Freehold, Registry and the Paper Trail: Documents to Check Before You Buy
Title, mutation, sanction plan, occupancy and the agreement itself: the five sets of paper that decide whether a deal is safe.
By A2S Estates
Most difficulties in Delhi property deals trace back to paperwork that was assumed rather than read. Before money moves, five sets of documents deserve unhurried attention.
1. The chain of title
Trace ownership backwards through each registered sale deed until the chain closes cleanly. Gaps, unregistered links or general-power-of-attorney transfers are where risk hides.
2. Mutation
Mutation records the current owner in the municipal record. It does not create title, but its absence complicates everything that follows, from utility connections to resale.
3. The sanction plan
Compare the sanctioned drawings with the building as it stands. Deviations are common; what matters is whether they are regularisable and who bears that cost.
4. Dues and encumbrances
Property tax receipts, electricity and water dues, and a search for registered mortgages or lis pendens. An encumbrance certificate is inexpensive insurance.
5. The agreement itself
Possession dates, specification schedules, parking allocation, roof rights and penalty clauses belong in writing. If a term was promised in conversation, it belongs in the agreement.
A2S coordinates this diligence with empanelled lawyers as part of every purchase mandate, so the paperwork is settled before the negotiation concludes, not after.
How A2S can help with this
- Home Loan & Documentation AssistanceLender coordination and a clean paper trail, managed alongside the deal.
- Sale & PurchaseOne team carries the search, the negotiation and the paperwork, start to signature.
- Post-Possession SupportMutation, utilities and the snag list, closed out after the keys change hands.
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