Buying an apartment is one of the most exciting, yet at the same time, most challenging tasks in life. It is exciting because it is one of the biggest financial and emotional commitments one can make. At the same time, buying a home is one of the most demanding activities because of the many pitfalls involved in the process. From fly-by-night developers who are only interested in making a fast buck to poor quality of construction to use of inferior materials and fittings to lack of supervision and inadequate approvals from the concerned government authorities… there are many issues that an apartment buyer has to grapple with. In this article we try to offer you a checklist that could help you decide whether your money and efforts will buy you an apartment that you’d be proud to call home.

Whether you’re planning to buy an under-construction property or a ready-possession flat, do go through the check list given below:

Know the builder

It is always better to go with a builder who has an established presence in the market. A builder who has a good reputation in the market may charge a slight premium over the other builders, which could be well worth it. Consider it as an investment for your peace of mind. Check the following facts about the builder before you decide to consider a certain property:

• Has the builder constructed sufficient number of projects to establish a reputation?
• Does the builder enjoy a reputation for completing projects on time?
• Is the quality of their projects as per the standards you’re looking for?
• Is the quality of staff employed by the builder helpful and courteous with your queries?
• Do the leading financial institutions have tie-ups with the builder?

Know the project

Once you’ve short listed the builders whose properties you’d like to buy, find out more about their projects by using the following checklist:

• Is the project located in an area of your choice?
• Is the project easy to access by road and rail?
• Does it have common facilities within easy reach?
• What is the distance from critical infrastructure like schools, hospitals, fire and police stations?
• What are the future civic plans for the locality?
• What is the weather impact on the locality? Does the area get flooded during the monsoons?
• What is the noise and air level pollution in the area?
• How is the water availability in the area?
• What is the number of buildings that are being planned? Will the long construction period affect the quality of living?
• What is the project plan? Does it leave enough open space for leisure activities?
• Does it have enough parking spaces for residents and visitors?
• If the building has lifts does it have back up power supply?
• Is the construction environmentally and structurally sound? Is it an earthquake-proof construction?
• What would be the monthly maintenance outgo for the project?
• Is the project in a safe locality? Does the project offer security staff cabins and intercoms?
• If you’re buying a flat on resale or in a ready constructed property, check with the existing owner’s association and existing residents. You should be able to get lot of valuable information regarding the project and the locality.

Know your apartment

Once you’ve identified the projects that you’d be interested in investing, check out the apartment with the help of the following checklist:

• Get the floor plan of your apartment.
• Calculate the carpet area of the apartment.
• Check out the inside and outside wall finish. Does the outside wall have a weather coat?
• Check the floorings used. Does the bathroom and kitchen have floorings that are safe?
• Inspect the electrical fittings. Do they have child-safe fittings? Are the electrical fittings of a reputed brand?
• Check the bathroom and kitchen fittings. Are they of a quality brand?
• Check the door and window quality. Are the doors built to provide easy access? Do the windows allow enough light and air into the rooms?
• Does the flat allow cross-ventilation for better circulation of air?
• Does the ceiling have sufficient height?
• Are the features offered in the rooms of contemporary style and usability?
• Is the view from all windows of the room acceptable?
• Do the rooms have provisions for AC fittings?
• Are there enough outlets for phone, TV and internet connections?
• Are there provisions for storage and drying clothes?

Know your documentation

Even if you’ve liked an apartment, don’t be in a hurry to sign up the deal and hand over your money. Go through the following documentation carefully to save yourself years of headache later on. These documents are the final checklist that you need to verify before you make your buying decision.

• What is the rate quoted per square feet? Is it reasonable when you calculate it in terms of the carpet area?
• There are other statutory charges along with additional charges that the builder quotes outside of the apartment cost. Have you considered those costs?
• What are the extra amounts that the builder is charging?
• How much will the statutory charges such as Stamp Duty, Registration Fee, Electricity connection fee, Water connection fee, Sales Tax, Building tax, service tax and other expenditure add up to?
• If you’re going for an under-construction flat, what will be the payment schedule? In case, you are booking a flat in an under construction apartment, ask for a copy of the schedule and any service and value added tax that you may have to pay.
• Compare the layout of the apartment with the plan given by the builder. Is there any difference between the two?
• Does the documentation provided by the builder suggest a clear title? Get it verified from a government authority if you need to be sure.
• Check the fittings provided in the apartment with the promises made by the builder in their brochures.
• Check if all the necessary property approvals have been obtained from the land development or planning authorities under the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act and the Income-Tax Act.
• Has the municipal corporation issued an occupancy certificate to the project? Insist on seeing this.
• If you’re buying a resale property, check the ownership document to see the earlier transactions. Also check that the required statutory approvals including stamp duty and property registrations have been done.
• Check that the builder has acquired all the legal approvals from the Municipal Corporation the Electricity Boards, the water supply and Sewage Boards and the Area Development Authorities.

While the above list is not comprehensive, most buyers consider only a few of the above parameters that are listed above when investing their hard-earned money in their home. Following this checklist will appear time-consuming. But believe us, it will save you years of trouble and offer you peace of mind that really lasts.

We wish you the very best for your dream home!

The entire checklist can be downloaded in excel format from here.

This article aims at collating and providing a ready to use checklist for prospect buyers of an apartment for benefit of ApnaComplex blog readers. While ApnaComplex has taken every care to ensure the information is accurate, we suggest to please use the information in the article and the template provided as a guidance and do your own due diligence before buying any property. If you need professional advice on this topic and any other property related matters, please send your request through our contact us form. We encourage readers to post more items that can be added to the checklist ad we would be glad to release an updated checklist for benefit of the buyers.