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The Kerala Builders’ Forum, representing the interest of the construction industry, said a recent statement by Local Administration Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty with regard to this was against the facts. Enquiries made by the forum and clarifi cations received from the Minister’s office indicated that there were more than 150 instances of unauthorised constructions across Kerala and none of these were flats.

The forum said that such reports created anxiety in the market and shook the confidence of customers. The clarifications were issued by the forum in view of the adverse impact such reports had on the confidence of the buyers.

Controversy or not, the Minister’s remarks once again brought to the fore the need for a checklist when one plans to buy a flat or a villa.

From the time you decide to respond to an advertisement to finally striking the deal, there are a whole lot of steps to be taken to ensure that you do not finally regret to your deal.

The old adage is buyer, beware! It stands good even in the era of the Internet when information appears so tantalisingly close and at hand. However, if you do not make an effort to analyse the information available to you, or if you do not make your own enquiries, the chances are that you sleepwalk into a deal that you will be finally sorry about.

The silver lining on the horizon, however, is that the building industry has come to be well organised. The builders have set their own standards and want to be seen complying with these standards to build customer confidence and achieve a certain brand value. That certainly works in favour of the buyers.

In fact, a body such as the forum has reputable builders as its members, says its chairman, George E. George. The forum describes itself as an “innovative team of renowned builders of Kerala” and comprises “builders with proven track records of excellence.”

The National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco), the apex self-regulatory body for builders in the country under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, says that investment in housing or property is beset by many uncertainties.

“The investment and transaction decisions in this sector are characterised by uncertainties due to low level of disclosures and information,” it says.

While Naredco has evolved a rating mechanism for the building industry, it recommends that the concerns of developers, consumers and government or municipal agencies should be debated to bring about a consensus on the subject of rating builders and their projects.

The claims by a builder, however, do not relieve a buyer of the need for making his or her own checks. The procedures for the registration of a flat follow the same route as that of the process of registration of a piece of land with a dwelling unit on it, says an experienced document writer in the city.

The documents needed for checking out on a flat include the title deed, mother deed, tax and building tax receipts, non-encumbrance certificate and building permit. The newly registered document transferring ownership of a flat to you will contain the details of the property, including the building permit.

The general practice among buyers is to engage an expert to examine the documents and verify its validity. Taking a legal opinion is highly recommended. A legal verification will also help you take remedial measures in case there are some problems with the documents.

Here are some steps that can be taken to make sure that you buy the right property.

Location of the project has to be checked out. The important thing is if the property has come up on a site that is cleared for the purpose. The pointer is to regulations that exist from time to time and it will be an expert in the field, a lawyer or an experienced document writer, who will be able to enlighten a buyer about the prevailing regulations.

For example, property on a waterfront or a lake-view flat is a roaring hit among property buyers.

Here, you have to be careful about if the waterfront property has the required clearance under the Coastal Regulation Zone. Reportedly, the State authorities are closely scrutinising instances in which Coastal Regulation Zones have been violated.

Besides, there may be cases in which a certain area had been earmarked for some public project, such as roads, railway lines or for any other public purpose through government orders.

Make sure that the builder has the licence or permission from the local body (panchayat, municipality or the corporation) for developing the project. A recent government notification has made it mandatory for all buildings to go through the local bodies. Even buildings in panchayat areas need to be approved by the local body concerned. The permit number is, in fact, mentioned in the property transfer deed.

A physical verification of the property is in the best of your interest if you are buying a flat. It will first of all tell you about your neighbourhood, the infrastructure, parking facilities, open spaces, recreation facilities, drainage facilities and so on.

Questions have to be asked about the type of construction and the construction material used in a project. This is especially so since the prices of materials have skyrocketed in the recent months and there is scarcity of some of the materials.

The builders are responsible for providing the floor plans, design of the project and so on and the buyer has to ask for them and get them examined by an expert.

Questions have to be asked about safety and security at the flats as well as about the responsibilities and mechanisms for the upkeep and maintenance of the flats, common areas and so on.

While infrastructure such as those for drinking water and electricity are taken care of these days, one should be able to get a clear-cut and firm answer on sources of drinking water. Find if the flats have their own source of water other than public supply. Quality of the water provided too should be a concern to the buyer.

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