Buying a home
CMDA or DTCP approved? How to check a Chennai plot or flat's planning approval before you pay
Which body approves layouts and buildings in and around Chennai, what Tamil Nadu's Registration Act says about unapproved house sites, what the 2017 regularisation charges worked out to, and five steps to check an approval yourself.
Pune property tax: how the 40% owner-occupier deduction works in PMC, and why PCMC differs
A 2023 state law fixed Pune's 40% deduction for flats the owner lives in, and validated 53 years of past bills. Here is the PT-3 claim, the documents and fee, why the saving is one-third rather than 40%, and what we could find for Pimpri Chinchwad.
Buying a resale flat in Noida or Greater Noida: transfer charges and why the authority must approve
Flats in Noida and Greater Noida sit on land leased from the development authority, so a resale needs its Transfer Memorandum and a fee. What the law and GNIDA's published terms say, a worked example of the charge, and the paperwork to check first.
Bengaluru guidance values and Karnataka stamp duty: what a flat buyer actually pays
How Karnataka's guidance value sets the floor for stamp duty, why duty is charged on the higher of price and guidance value, the 5% duty plus additional duty and registration fee, a ₹95 lakh flat worked through, and what happens to an undervalued deed.
Kolkata property tax under KMC's unit area assessment: the formula, a worked bill, and mutation after you buy
How KMC's unit area assessment turns your street category, covered space and five factors into an annual value and a tax bill, what the rebates and transition cap do, and what section 183 of the KMC Act requires within three months of buying a flat.
Buying a site in Bengaluru: how to check BDA or BMRDA-area layout approval before you pay
Which authority approves layouts in and around Bengaluru, what the 2015 rewrite of section 17 means for provisional and final layouts, how the 2026 penalty for unfinished old layouts works in rupees, and the questions to ask before paying a token amount.
Reading Maharashtra land records: the 7/12 extract, property card and mutation entries
What a 7/12 extract and a property card record under Maharashtra's land revenue law, how a sale becomes a mutation entry under sections 149 and 150, why courts say these entries do not prove title, and how to check the area on the record against what you are being sold.
Parking in a new project: open, stilt and covered, what a builder can and can't sell
What RERA's definitions of common areas and garage say, what the Supreme Court held about stilt parking in Nahalchand Laloochand (2010), where Maharashtra's "covered parking" rules leave a grey area, and how to read a ₹5 lakh parking line on a ₹95 lakh cost sheet.
Handover day checklist: snag list, meter readings and the documents to collect before you sign
What to inspect room by room, why the meter readings on the day can be worth thousands of rupees, which documents RERA says you are entitled to, and how to sign the handover form without giving up your snag list.
Encumbrance certificate and CERSAI search: checking a flat isn't already mortgaged
Find out what a sub-registrar's encumbrance certificate records under the Registration Act, the mortgages it can miss, and how a CERSAI search under the SARFAESI Act fills that gap. Includes a worked example of clearing a seller's existing home loan when you buy.
DDA flats: converting leasehold to freehold, the charges by zone and the documents you need
Which DDA flats can be converted to freehold, the fixed conversion charges by category and zone, the extra cost for flats bought on GPA before 10 October 2011, the documents DDA asks for, and a worked example for an MIG flat in Rohini.
Hyderabad lakes and HYDRAA: how to check FTL and buffer zones before you buy a flat
What Full Tank Level and buffer zone mean, the buffer widths in GO 168 by size of water body, where HYDRAA fits in, a step-by-step check on HMDA's lakes portal, and an illustrative look at what a ₹75 lakh flat in a buffer could cost you.