You concentrate on Location, Location & Location
While it’s true, the location is important for determining the worth of a property, once you buy land for building your new home that’s not the only metric you would like to consider.
Most homebuyers end up spending many time and energy either checking out or designing “the perfect home” before signing any contracts or laying down funds.
If you’re starting from scratch, the primary thing you would like to do is buy land, which may be an easy process – or prove fraught with problems if you fail to do your due diligence. Be sure to follow these steps before you close on a plot of land.
- What is the zoning for the land?
The first question to clarify is whether or not you’ll build in the least on that land.
Zoning defines land use for a specific area.
The municipality usually restricts the areas which will be used for residential buildings.
These are the foremost commons uses you’ll find:
Residential
Commercial
Tourism activities
Industrial activities
Forest & agricultural
Depending on your municipality, there could be more zoning rules and different land uses.
In general, you’ll build your house only on land with residential use. This is why it’s so important you check this before making the other move.
We’d recommend not trust the seller on this but to see together with your Real-Estate agent or – even better – with a local architect.
2. Is the land in the name of the builder?
The first question you should ask the salesperson is that if the builder has legal rights to sell the land or not. Determine who is that the current owner of the land? Is it a builder himself or not? A lot of builders either buy the whole land from the previous owner or enter into a joint agreement with the owners to sell or develop the land and sell the plot scheme. Regardless of what, confirm that this part is clear. Ask for the documents which clearly show the builder has legal rights on the plot himself along with a Road agreement (If Necessary).
3. Where is the NA (NON-AGRICULTUR) order?
All the land in India is ” AGRICULTURE LAND” unless it’s defined for a few other purposes by the govt. So a piece of land is either agricultural or non-agricultural .
Agricultural land is often used for Agri purposes, whereas if you want to do the other thing aside from agriculture then one has got to first convert that Agri land to non-agricultural (NA)
However simply because a land possesses NA status, doesn’t mean that one can start using it for residential purposes, because there are various sorts of NA like
NA – Commercial
NA – Warehouses
NA – Resort
NA – IT
NA – Residential (This is that the one where one can build a residential house)
So, the purpose is that you simply need to ask the builder/salesperson, if the plot of land you’re getting to buy is “NA-Residential” or not? Ask them for a replica of that. Many forms of NA plots are sold as “NA plot, collector approved” which may be a misleading thing.
Another thing you’ve got to be very cautious of is the “Proposed NA” schemes. Many builders attempt to sell a non-NA land telling you that it’s a proposed NA land, which means he has initiated the method of converting land into NA scheme, and therefore the papers are already in process, and “very soon”, the land will become NA-residential and the way you’ll then reap the advantages of the high prices.
While there are chances that the conversion happens, but in most cases, it’s a gimmick to sell inexpensive land at high prices and sometimes buyers are stuck within the project, because the land is nothing quite a bit of crap later.
So, ask the salesperson to produce the NA order papers. Have a glance at it yourself and don’t fall for the guarantees like it’s coming in 2 months or next week or anything like that. Don’t grind to a halt into those sorts of deals.
4. What are the other projects done by the builder?
You should ask the salesperson about the other projects done by the builder. Check if they have done other similar projects within the past?
- What was the response to it?
- What’s the standard of these projects?
- Were there any legal issues with those schemes?
- Are the buyers proud of the builder’s work there?
You can often get some clue about all this on the web or the web forums. Just attend the website of the builder and determine what other schemes he has done are. Search with the other project names and see what others are talking about?
If you get an opportunity, I suggest paying a visit to past projects once. Spending half a day in this will only help you further to take the decision.
5. Check the nearby development yourself
Don’t believe the salesperson about the nearby development information. If the salesperson says that a new flyover is developing nearby or if there are 3 colleges within a 2 km radius, just find it out yourself. If you can go a bit further, see if you’ll ask people that live nearby the plot. Make a random visit then ask the shopkeepers nearby, houses on the points which concern you.
6. Go for a Loan
It is suggested to go for a Composite loan/Land Loan whether you have enough saving. Banks and financial institutions verify the property against which the loan is taken. Lenders also verify the property that you’re taking the loan. A home loan is a secured loan, in which the property is used as security or collateral. This is often the reason why you’re asked to submit original property documents to the lender.
During credit appraisal, these documents are used for legal verifications. This means that these documents are used to verify that the property contains a clear title, which the house loan is being disbursed to the proper owner of the property for legal and valid reasons. No lender ever funds disputed properties or properties that don’t have clear ownership titles.
Composite loans are loans that are given to a person who plans to buy a plot on loan or to construct the house on an equivalent within the stipulated time mentioned by the bank. Therefore a composite home loan means a loan that will provide you with the loan to buy land, and also provide you money for the construction of a house.
Banks generally lend between 50 % to 80 % on the market price of the plot. However, it depends on several factors and from bank to bank.
In the beginning, housing finance company will disburse an amount for less than the purchase of the plot, and the rest of the amount gets disbursed in different tranches counting on the development activity. Until the loan is disbursed completely, you have to pay pre-EMI or partial EMI on the loan amount disbursed.
The bank closely monitors the development of the construction and it releases the second tranche of loan only after the completion of the certain stage.
7. Take help of a Realtor
An experienced realtor can assist you to resolve many issues, then far more. Especially when your real estate agent is part of a reputable, strategic, and knowledgeable team.
Agents are trained to negotiate well, if only from experience. They know what normally works and what doesn’t. Most have tried-and-true techniques all their own. And, most significantly, they need no emotional stake within the outcome which will cloud their thinking.
