Nine things to check before you pay a rupee for a plot

Most of what goes wrong with land goes wrong before you ever see it. By the time a problem surfaces, the money has usually moved. This is the sequence worth working through — ideally with your own lawyer, not only the seller's.

The paperwork

• Title chain: who owned this land, and how did it pass to the current seller? Follow it back through the record rather than accepting a summary.
• 7/12 extract and mutation entries: the names and rights recorded against the survey number should match the story you have been told.
• Encumbrance certificate: this shows registered charges — an existing mortgage on the land is the classic unpleasant surprise.
• N.A. conversion order, if the plot is sold as non-agricultural.
• Approved layout: the plot you are shown should exist, with that number, on a sanctioned layout plan.

The land itself

• Boundary: have it physically walked and pegged against the survey, not pointed at from the road.
• Access: is the road to the plot a recorded right of way, or someone's field you are currently allowed to cross?
• Water: ask where it comes from and how far it reaches — a connection at the entrance gate is not a connection at your plot.
• Drainage and levels: visit in or just after the monsoon if you possibly can. Land that ponds in August looks perfect in March.

Before you sign

Get the sale agreement read by someone acting for you. Check that what was promised verbally — the road, the compound wall, the water line, the timeline — appears in writing with a date attached. Anything that only exists in conversation has a way of staying there.

Finally, budget beyond the plot price: stamp duty, registration, legal fees, and the cost of actually developing the plot. The land is the beginning of the spend, not the end of it.