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What to check before you pay

Registration, the agreement, the title and the builder's record, checked before a token changes hands. Start with the checklist, then go deep where your purchase needs it.

The short version

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Before you pay a token… Four numbers from the RERA Act. 10%: the most a promoter may take before a registered agreement. 70% of buyers’ money must sit in a separate project account. 5 years to report defects. 30 days to fix them free. Registered? Title clear? Has a lawyer read the papers? Asked for more than 10%? That’s a red flag. Take advice. Gulmohar shows what to ask before you pay. Too big a decision to skip a second look.

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The numbers to start with

From Before you pay a token: eleven things to check, and four RERA numbers worth knowing. Each figure is sourced or marked as an illustration there.

Read in this order

  1. Recommended first read

    Before you pay a token: eleven things to check, and four RERA numbers worth knowing

    A token amount feels small, but it starts a process that is hard to undo. Four numbers from the RERA Act, 10%, 70%, five years and thirty days, plus seven practical checks, decide whether the next payment is safe.

    Due Diligence · 3 min readRead this first →

  2. 1 in 5 Gurgaon projects on the RERA register is no longer 'active'. How to check yours, step by step.

    A RERA number on a brochure isn't the check. On Haryana's register, 229 of 1,087 Gurgaon projects have lapsed; on UP-RERA, 166 Noida projects are in insolvency. Here's how to find the right project and phase, what to read on the record, and what registration doesn't tell you.

    Due Diligence · 5 min read

  3. Two in three civil cases in India's courts are about land or property. How to commission a title check before you pay.

    In a survey of 9,329 litigants across 24 states, 66% of civil cases were about land or property. A title check by your own lawyer is how you avoid becoming one. Here's what to ask for, which documents usually matter, and what bank approval, RERA and the encumbrance certificate can't tell you.

    Due Diligence · 4 min read

  4. In Noida and Bengaluru, most 'active' housing projects are already past their own completion date. Here's how to check yours.

    We looked at 20,985 projects on five state RERA portals. In Noida, 72% of projects still listed as active have a registered completion date that has already passed; in Bengaluru, 69%. Here's what that does and doesn't mean, and how to check a specific project before you pay.

    Due Diligence · 4 min read

  5. Buying property in India from abroad: the checks that matter when you can't be there

    A High Court judge described fraud against overseas owners as abuse 'where absence is weaponised'. Here's the verification routine that closes the gap distance creates: what to check, who should act for you, and the tax and repatriation rules to plan around.

    Due Diligence · 5 min read
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