8-min read

The pre-purchase checklist: 7 documents to verify before you pay a single rupee

Seven documents and seven traps. Check these before the token cheque and you protect your money from the mistakes that take years and lakhs to undo.

For anyone in India about to book or buy a home, flat or plot, first-time buyers, NRIs buying back home, and families putting down a token before the paperwork is checked.

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Read this before you pay the token

A token cheque feels small. It is not.

The moment money changes hands, your leverage drops and the seller's grip tightens. Everything in this checklist must be verified BEFORE that first rupee, not after.

Print this. Tick every box. If even one is missing, pause, do not pay. A few weeks of checking is cheaper than years in court.

The uncomfortable truth: India runs on presumptive title

The Supreme Court said it twice in 2025, 'registration is not the cause of ownership.' The sub-registrar verifies your identity and that stamp duty was paid; he does NOT check whether the seller actually owns the property. That is exactly how the same plot gets sold twice.

Source: Supreme Court, 7 May 2025, Mahnoor Fatima Imran & K. Gopi v. Sub-Registrar.

The 7 documents to verify, the master checklist

Use this as your tick-list. Each one is explained below.

#	Document	What it proves	Red flag
1	Title deed + 30-year title chain	A clean, unbroken ownership history	Gaps in the chain; one deed offered as 'proof'
2	Encumbrance Certificate (EC) + CERSAI search	No registered loans / charges	A 'NIL EC' treated as a full safety check
3	RERA registration	The project is legally registered & trackable	No RERA number; a 'pre-launch' booking
4	Approved layout / building plan (+ DC/NA order for plots)	Construction & land-use are legal	A plot on unconverted agricultural land
5	Latest tax-paid receipts + mutation record	Dues cleared; records reflect the seller	Tax arrears; mutation in someone else's name
6	Occupancy / Completion Certificate (OC/CC)	Legally fit to occupy; controls your GST	Possession offered without an OC
7	The full, itemised cost sheet	The real all-in price, not the headline rate	Vague 'all-inclusive' with no line items

The 7 documents, explained

1
Title deed + 30-year title chain
ONE deed is not enough, you need the CHAIN. Trace ownership back at least 30 years, every transfer, no gaps, via an independent lawyer (not the builder's). Watch for GPA 'sales': a Power of Attorney, Agreement-to-Sell or Will transfers ZERO ownership (SC, Suraj Lamp v. State of Haryana, 2011), yet ~40 lakh people in Delhi's unauthorised colonies hold property on GPA, and banks won't lend against it.
2
Encumbrance Certificate + CERSAI search
A 'NIL' EC is NOT a clean chit. The EC is blind to anything unregistered, an equitable mortgage (created just by depositing title deeds with a bank) needs no registration, so it never shows. CERSAI is the national registry built to catch exactly those. Pull the EC for the full 30 years AND run a CERSAI search. Mutation is not title either.
3
RERA registration (and the stalled-project check)
Find the RERA number and look it up on your STATE's portal, check the completion date, approved plans and complaints. RERA §3 bans any booking before registration: 'pre-launch' offers are illegal (Telangana RERA fined a builder ₹4.74 cr in 2026). Confirm the 70% escrow rule, diverting buyer money was the #1 cause of stalls; MahaRERA suspended 4,800+ projects in 2025.
4
Approved plan, and for PLOTS, the DC/NA conversion order
Match what is built against the sanctioned plan; extra floors are illegal and demolishable. For a plot, demand the DC (Non-Agricultural) conversion order, no conversion = farmland you cannot legally build on. Karnataka data (Jan 2025): of 72.11 lakh non-agri-use parcels, only 4.69 lakh had a conversion order, ~93% never legally converted. No bank lends on it.
5
Latest tax-paid receipts + mutation record
Arrears attach to the property, not the previous owner, you inherit them. Collect the latest tax-paid receipts and confirm the mutation / khata (and the revenue record for land) names the seller. Mutation is who pays tax, NOT proof of title, necessary, never sufficient.
6
Occupancy / Completion Certificate (it controls your GST)
Demand the OC/CC before paying the balance or taking keys. The GST lever is real: under-construction is 5% (1% affordable, no input credit); a ready property where the OC has been received is 0%. Buying one day after the OC instead of before can save 5%, ₹5 lakh on a ₹1 crore flat, for the same flat. Confirm timing with your CA.
7
The full cost sheet, where ~25% hides
The advertised base rate is the smallest number you'll pay. Demand a written, itemised sheet: base price (on CARPET area), PLC (₹50–500/sq ft), floor-rise, club, IFMS, parking, GST/stamp/registration. These stack 25%+ on top, often on inflated super-built-up area with 18% GST on unbundled add-ons. Get the IFMS in writing, it's lakhs, interest-free, must go to the RWA, and is frequently never returned.

The 7 traps the documents won't warn you about

Even with clean papers, these are the moves that catch buyers.

Never register below the real value

Under §56(2)(x), the BUYER is taxed on the gap between circle rate and a low declared price as 'income from other sources'. 'Register low to save tax' is the buyer's trap, you save nothing and inherit a tax bill.

NRI seller? TDS is up to ~23%, not 1%

Resident seller = 1% TDS (§194-IA). NRI seller = §195, roughly 14.95%+ and into the low-20s% with surcharge/cess. Deduct only 1% and YOU become the 'assessee-in-default' for the entire shortfall plus penalty.

'12% guaranteed return' = an illegal scheme

SEBI ruled in Nov 2018 that assured-return schemes are illegal deposit-taking (a CIS). Payouts are funded by new buyers and collapse when inflows fall. A 'guaranteed' return is a warning, not a feature.

A Power of Attorney is NOT ownership

Per Suraj Lamp (2011), a GPA conveys zero title. If a POA must be used, insist it is LIMITED and REGISTERED, and treat it as a red flag, never a shortcut.

Screen out stalled / ghost projects

Check the project on the state RERA portal AND confirm the 70% escrow account funds that project. A ghost project has a registration but no real progress.

Beware 'no EMI till possession' (subvention)

The loan is in YOUR name; the bank disburses most of it to the builder upfront. If the builder defaults on the pre-EMI, your CIBIL is destroyed, for a home that may not even be built.

Reclaim your IFMS from the RWA

The Interest-Free Maintenance Security is your money, parked interest-free. Once the society / RWA forms, claim it back from the RWA, not the builder.

Your one-page pre-payment checklist

Screenshot this. Before the token cheque, every box must be ticked:

Title deed + unbroken 30-year title chain (lawyer-verified)
Encumbrance Certificate (30 yrs) AND CERSAI search, a NIL EC alone is not enough
RERA number verified on the state portal; NOT a 'pre-launch'
Approved layout / building plan, and DC/NA conversion order if it's a PLOT
Latest tax-paid receipts + mutation / revenue record in the seller's name
Occupancy / Completion Certificate (and GST timed around the OC)
Full itemised cost sheet, every charge (PLC, floor-rise, club, IFMS, parking) in writing
Registering at the REAL value (avoid §56(2)(x) on the buyer)
If the seller is an NRI: TDS under §195 (up to ~23%), not 1%
No 'guaranteed return' / assured-return scheme
POA, if any, is limited and registered, never accepted as ownership
Independent lawyer engaged; independent CA for tax

If any box is empty, do not pay.

Not legal or tax advice

This guide is general information to help you ask better questions, it is not legal or tax advice. Property law, RERA rules, stamp duty, GST and TDS vary by state, property type and date. Always engage an independent property lawyer for title and a chartered accountant for tax before you pay any money or sign anything.

Sources & citations›

Registered deed ≠ ownership; presumptive (not Torrens) title: Supreme Court, 7 May 2025, Mahnoor Fatima Imran & K. Gopi v. Sub-Registrar.
GPA / Agreement-to-Sell / Will convey zero title: SC Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana, 2011.
RERA §3 bans pre-launch; Telangana RERA ₹4.74 cr penalty (2026); 70% escrow; MahaRERA 4,800+ suspensions (2025).
93% of Karnataka non-agri-use land unconverted (72.11L parcels, 4.69L DC orders, Jan 2025).
GST: under-construction 5% (1% affordable) vs ready-with-OC 0%. Register-low buyer trap: §50C (seller) & §56(2)(x) (buyer).
NRI seller TDS §195 vs §194-IA 1%; assessee-in-default rule. '12% assured return' = illegal CIS: SEBI, Nov 2018.

You now know what to demand. Here's where the answers are already on the table.

The hard part isn't the checklist, it's chasing every document yourself, from a seller who'd rather you didn't, on a portal that quietly sells your number. villow lists ONLY verified properties (title, RERA, approvals checked up front) and never leaks your data. Start from trust, not suspicion.