Winter has been playing truant this season in Kolkata. Intermittent low-pressure weather pattern formation ensured temperature remained elevated, and cold spells came occasionally. We do not really enjoy winter if there is not much cold.
In spite of snowfalls in Darjeeling, Sikkim, and the Himalayan region in general, Kolkata did not experience many shivers. And can you get awesome nolen gur if the weather is not really cold? Actually, you can’t.
But that didn’t prevent Moonmoon’s mother from making preparations for Poush Sankranti when various pithes are cooked. Of course, Moonmoon and Raj must have the taste of the tradition in mid-January.
They religiously appeared in the afternoon of the Sankranti day. As usual Moonmoon’s father started the chit-chat in their living room while her mother busied herself in the kitchen.
“What all did you make this year, ma?” asked Moonmoon.
“You’ll come to know in a minute,” assured her mother.
Property Papers — a Complex Web?
“Baba, is it always necessary to take legal help while verifying flat purchase documents?” asked Moonmoon.
“No, not at all. Anybody can do it. It just requires some patience and attention to detail,” replied her father.
Generally, homebuyers find property papers somewhat difficult to understand as it is written in a legal language with a lot of jargon used. Sometimes, homebuyers are nervous as there can be serious implications of ignoring certain clauses of the agreements.
Although it is a good practice to take professional help while going through flat purchase papers, it is not mandatory. Even a person with no legal degree can verify them. All that is required is a little patience.
“Let me show you how anyone can verify property papers without legal help,” said Moonmoon’s father.
What Should be Checked?
When you start verifying property papers, you must follow a checklist. This will help you to avoid forgetting to check any particular document and important clauses. So, let’s go.
Buyer’s and seller’s personal details
The agreement for sale, and the sale deed must capture the buyer’s and seller’s complete personal details. Their fathers’ names, addresses, PAN numbers, Aadhaar numbers, and bank account information must be written on the agreement. It must also provide exact details of the property’s location and municipal, tehsil (administrative division), or collector’s land record number. Two witnesses must sign on the agreement, one from the buyer’s and the other from the seller’s side.
Property documents
The seller must confirm the authenticity of the title deed and other documents. The agreement must reflect the fact that all dues related to the property, have been cleared up to the date of transfer.
In any case, the buyer must insist on inspecting the original documents.
As apartment bookings take place when requisite permissions from the relevant civic and other government authorities are in place, the buyer must check them. These documents include an approved building plan from the civic authorities indicating that the building plan meets the local building bye-laws.
The developer must also have the approved floor plan, which shows where the different parts of the building will be situated. This includes details of the apartments, staircase, lifts, common areas, etc. An approved floor plan indicates that the building meets the specified safety criteria.
The developer must also have no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the water and sewage board, the electricity board, and the pollution control board. Once all these above-mentioned approvals are obtained, a commencement certificate (CC) from the civic authorities should be received.
If you are buying into a project that is in the ready-to-move-in stage, make sure that the developer has the occupation certificate (OC). Without this document, you may find it difficult to get electricity and water connections in your name.
Date of possession
The seller must confirm the date of possession to the buyer in unequivocal terms in writing. This is an extremely important date for the buyer as he needs to plan ahead for grihapravesh in his new home.
Payment schedule
The total amount to be paid and the time frame within which it is to be paid must be clearly mentioned in the agreement. Where the payment is to be made in instalments, the payment schedule specifies details of each instalment. This helps avoidance of any ambiguity which may arise in the future. The agreement must provide complete payment details by the buyer, including that of the mortgage if any.
Amenities
The agreement must mention all the amenities of the project. This also prepares the buyer for estimating the maintenance amount he will have to bear in the future.
Termination and dispute resolution
The agreement must mention clearly how either party can terminate the agreement and what will be the financial implications. Similarly, a mechanism of dispute resolution, apart from the legal method, can also be mentioned.
“If any real estate project is approved for home loans by the reputed banks and financial institutions, you can be sure that they have done their legal due diligence before giving the project the stamp of approval. In addition to it, you may check the relevant RERA website where the project is registered,” said Moonmoon’s father, ending the discussion as his wife entered the room with plates of different pithes.
The smell of nolen gur overwhelmed everyone.
