Take care while buying an underconstruction house
By Prerna Pandey
Buying an under-construction house could turn out to be a little cheaper than buying a ready-for-possession house but only after you’ve considered several key factors before finalising the deal.
When Kamalnath Naidu booked a flat in an under-construction building, in Dombivli, with a whopping 20 per cent discount compared to current market value of the flat, he thought he’d bagged a pretty good deal. Kamalnath was assured that he would get the possession of the flat in a year and a half.
“I moved to the city around five years ago and had been living in a rented flat ever since. But around two years back, I decided that it was time to own my own house,” says Naidu.
And, that is when he decided to book a flat in an under-construction building since he wasn’t really “that well off” financially and “the idea seemed like a feasible one at that time.”
But, little did Kamalnath know that his dream of owning a house will have to wait a little longer than he imagined. Now, it’s been over two years i.e. way beyond the six month period within which he was supposed to get possession of the flat.
“I had made all the arrangement for shifting, I had even ended my leave and licence agreement,” adds Naidu. He has now extended his agreement for he is not sure when will he get the possession of his new house.
Although there are many benefits of buying a flat in an under-construction house like the payment – which many-a-times depends on the speed of the completion of the project. You also get to choose the location of your flat and sometimes, can make get few alterations in the flat based on your needs.
But, it’s the developer’s inability to give possession of the flat on time which has become a common phenomenon among builders and the trend is making the buyers anxious about investing in such projects.
So, if you are planning to buy a flat in an under-construction project, there are few things that you must take care of before finalising the deal.
If you want to make sure that the project gets completed on time there are few documents that you should get in order first like the commencement certificate of the work – this document is required for the builder to initiate the project.
Then next is the project plan approved by the civic body or town planning authority. It is very essential that you get hold of the approved building plan. “Often, builders promise a host of amenities in the project.
“And, buyers accordingly pay the price hoping that they will get the said amenities. But, only when the project is finally completed sans the mentioned amenities do they realise that they’ve been duped,” says Malad resident Pukraj Purohit.
So, it is extremely essential that you to get the approved building plan to know that you are not being cheated in any manner. Check if the title of the land on which the project is being constructed is clear or not.
As a buyer you have every right to verify the documents. See if the builder really is the owner of the property. If he is not, then he cannot transfer the property in question just by registering it. These documents may be a little difficult for a common man to understand so it will be wise to involve a lawyer in the whole process. It is also wise to insure that the property is not under any dispute and is free of any encumbrances.
If the property, on which the project is being constructed, is a mortgaged property i.e. the builder has taken a loan from the bank and mortgaged the property, it is necessary to take a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the bank with specific like your flat number, building number etc., mentioned on the NOC.
This is to ensure that even if the builder fails to pay back the funds on time to the bank, you, as a buyer won’t have to suffer as, without the NOC, the bank has every right to ask you to vacate the property.
Another easier way to figure out about the project is to do a background check on the builder.
This will fairly give you the idea about the builder looking at his previous projects and this way you can find out whether the builder group is clean or has a bad track record.
“A known developer wouldn’t risk his/her reputation and track record just to earn some money, he has his image at stake and that is far more important than the money that s/he will get by cheating you,” says architect Ramesh Das.
“So, if you booked a flat in project which is being constructed by a reputed builder you can be rest assured about being cheated at least when it comes to promised amenities,” adds Das
