Buy with your
eyes wide open.
Buying a home is the biggest decision most families make — yet almost everything they're told comes from the people selling to them. This is the other side: the traps, the words, the questions and the exact paperwork that make you impossible to fool.
Know what quietly goes wrong before it happens to you.
Understand the terms and ask the right questions.
Tick off every document — then check the project on Gharoba.
The 5 traps buyers fall into
Tap any card to open it. Distilled from what property advisors watch go wrong, again and again.
The single most common regret. Brochures promise possession in 2 years; the reality is often 4–6, with EMIs and rent running in parallel. Builders rarely publish their actual delivery track record.
Check the promoter's OTHER projects on MahaRERA — were they delivered on time? Compare the RERA-filed completion date with the brochure date. Insist on a registered agreement with a firm possession date and a delay-penalty clause.
The quoted price is rarely the final price. Floor-rise, PLC, club and amenity charges, infrastructure, parking, legal, GST, stamp duty, registration, maintenance deposit and society-formation charges can add 15–25% on top.
Ask for a written cost sheet with EVERY line item before booking. Confirm what the 'all-inclusive' price excludes. Get GST and stamp-duty numbers in writing. Never rely on a verbal 'final' price.
You pay for 'super built-up' but you live in 'carpet'. A '1,000 sq ft' flat can have only ~650 sq ft of usable carpet — a 35% gap. RERA mandates selling on carpet area, but many still market on super built-up.
Always ask for the CARPET area (the RERA figure) and compute your real ₹/sq ft on that. Carpet = usable floor area within walls. A loading factor above ~1.3 is aggressive.
Seepage, cracks, poor plumbing, weak materials — problems that surface only after possession, when your money is gone. Show-flat finishes rarely match the delivered flat.
Visit completed projects by the same builder and talk to residents. Check the defect-liability clause — RERA gives 5 years for structural defects, repaired free. Do a professional snag inspection before possession.
A beautiful flat with an unclear title is a trap. Disputed land, missing approvals, pending litigation, or incomplete redevelopment consent can freeze your ownership — or your loan.
Get an independent lawyer's title search (30-year chain), an Encumbrance Certificate (no pending loans), and verify NA order, sanctioned plan and CC. For redevelopment, check the development agreement and society consent.
Key terms every buyer must know
The words builders and brokers use that quietly confuse buyers — in plain language.
The usable floor space inside your walls — the area you can actually put a mat on. RERA requires flats to be sold on this. Always compute ₹/sq ft on carpet.
Built-up adds wall thickness and balconies; super built-up adds a share of lobbies, stairs and amenities. A '1,000 sq ft' super built-up flat may be ~650 sq ft carpet.
How much is added on top of carpet to reach super built-up. 1.3 means 30% extra. Above ~1.3 is aggressive — you pay for space you can't use.
The Real Estate Regulatory Authority. Every legal project must register; the number reveals the promoter, approved plans, filed completion date and complaints.
The municipal certificate that the building is legally fit to live in. Never take possession without it — 'OC coming soon' is a serious red flag.
Municipal permission to begin construction. No CC means the project isn't cleared to be built.
The land record showing the owner, area and any loans or charges on the land — mainly for plots and land deals.
Proof the property is free of pending mortgages, loans or legal charges. Confirms no one else has a claim on it.
The Sub-Registrar's official summary of the registered sale — your proof the transaction is properly recorded.
The government's minimum notified value for a property in an area, used for stamp duty. A price far below it is unusual; far above it is worth questioning.
Under RERA, the builder must fix structural defects free for 5 years after possession. Get a written snag list at handover.
The state tax + fee that make your ownership legal. In Maharashtra, budget these on top of the price — ownership isn't complete without them.
Smart questions to ask
Ask these before you pay a rupee. A confident, straight answer is a good sign; hesitation is a signal.
Your home-buying checklist
Tick each document as you verify it. Your progress saves automatically — come back any time.
Now check the actual project
Look up any RERA-registered project and see its builder record, scores and government links — for free.
Analyze a property — free