Things to Check Before Buying a Flat

Most problems with a flat purchase are discoverable before you pay an advance. They get missed because the visit is emotional and the paperwork is boring. This is the checklist we work through, in the order we work through it.

Before the visit: three documents

Ask for these by email first. If they are hard to get, that is itself information.

1. Title documents and the encumbrance certificate. The EC should be pulled for at least the last thirty years. You are looking for undisclosed mortgages, disputes and gaps in the chain of ownership.

2. Approved building plan. Compare it against what is actually built. Unauthorised additional floors and covered balconies are common, and they become your problem — including at resale, when the next buyer’s bank notices.

3. Occupancy certificate. For a completed building, this is not optional. No OC means the building was never certified as fit for occupation, and lenders can decline. For under-construction projects, ask for the RERA registration number and look it up yourself on the Telangana RERA portal.

At the site: what to look at

Water. Ask the specific source: municipal supply, borewell, tanker, or a combination. Then ask a resident, not the seller. In several parts of Hyderabad this is the single biggest quality-of-life variable, and it changes street by street.

Seepage. Check ceiling corners in every bathroom, the wall shared with the neighbouring unit, and the ceiling directly under any terrace. Fresh paint in one isolated patch deserves a question.

The parking slot. Get the specific slot number in writing in the agreement. “Parking will be provided” is not an allotment, and post-handover parking disputes are among the most common society conflicts.

Actual carpet area. Measure the main rooms yourself with a tape or laser measure. Super built-up numbers include a loading factor that varies from 20% to over 40% between projects; only carpet area is comparable.

Ventilation and light. Visit at the time of day you would actually be at home. A flat that is bright at 11am can be dim by 4pm.

Lift and backup power. Ask how many lifts serve how many units, and whether backup covers individual flats or only common areas.

Questions for the society or association

• What are the monthly maintenance charges, and what is the basis — per square foot or flat rate?
• Are there any pending dues on this unit?
• Is there a sinking fund, and how much is in it?
• Any litigation involving the society?
• When were the water tanks last cleaned and the lifts last serviced?

A functioning association with clean records is a real asset. A dysfunctional one is a recurring cost.

The financial checks

Loan eligibility on this specific property, not in general. Some banks maintain internal negative lists for particular projects or localities. Get a pre-approval that names the property.

The full cost, not the price. Budget for stamp duty and registration, GST if under construction, parking charges, corpus and maintenance advance, and interiors. The realistic total is meaningfully above the quoted price — plan for it before you commit, not after.

Who is paying the brokerage, and how much. Establish it in writing at the start.

Red flags that should stop the process

• The seller cannot produce an original sale deed for inspection
• The EC shows a mortgage that has not been formally released
• What is built does not match the sanctioned plan
• No occupancy certificate for a completed building
• Pressure to pay a “token” advance today, before documents are shared
• A price meaningfully below comparable units with no explained reason

That last one is worth dwelling on. In real estate, an unexplained discount is usually a disclosed problem you have not found yet.

Get a lawyer

An independent lawyer for title verification typically costs a small fraction of one percent of the purchase price. Against the size of the transaction, declining that is not a saving.

If you would like us to walk a property through this checklist with you before you commit, send us the listing details and we will go through it.