Natham • and others

How to check

Verify the classification through the relevant revenue records and understand what it permits.

🚩 Warning sign

“It's agricultural now, but conversion is easy.”

Do not buy based solely on what someone promises the land may become later.

Buy based on what it legally is today, while separately evaluating any proposed conversion.

12. What Does the Land-Use Zoning Permit?

Land classification and planning/zoning controls are not the same thing.

Zoning affects what can legally be developed or operated at a location.

How to check

Check the applicable master plan/development plan and records of the relevant planning authority.

🚩 Warning sign

A residential project is being promoted on land whose current planning designation does not support the proposed development.

13. Is the Property Affected by Government Acquisition or Reservation?

Check whether the survey number is affected by proposed or notified public projects.

For example:

• Road widening
• Highways
• Transport corridors
• Public infrastructure
• Government acquisition
• Planning reservations

🚩 Warning sign

Nobody knows.

Or worse, nobody wants to discuss it.

C. Approvals & Compliance

14. Is the Layout Actually Approved?

Do not stop at a brochure saying:

“DTCP APPROVED!”

Verify it.

In Tamil Nadu

Depending on location and jurisdiction, the relevant planning authority may include DTCP, CMDA or another competent local/planning authority.

Obtain and examine the approved layout and confirm that your particular plot forms part of it.

🚩 Warning sign

The only evidence available is a photocopy, WhatsApp image or advertisement carrying an approval number.

Verify approvals at source.

15. Does the Building Match the Sanctioned Plan?

What was approved and what was actually constructed should correspond.

Look for unauthorised changes such as:

• Additional floors
• Covered setbacks
• Enclosed balconies
• Altered parking areas
• Converted common areas
• Structural additions

🚩 Warning sign

“Everybody makes these small changes.”

“Everybody does it” is not planning permission.

16. Are the Completion and Occupancy Documents in Place?

For properties where they are applicable, ask about the Completion Certificate (CC) and Occupancy Certificate (OC) or corresponding documents required under local rules.

🚩 Warning sign

“Nobody here has an OC.”

Even if that statement is true, understand the legal and practical consequences before proceeding.

17. Is the Project Registered With RERA?

For projects covered by the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, verify the project on the appropriate state RERA portal.

Don't merely check whether a number exists.

Examine:

• Registration details
• Developer details
• Declared completion timeline
• Project updates
• Relevant filings
• Complaints/orders where available

🚩 Warning sign

A RERA number appears in the advertisement but cannot be verified on the official portal.

D. Liabilities & Disputes

18. Are Property Taxes Paid?

Ask for recent property tax receipts.

Check both the dues and the name appearing on the records.

🚩 Warning sign

The receipts are missing or show a name that cannot readily be reconciled with the ownership history.

19. Is There Pending Litigation?

Ask the seller directly.

Then verify independently.

How to check

Have your lawyer conduct appropriate searches available for the jurisdiction and examine any disclosed disputes.

🚩 Warning sign

“It's only a small family case. It will finish soon.”

“Soon” and Indian property litigation are not words you should casually put in the same sentence.

Understand the dispute before committing money.

20. Is There Any Encroachment?

Encroachment works in both directions.

A neighbour may have occupied part of your proposed property.

Or the property you are buying may itself extend into somebody else's land.

How to check

Combine:

Physical inspection + professional survey + document verification.

🚩 Warning sign

“We'll sort the boundary before registration.”

Sort it before payment.

E. Practical Property Checks

21. Do Water, Drainage and Electricity Actually Exist?

Ignore the glossy brochure for a moment.

Go there.

Verify:

• Water source
• Water availability
• Drainage/sewerage
• Electricity connection
• Road condition
• Street lighting
• Flooding/waterlogging issues where relevant
• Actual infrastructure already delivered

And talk to people living nearby.

🚩 Warning sign

Infrastructure exists beautifully on the master plan but nowhere on the ground.

“Coming soon” can last a surprisingly long time.

22. For Apartments, What Is Your Undivided Share?

For an apartment purchase, understand the Undivided Share of Land (UDS) associated with the unit.

Also establish exactly what else you are receiving.

Check:

• UDS
• Parking allocation/rights
• Common amenities
• Maintenance charges
• Corpus contribution
• Residents' association status
• Common-area rights

🚩 Warning sign

Important rights exist only as verbal promises.

If it matters to your purchase, get it documented.

23. What Is the Developer's or Seller's Track Record?

A beautiful render proves somebody owns good rendering software.

It does not prove they can deliver a building.

For developers, investigate:

• Completed projects
• Delivery history
• Construction quality
• Previous buyer experiences
• RERA records
• Complaints
• Maintenance of completed developments

Whenever practical, visit an older completed project and speak to people who actually live there.

F. Money & Agreement Checks

24. What Is the Guideline Value?

Terminology varies across India.

Depending on the state, you may hear:

• Guideline value
• Circle rate
• Ready reckoner rate
• Guidance value

It is a government-assessed value relevant to registration/stamp-duty calculations and should not automatically be confused with the property's actual market value.

In Tamil Nadu

Check applicable information through TNREGINET.

Compare the applicable government value with the negotiated transaction price and understand the resulting registration costs.

🚩 Warning sign

A property is dramatically cheaper than comparable properties and nobody can clearly explain why.

A bargain deserves more due diligence, not less.

25. What Exactly Does the Agreement Say?

Finally, read the agreement.

Not just the price on page one.

Read the agreement.

Then ask your own lawyer to read it.

It should clearly address matters such as:

• Property being purchased
• Total consideration
• Booking/token amount
• Payment schedule
• Possession/completion terms where applicable
• Registration
• Taxes and other costs
• Obligations of each party
• Default provisions
• Cancellation
• Refund conditions
• Representations concerning title
• Documents to be delivered

🚩 Warning sign

“Don't worry. It's our standard agreement. Everybody signs it.”

The seller's standard agreement was drafted primarily for the seller's transaction.

Have somebody representing your interests examine it.

The Two Rules That Hold All 25 Together

Rule #1: Verify at the Source

Don't rely solely on:

❌ Advertisements ❌ WhatsApp screenshots ❌ Photocopies ❌ Brochures ❌ Verbal assurances ❌ “My lawyer already checked it.”

Where possible, verify information with the authority or original source responsible for that information.

Rule #2: Have Your Own Property Lawyer

Not the seller's lawyer.

Not simply someone whose interests are aligned with closing the transaction.

And do not assume a lender's legal verification automatically replaces your own due diligence. A lender's review primarily serves the lender's requirements.

An independent title review may feel like another expense when everything appears fine.

That is precisely when it matters.

The original article puts the principle well: “Verify at source” and “Get your own lawyer.”

🚨 The Jamin Bazaar Golden Rule

Don't let the excitement of finding a property become pressure to buy it.

If the seller refuses to provide documents, wait.

If the measurements do not match, wait.

If an approval cannot be verified, wait.

If somebody demands an immediate advance before allowing proper verification, do not let urgency replace due diligence.

There will be another property.

Getting out of the wrong property after registration can be considerably harder.

25-Point Property Buyer Checklist

Before paying a substantial advance or proceeding toward registration, work through this list:

• Seller's identity and ownership verified
• Chain of title checked
• Encumbrance Certificate reviewed
• Existing mortgage identified and closure structured
• Co-owners/legal heirs checked
• Power of Attorney verified, if applicable
• Survey and subdivision numbers matched
• Physical extent surveyed
• Boundaries identified
• Legal road access confirmed
• Land classification verified
• Zoning/land use checked
• Acquisition/reservation issues checked
• Layout approval verified
• Construction compared with sanctioned plan
• Applicable completion/occupancy documents checked
• Applicable RERA registration checked
• Property tax dues checked
• Litigation searches conducted
• Encroachments checked
• Water, drainage and electricity verified
• UDS and apartment rights checked, where applicable
• Seller/developer track record researched
• Guideline/circle value checked
• Agreement independently reviewed

Buy Property With Your Eyes Open

Property buying should not be a race between your excitement and somebody else's sales target.

Take the documents home.

Walk the boundaries.

Ask awkward questions.

Check the records.

Get independent professional advice.

A good property should survive scrutiny.

If it doesn't, that scrutiny may have just saved you years of trouble.

Find. Verify. Decide.

Jamin Bazaar | Signature for Fortune

This article provides general information and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Property laws, procedures, approvals and documentation requirements differ by state, property type and transaction and may change. Obtain advice from appropriately qualified professionals for your particular purchase. The source article carries the same important qualification.