The 20-Question Site Visit Checklist (Print This Before You Go)

Sample flats are designed to be charming. Your job on a site visit is to stay un-charmed for ninety minutes. This is the checklist we quietly run through on every visit with clients; take it with you even if we are not in the room.

The flat itself

• 1. What is the carpet area, in writing, as against super built-up?
• 2. Which direction do the main rooms face, and where does afternoon sun land?
• 3. What exactly is included: fittings, wardrobes, kitchen, ACs, or none of it?
• 4. Where are water tanks, shafts and common walls relative to bedrooms?
• 5. Mobile network and ventilation: check every room, not just the living room.

The building and society

• 6. How many flats share this floor, and this lift?
• 7. What are monthly maintenance charges, and what do they actually cover?
• 8. How old is the building, and when was the last structural or waterproofing work?
• 9. Parking: how many slots, covered or open, and is the slot in writing?
• 10. Visit at evening too: occupancy, lighting, security and who actually lives here.

The paperwork

• 11. Is the title clear, and can you see the chain of documents?
• 12. Is the project RERA-registered, and does the site match the RERA page?
• 13. Approved plan versus what is built: any unauthorised additions?
• 14. Are there dues: society, property tax, utility arrears?
• 15. For resale, why is the owner selling, and how fast do they need to close?

The neighbourhood

• 16. Time the commute you will actually do, at the hour you will do it.
• 17. Where are the nearest school, hospital and daily market, in minutes not kilometres?
• 18. What is coming up on the empty plots next door?
• 19. How does the street behave in monsoon, ask a neighbour, not the seller.
• 20. What have similar flats here actually sold for, not asked for?

Photograph everything, write numbers down in the moment, and never let a beautiful sample flat answer question 20 for you.