Most of what goes wrong for first-time homebuyers isn't a bad property — it's a good property bought without asking a few basic questions in the right order. None of the six checks below take more than an afternoon, and each one protects against a mistake that's expensive or impossible to undo after you've paid your booking amount.
1. Check RERA registration first, before anything else
Before you fall in love with a sample flat or a brochure render, look up the project's RERA registration number on your state's regulator portal — in Maharashtra, that's maharera.maharashtra.gov.in. This single check tells you the registered carpet area, the declared possession date, the approved layout plan, and whether any complaints have been filed against the project. It takes a few minutes and should happen before your first site visit, not after you've already decided you want the flat.
2. Get your CIBIL score in order, two to three months early
Your credit score is one of the biggest factors in both whether you get approved for a home loan and what interest rate you're offered. Pull your CIBIL report two to three months before you plan to apply, so you have time to correct any errors, pay down existing credit card balances, and avoid taking on new loans or credit lines that could temporarily dent your score right when a lender is checking it.
3. Budget beyond the sale price
The number on the brochure is never the number you'll actually pay. Budget for:
- Stamp duty — typically 5–8% of the property value in Maharashtra, depending on your city/municipal area and any applicable concessions.
- Registration charges — a separate statutory fee on top of stamp duty.
- A contingency buffer of 2–3% of the total cost, for everything from society formation charges to minor fit-out costs that always seem to appear after possession.
Skipping this step is the single most common reason first-time buyers find themselves short of cash at registration, after already committing to the purchase.
4. Confirm which area figure the price is actually based on
Ask explicitly whether the quoted price is based on carpet area, built-up area, or super built-up area — these three measures can differ by 25–60% or more for the same flat, and comparing a built-up-area quote against a carpet-area quote from a different project will make one look like a better deal than it actually is. For a full breakdown of how these three figures differ and why it matters, see our carpet area vs built-up area guide.
5. Choose your configuration for where you'll be in a few years, not just today
A 2 BHK that's perfect for a couple today can feel tight within three years if a child arrives or a parent moves in. Think past the immediate future when choosing between configurations — the cost of buying one size up now is almost always smaller than the cost of selling and moving again a few years later.
6. Visit the actual site, not just the sample flat
A furnished sample flat is designed to show a layout at its best, often with design choices (recessed lighting, slimmer furniture, mirrors) that make a space feel larger than it is. Before you book, visit the actual construction site, walk the surrounding area at different times of day, and if possible see a comparable unit in its real, unfurnished state. This is also your chance to verify the distances the brochure claims — to the station, the highway, schools, and hospitals — for yourself, rather than taking the marketing material's word for it.
Every one of these checks is something you can do yourself, for free, before you've committed any money. The buyers who skip them aren't usually unlucky — they just didn't know these six questions existed.
