Things to Care...

The following are some of the things that are to be followed while purchasing any property.

Call for the documents of title and link documents of the Vendor of the Property and verify the same with your legal advisor.

The Encumbrance Certificates for a minimum period of 30 years needs to be verified to find out if there are any existing encumbrances over the Property. This can be acquired in the concerned sub-registrar office.

In case of purchasing a plot that has been developed by any real estate vendor, the buyer should look for whether the plots are approved by the concerned authorities. If the plot is in the City limits HUDA gives the approval whereas all the plots those are not under HUDA purview, DTCP is the Approving authority.

The Developer has to take approval for a Tentative layout once they start developing the particular property and sell it as plots. Without this tentative layout, if a buyer buys a plot there is no guaranty that the purchased plot can be at the same location. Once the plotting is completed with Roads, Drainage, Electricity and Water facilities then the Developer takes the Final approval from the concerned authorities.   It is always safe to buy a plot that has final approval from HUDA or DTCP.

In case of purchasing a land, the buyer should know about the type of the land i.e., whether it is Patta/Agricultural/Industrial/Residential or any other type of allocated land. Only upon knowing the status of the land the buyer has to go ahead. Some types of lands (Ex. Agricultural Land) can be converted into Residential category at a later stage by taking approval from the concerned authority where as some others can not be changed. The Buyer should also look for any restrictions on the land. The lands around lakes, the lands that come under HADA area and some other lands are segregated into Zones and the buyer should confirm the zone under which that particular property falls under and what kind of construction can be taken place in the zone. All these details can be sought from the local MRO office.

The buyer should ask the vendor for the original Sale deed, Partition Deed, Settlement Deed, Power of Attorney deeds, to rule out existence of any prior mortgage by way of deposit of title documents, all the Original documents of title may be verified legally to ensure that the property is in the possession of the Vendor himself. 

Check whether a clearance from the Income Tax Department under Section 230-A or 269 - UC is required to be obtained as the case may be.

Latest Property Tax, Water Tax and Electricity payments receipts / Kist receipts / Patta / Extract from the permanent Land Register/Urban land Tax Receipt to be verified to ensure that the Property stands in the name of the Vendor.

In case of Devolution of title to the Property under a Will necessary precautions as to whether the Will is registered / probated etc to be ascertained and similarly if there is any Minor's interest is involved, it is necessary to take suitable precautions so as to create a valid title to the Property.

Check whether there is any prejudicial/negative covenants in the Sale deed of the Vendor, to affect the title to the Property.

If you are planning to buy a Building it is necessary to check whether the building plan has the due approval of the Municipal corporation /gram Panchayat/Civic Authority and to insist for completion certificate from the Builder/ Developer so as to ensure that there is no deviation in the approved plan.

Power of Attorney document, Death Certificate, Legal Heirship Certificate if any concerning the title to the Property may be verified with the Original for authenticity.

Agreement of sale and deed of sale are to be properly worded with suitable clauses to take care of situations such as default, delivery of vacant possession, payment of Stamp Duty / Registration charges, Compliance of statutory requirements, a clause on indemnity etc to be clearly mentioned. A very clear description of the Schedule of Property is to be emphasised for a good conveyance of the Property.

Similarly while entering into an Agreement of Construction care should be taken to ensure that the builder/developer does not get any right to use/build on the open terrace and on other common areas which are to be enjoyed in common by all the occupants. In the case of a flat, on completion of the building, all the occupants shall form an Association among themselves and all the parent documents of title shall be kept in joint custody.

In case of Purchase of Flat the registration of the undivided share of the land which conveys the title to the Property in favour of the Purchaser is to be insisted upon.

A Legal opinion on the marketability of the title to the Property is a must.