Buying a property or a flat is always a very important decision as it takes a huge amount. Most of the people never able to buy a property or flat, and many people almost spend all their earned money into purchasing a flat or a property. Many peoples buy flat with finance from banks or NBFCs, home loan tenures are very high. People almost spend half of their life to repay loan EMIs. As we know shelter is one of basic needs, it is very important to check or verify some points of the property before investing such big amount.
By considering that you can arrange down payment and can repay the loan amount, still there are many points to be consider before investing in the flat. Here are some short listed points one must check before investing in a flat or an apartment.
1) RERA
RERA is applicable in most of the states in India. RERA is a buyer friendly regulation act, which control illegal and unethical activities by builder. RERA insures timely possession & keep eye on all the activities done by the developers. RERA is compulsory for project which has more than 8 apartments or the area of the project is more than 500sqm. RERA information of the particular project is available on state RERA website. Every project has a unique RERA number. One can get information buy simply login to government RERA web portal. In RERA one can get possession date of the project & builder has to give on time possession. Hence checking info about RERA is a must point before investing.
2) Approval and licenses
It is a very important point to check weather project has all the required approval or licenses. For a project it required number of approvals and NOCs. Approved Project plans can show the exact plan of the project. It shows the number of tenant, location, map of building, it shows the amenities space etc. Commencement certificate is a permission to start the work. Environmental Clearance, Fire, Garden, Water, Drainage NOCs are also important to check before investing. Agreement to sale draft copy must be seen and read it carefully and check weather all discussed points like parking location, amenities and possession date is written in there or not. Check weather all the Taxes on the property is paid or not.
3) Verify builder
Before purchasing the property one must check how many projects have completed by that developer. If possible do visit that projects and confirm the details of builder. Confirm whether he keeps promises and check previous project construction quality. Meet society secretory and ask him questions about developers.
4) FLAT Area
Sometimes area mentioned in the cost sheet and actual useable area of the flat is different. 2% variation due to construction errors is allowed but more than 2% can’t be neglected as it cause big price difference. Hire a civil engineer or personally check the area of the flat if you are good at calculations. As mentioned in RERA carpet area is defined. Sometimes due to huge mistakes in construction area of flat can be reduced drastically or sometimes developer purposely shows extra area on cost sheet and charge according to it. So must check net useable area, confirm it and then go further.
5) Legal documents
Legal documents like Buyer-Seller agreement Land documents, Tax on land or if there is litigation on land or not are very important to check. Most of the project gets delay or stops due to big Legal issue of the land. Project must be legally crystal clear if you are investing in it. Check if any loan on land is there or not. If any single doubt or fault is there then must stay away from such projects.
6) Location
Nearby location plays a very important role in the property rate rises. Check the location of the project on the basis of the distance of the project from key localities like airport, highway, market, schools, IT parks, Grounds, connectivity, etc. If the location of the project is good then an appraisal of the project is great and it would be a great investment. If a nearby area is under development then check the area development plan which can be available in local authority office or online portals.
7) Price
Money is always an important factor in every investment. One must visit at least 5 nearby projects, though you have finalized a project. It will give idea about rate of the property in that particular area. Always compare similar projects. Don’t compare a 5 stories apartment building with 20 stories project. Negotiate with seller as much as you can because rate given in the cost sheet is always negotiable.
8) Financing banks
Finance company or finance bank check detail documents of the project then only give finance to the project. Check approval of project from PSU banks & well known finance companies. Approval gives flexibility to customer to compare loans from different companies and let them chose best plan.
9) Hidden charges
If one don’t know how to calculate cost of the flat then must ask one of friend or advisor who have idea about it. Hidden charges like cover parking, infra charges or extra maintenance cost can be there. Developer can ask extra money for society formation, electricity charges or plumbing charges. Price of the flat is always inclusive of these charges. Check amount of stamp duty or legal charges are true or not. Check club membership charges, Electricity backup charges. GST is not applicable for ready possession flats. Always take help of advisor in such cases.
10) Construction quality
As we know everyone at least has a civil engineer friend or mutual friend. One must ask him for help to check quality of construction. Check structure certificates which are submitted in local authority. Check all the safety materials are there or not. Check quality of RCC work as it is heart of the structure. Check if proper curing work of quality material used is acceptable or not.
