8 Important Questions you should ask a builder or seller before buying a property in India

Buying a property is a huge investment where you risk all your savings over it with an expectation of long term return. Unfortunately, many home buyers or property buyers are facing a regret of having no proper discussion with the builder leading to the loss after buying the property. Delay in getting possession, low quality construction, incomplete documentation and other things. A wrong investment in the property can literally derail the family's or individual's financial planning. There have many such cases in metro cities and continues to be so. Real estate deal can be a risky deal, but if the luck is on your side and you've done some smart thinking, then the property will certainly yield great returns.

Since, as a buyer, you're investing on a property, it is therefore prudent that you put down some questions in front of the developer and expect satisfactory answers in return. Here are certain questions that you should ask a builder/seller before signing the agreement of the property:

Is the Litigation Pending on Property:

Check if the property is free from any litigation stated by third party. Ask the builder for the proof and other details if the property is completely free from litigation. This is because many residential and commercial project construction comes to standstill.

Check the Quality of the Construction:

When the project is under-construction, do a random tour to know the quality of the product used for the apartment. You can have a word with the developer regarding the products and brands used on the work site. Arm yourself with much information about construction products.

Non-Builder Costs:

The builder may have printed the final cost of the flat, but what about additional cost that levied due to tax. With the introduction of GST, real estate market has also changed and has affected the cost of the project. So sit with the developer, check out the price added for registration fees and other costs. Make sure you're armed with right calculation to ask legit questions to the seller.

Carpet Area:

If you're considering buying a property in Gated Community or a villa, then asking about the built up area is important. The builder charges on a rate per square-foot. So you should know the cost of per square foot you'll be paying. The built-up area is the carpet area of the home. Builder cannot charge on super area as per RERA.

Completion of the Project:

This is the major question to ask by the buyer to the developer. There have been many cases where the project gets delayed indefinitely, which brings a big loss to the buyer in terms of paying EMI. However, with the introduction of RERA, the developer has to handover the project on the given deadline to avoid any kind of action later.

Demand for the Sample Flat:

As the project is under construction, you can demand for a look of sample flat that matches to your flat requirement. The living room area, bedroom, WC, Kitchen and other areas are important to consider. You can check the quality of construction, material used and is the area same as mentioned in the booklet.

Seeking OC and Completion Certificate:

Occupancy Certificate and Completion Certificate both play an important role. OC is issued to ensure that the property is handed without any problems pertaining to bank loans, whereas completion certificate is offered once the project is complete and is issued by Municipal authorities.

What is the Payment Plan?

Every developer has different payment plans which are important to consider. Builders generally have tie-ups with bank and financial institutes to offer loan under low interest. So you can compare the interest rates of banks.