Buying a home is not like grocery shopping – there is a clear method to the madness. This requires you to indulge in some due diligence that can help keep all the unnecessary legal hassles at bay. In purchasing a new home, you have to consider everything from the engineering and architectural realm to the taxation and financial side of things to ensure that you do not wind up being embroiled in unnecessary charges and legal battles. Here are a few simple safeguards you can ensure for yourself, to make sure there are no unnecessary issues cropping up.
Understand the responsibilities of your builder
This is especially vital, because a builder must seek appropriate permissions, construct the right kind of foundation based on the soil, construct the building in keeping with the permissible load safety, ensure that there are no fixtures that encroach construction permissions and spatial requirements. This is vital – and as a buyer, you have the right to ask for a copy of the soil report and licenses and permits. Furthermore, building materials and construction methods should adhere to required quality practices – which means that all material, such as concrete and steel, which are governed by Indian Standard codes, should be adhered to.
The duty of the authorities
While approving the construction plans of a property, it is important for the authorities to collect the appropriate documents that include soil test reports, affidavits on the stability of the building as signed by the architect, owner and structural design engineer, all to be submitted on stamp paper. Furthermore, certifications at different stages need to be provided for the benefit of the construction process. It is important that the buyer applies for these, but, it is also as important for the authorities to issue these properties only after appropriate authentication and inspection.
Third party checks
Any property that is being constructed will require an independent and a third-party expert or agency to check in on the qualitative capacity of the property, and its adherence to quality standards. It is important to ensure this regardless of the buyer’s reputation – as a buyer, you can rely on structural consultants or institutions such as private structural engineers to provide this service. You may also look into specialised organisations such as the CQRA, the Government agency which focus on quality of construction, and the CIDC, which rates projects based purely on quality. It is also a good idea to look at CRISIL for its rating services that help to evaluate real-estate projects. Remember to keep a track on the architect, the structural consultant, the civil contractor and the consultants for project management.
There’s nothing such as being too careful when it comes to purchasing property. The more thorough you are in ensuring compliance before purchase, the less you’ll have to worry about in future.