Twenty Questions Every Property Buyer in India Should Ask

Put twenty questions to the seller before a single rupee moves. They fall into five areas: who owns the title, what encumbrances and dues exist, which regulatory approvals are in place, who has possession, and whether the documentation is complete. Most buyers manage two or three, generally price and handover date. The ones they skip are the ones that cause trouble years later: the title chain, litigation, and dues that cling to the property rather than to the seller.

Here is the whole list, arranged by the risk each question guards against, with the reason for asking. Work through it for every property on your shortlist. By the end you will know whether the asset is clean or whether you are about to inherit a slow-burning problem.

Do not treat this as a single conversation. Use it as a working checklist: put the questions before you take a property seriously, repeat them once the papers are in your hands, and confirm every answer on your own before signing or paying. A seller who says a confident 'yes' has not produced a document that proves anything.

Title and ownership

1. Who exactly owns the property today, and is that one person the seller? The name on the sale deed and on the latest mutation or khata entry must match the seller's name exactly. A difference, an inheritance still waiting for mutation, or a co-owner who is not among the sellers can leave your purchase stuck halfway through registration.

2. Can the seller show unbroken title for the past 30 years at least? Each earlier sale, gift or inheritance needs paperwork and legal validity. Even one broken link, for example a gift deed with no document or a partition left unresolved, can taint the whole chain, no matter how tidy the latest deal appears.

3. Have all co-owners and legal heirs joined in the sale? This applies particularly to inherited property. A sibling who sells without the others knowing or agreeing leaves you open to a later claim by an heir who never took part in the sale.

4. Does a Power of Attorney (PoA), in force now or in the past, appear anywhere in the chain? Selling through a PoA adds risk. Confirm that it was properly executed and registered, that nobody revoked it, and that the person selling under it truly held the authority claimed.

5. In the property's history, did a General Power of Attorney (GPA) sale take the place of a registered sale deed? After the Supreme Court's 2011 ruling in Suraj Lamp, a GPA 'sale' does not pass title in most Indian states. If a GPA transaction sits anywhere in the chain, the law may never have transferred title.

Encumbrances, loans and dues

6. Is any mortgage or loan still attached to the property? Get a new Encumbrance Certificate (EC) covering 13-30 years. A loan entry that has no matching closure or release suggests the property is technically still pledged to a bank.

7. Do records show any liens, court attachments or government dues against it? A casual talk with the seller seldom brings liens out. An EC search and government-portal records do.

8. Has every instalment of property tax been paid? Municipal tax left unpaid attaches to the property and not to its owner, so you take on the arrears unless they are cleared before registration.

9. What do the society's books say about maintenance charges and co-operative housing society dues? Before the transfer, ask the society for a No Dues Certificate. It also proves that the seller is the member on record.

10. If a home loan is still running, has the lending bank given a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the sale? A seller who is repaying a loan secured on the property must hand you the bank's written release or NOC before you pay any large sum.

Litigation and legal disputes

11. Does any court case involve this property? Search the district and high courts that are relevant. A partition, injunction or specific performance dispute can lie unnoticed in a court registry for years, and the seller may never mention it.

12. Was a lis pendens (notice of pending litigation) ever recorded against it? Where one is registered, a buyer takes the property subject to how that case ends. Before going further, see our detailed guide on lis pendens and pending lawsuits on property.

13. Did a NPA or SARFAESI action ever touch the property or the seller? A former owner who defaulted on a loan secured on the property may have triggered bank recovery proceedings. Our guide on NPA and property seizure under home loans explains the checks.

14. Are insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings pending against the seller now? They can freeze the seller's ability to transfer assets, including this one, even partway through negotiations.

Approvals and regulatory compliance

15. Does the project hold a RERA registration that remains in force? With apartments and projects under construction, go to the state RERA website yourself. Neither the builder's word nor a sales brochure should stand in for it.

16. Did the authorities approve the building plan, and does what was built agree with the sanctioned plan? Extra floors without authorization and departures from the sanctioned plan are common in India. They can lead to demolition or regularization costs once you have already paid.

17. Can the seller produce a valid Occupancy Certificate (OC) or Completion Certificate (CC)? Lacking an OC, you can face complications over utility connections, resale and even disbursal of a loan. Resale deals often lack this document more than any other.

18. Does the zoning or land use classification fit what you plan to do with the land? Converting agricultural land to residential use without proper approval creates title problems, and they tend to appear later, when you try to sell or mortgage.

Possession and closing

19. Will you receive real, physical possession, and not just symbolic or paper possession? The question counts most with bank auction and distressed-sale properties. Find out who lives in or occupies the property now and whether a tenancy or occupation claim exists.

20. At registration, will the seller or broker hand over every original document without holding anything back 'for safekeeping'? A partial handover of documents is a quiet red flag. At the point of registration, ask for originals and refuse certified copies.

Asking alone falls short: verify on your own

Outright lies from sellers are rare. What is common is not knowing the property's full history: a lien left by an earlier owner, a case in which they were never formally served, or an unapproved floor that a previous occupant added. By asking these 20 questions you learn what the seller sincerely believes. Independent verification tells you what is actually true. A structured title check bridges the gap between the two.

The risk is highest in deals that feel safest: a broker you know, a relative's recommendation, a slick listing. Feeling comfortable is not verifying. Properties that land in litigation years later nearly always looked fine on the day of purchase, because the problem sat hidden in a court record or government portal and not in anything the seller said.

What LegiScore adds

A single LegiScore Property Score (LPS) report answers all 20 questions. It grades a property from AAA to C over five pillars, namely Title Integrity (300 points), Encumbrance & Financial (250), Litigation (200), Regulatory Compliance (150), and Document Completeness & Integrity (100), and pulls from 70+ government portals and 100+ courts across India in under 15 minutes. On the LegiScore Marketplace you can browse listings already carrying this rating, or search verified listings directly. Our property due diligence checklist walks through every document, and you can also learn to tell a genuine listing from a fake before you start asking questions.

Find out any property's legal health in under 15 minutes. Get your LegiScore title search report before you take things beyond a phone call with the seller.