Buying a Home? Here’s what to check before!

Investing on a new house or flat is one of the most crucial decisions of your life and is probably an idea you have been nurturing since a very young age. Years of saving and years of planning cannot be let go at the right moment when you make the final decision. Hence, you are required to keep all possible points in mind before you take the leap and make a selection. As buying a house might also involve taking a good amount of loan, followed by monthly installments flowing out of your income, you need to be extra careful. Although some of the key factors to be considered while zeroing in on a new flat or house is location, possession date and price, there are some more parameters that need to be looked in to, while purchasing a new flat. They are:

9 Important Things to Remember Before Buying Flats

Property Price

The first step in selecting a house or a flat is to fix a budget. It makes it easier to shortlist a house if you know how much you are willing to spend on it. Compare the price of the property in question with the ones surrounding it from various builders to get an idea if the builder has offered you a genuine quotation. There are many ways where you can get a comparative of properties in the area you are looking. Portal listings, brokers of the area or newspaper listings are such sources.

Flat’s Carpet Area

Usually, a property’s area or the super built-up area that is listed is the entire area including shafts, elevator space, stairs, thickness of walls and others. However, carpet area is the actual area within the walls of the flat. This are can be 30 per cent lesser than the built-up area or the area used to calculate the price of the property. In some cases, when a floor is shared between two owners, the price of the common spaces are shared between the two.

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Land Record

The land on which your flat is built is very crucial. You must research about the soil quality and topography of the land on which the house is constructed. The plot should also be clear of all dues and be registered. Before buying a house, the title deed must be verified and checked in detail. The deed gives all details on the rights, ownership and obligations towards the property.

Legal Check of Property

Ensure the property is legally authorized to be constructed on the plot it stands on. The developer should have approvals and NOCs from Area development authorities, water supply and sewage boards, electricity boards and Municipal Corporation. However if you are taking a home loan, the concerned bank will validate your property documents before loan sanction.

Apartment Possession

It has become a trend of delayed possessions of flats owing to delay in commercial and residential plans. As a buyer, you should have a clear estimate of the timeline for possession. Usually, a developer ask for a six-month grace period, however there should be a valid explanation for the same.

Financing Banks

You should be aware of the banks that are willing or not willing to finance certain builders. Owing to a bad reputation, some banks do not offer loans to some builders. So, it is very important that you check with the banks that are filling to fund the project you are planning to invest on.

Builder-Buyer Agreement

When you select a flat or house of your choice, you can book the same by giving a token amount, in return of which you get an allotment letter. Then, a tripartite agreement is entered upon between the buyer, the bank and the builder for the rest of the amount. This agreement should be read and understood in detail before signing it. All the clauses must be clearly understood and if any doubts, should be raised at this point itself.

Location of the Flat

Not to forget, it is important to look around the area where you are going to be eventually residing in. The amenities, physical infrastructure and reach to all the basic places are important to be analysed. These factors will help you have a peaceful living in the house. The flat should be in a safe and secure place, offering some security to families living in the flat.

Hidden and Additional Charges

Ensure that all the clauses of the documents are read in detail and penalty clauses be understood. The builder is required to pay you a monthly penalty in case you do not receive the flat’s possession within the grace period. Additional expenses such as GST, stamp duty, home loan processing fee, registration charges and all other charges should also be kept in mind.

Source: BankBazaar