Property Guide

Most of what decides whether a plot works for you is fixed before you ever see it — where it sits, what it is next to, and how you will reach it on an ordinary weekday.

• Start from how you will actually use it. A plot you intend to build on soon is judged on approach roads, power and water; one you intend to hold is judged on what is being built around it.
• Look at the layout as a whole, not just the plot. Road widths, the position of open space and where the entrance sits affect every plot in it.
• Position within the layout matters. Corner, road-facing and park-facing plots differ in size, price and privacy, and the difference is permanent.
• Check the approach in bad weather, not only on a dry day. An approach road that floods is a problem no amount of layout quality fixes.
• Consider orientation if it matters to you. Facing is often a deciding factor locally, and availability of a particular facing changes as a layout sells.

This is the part most first-time buyers find hardest, and the part that matters most. A few definitions clear up the majority of the confusion.

• A layout permission — the L.P. number — is the reference the planning authority issues when it sanctions a layout: the land has been laid out as plots with roads, drainage and open space to that authority's requirements.
• In this region the sanctioning authority is usually VMRDA, or GVMC where the land falls inside the city's limits. Older layouts may carry a VUDA number from before VMRDA succeeded it.
• An L.P. number is not a RERA registration number, and having one does not imply the other. They are issued by different bodies for different purposes. Treat any material that blurs the two as a reason to ask more questions.
• "Approved" and "proposed" are not the same thing. A layout at proposal stage has no permission number yet. Ask which one you are being shown, and ask to see the number.
• Jurisdiction is not approval. Saying land falls within a particular authority's limits describes where it is, not that anything has been sanctioned.
• Always ask to see the sanctioned copy and check that the number on it matches the number you were quoted.

A site visit is for comparing what you were told against what is on the ground. Go with a list.

• Ask which plot numbers are being offered and walk to them. A plot on a plan and a plot on the ground are not the same experience.
• Check that infrastructure described as existing is physically there — roads formed, drainage laid, boundary walls up, electricity poles in.
• Separate what is built from what is planned. Both are legitimate; being told one when the other is true is not.
• Look at what surrounds the layout on all four sides, including behind it.
• Note the actual dimensions of the specific plots you are considering. Layouts frequently contain several different sizes, and one example size does not describe them all.
• Take photographs and note the date. It is a useful record later.

Read these — or have an advocate read them — before any payment, including a booking amount.

• The sanctioned layout plan, with the permission number visible on it.
• The title deed and the prior documents that establish the chain of ownership.
• The encumbrance certificate, which shows registered charges on the land.
• The land schedule with its survey numbers, checked against the layout and against what you were told.
• Any approval, permission or registration referenced anywhere in the sale material — if it is quoted to you, it should be produceable.
• Receipts for anything you pay, naming what the payment is for and what it is refundable against.

The sequence varies by seller, but the shape is fairly standard. Knowing it makes it easier to tell an ordinary step from an unusual one.

• Shortlist and visit. Nothing should be paid to see a site.
• Document review. This is where an advocate earns their fee — before money moves, not after.
• Booking, if you proceed. Ask in writing what the amount holds, for how long, and on what terms it is returned.
• Finance, if you are using it. Approved layouts are generally financeable; confirm directly with your lender rather than relying on a seller's description of who lends.
• Registration, at the sub-registrar's office, with the sale deed reflecting the plot and dimensions you actually agreed.
• Keep every registered document and receipt together. You will want them when you build, and again if you sell.