Visit a builder's completed project before buying a flat: a checklist

4.5.1 Why visit a builder’s completed project before you buy?

A builder’s completed project shows how its work holds up after people have lived there for some years. A show flat or a brochure shows the project on its best day. A completed project shows the lifts, the paint, the drains, the clubhouse and the maintenance after real use. It also shows how the builder handled handover and repairs, which are the parts that buyers often find hard. The RERA Act, 2016 gives you a way to choose which project to see. Section 4(2)(b) makes the promoter file a brief detail of the projects it launched in the past five years, with the K-RERA registration. These usually appear in the Promoter Details tab of the new project’s K-RERA page, though the list can be empty. A visit has limits. One old project is a small sample, and the new project can have a different contractor, team or design. Use the visit to form questions for the builder, together with the delivery record and the K-RERA filings.

What a visit can show	What it cannot show
How finishes and common areas age	Whether the new project will finish on time
How the lifts, pumps and drains are kept	The new project’s structural design
How residents rate handover and repairs	Whether the new project uses the same contractor
Whether promised amenities were delivered	The new project’s funding position

4.5.2 How do you choose which completed project to visit?

Choose the project from the K-RERA record, and check that the same company built it. Open your new project’s K-RERA page and note the promoter’s legal name in the Promoter Details tab. A brand on the brochure can cover several companies, and each project can have a different legal promoter. Then read the list of past projects in the same tab. Pick one that is completed and occupied for at least a few years, so that wear and repairs are visible. Pick one that is similar to your new project in type and height if you can. A low-rise project tells you less about a 30-floor tower. Open the old project’s own K-RERA page, if it has one, and check its promoter name and its completion date. If the sales team suggests a project, check it the same way. The sales team may suggest the builder’s best-kept project. Visit a second project too, if you can.

1. Note the promoter’s legal name on your new project’s K-RERA page.
2. Read the past projects in the Promoter Details tab, if the list is filled.
3. Pick a completed, occupied project of a similar type and height.
4. Check the old project’s promoter name and completion date on K-RERA.
5. Visit a second project, if you can.

4.5.3 What should you inspect on the visit?

Inspect the shared parts of the project, where the builder’s work and the maintenance are both visible. Look at the lift lobbies and the lifts: the doors, the buttons, any out-of-order notices. Look at the walls of the corridors and staircases for damp patches, cracks and peeling paint. Look at the basement for water marks and leaks from the slab above. Look at the drains, the roads inside the project and the parking areas after rain, if you can. Check that the amenities in the old brochure exist and work: the pool, the gym, the clubhouse, the play area. Ask the security staff which areas visitors may see, and follow their rules. Do not enter plant rooms, the terrace, or any flat without permission. A visual check is not an engineer’s inspection. If you see cracks or leaks in many places, ask an independent engineer what they may mean before you book with the same builder.

Area	What to look for
Lifts and lobbies	Working lifts, out-of-order notices, worn doors
Corridors and staircases	Damp patches, cracks, peeling paint
Basement	Water marks, leaks from the slab above
Roads, drains and parking	Pooled water, broken drain covers
Amenities	Whether each one in the old brochure exists and works

4.5.4 What should you ask the residents?

Ask residents about handover, repairs and maintenance, because those are the parts that a show flat cannot show. Ask how long after the promised date they got possession. Ask whether all the promised amenities were ready at handover. Ask how they reported defects, and how long the builder took to fix them. The RERA Act sets a standard you can compare with. Section 14(3) covers a structural defect, or a defect in workmanship, quality or services. If you report it within five years of possession, the builder must fix it free of charge within 30 days. If the builder fails, the buyer can get compensation under the Act. Section 11(4)(a) keeps the builder’s duty for such defects even after the conveyance deed. Also ask when the residents’ association took over the common areas, and how the maintenance charge has changed. Speak to more than one household, in different towers. Do not record names or flat numbers without consent.

Question to ask	What a good answer looks like
How late was possession?	Close to the promised date, or a clear reason and notice
Were the amenities ready at handover?	Yes, or a written date that the builder met
How long did defect repairs take?	Within 30 days, as Section 14(3) requires
When did the association take over?	A clear handover of common areas and records
How has the maintenance charge changed?	Explained increases, with accounts shared

4.5.5 How should you use what you found?

Turn what you saw and heard into written questions for the builder of your new project. If residents said repairs were slow, ask how the builder handles defect complaints now, and ask for the process in writing. If an amenity was missing at handover, ask for the completion date of each amenity in your agreement for sale. If the basement leaked, ask about waterproofing in the new project’s specifications. Note how many people you spoke to and what you saw yourself, and keep the two apart. A complaint from one resident is a lead to check, not a verdict. Check what you can against records. The K-RERA complaint and order lists show whether buyers of the old project took the builder to K-RERA. The RERA complaint chapter explains how to search them. The builder delivery record chapter explains how to read the builder’s other projects. Then decide with all three: the visit, the records and the new project’s own filings.

1. Write one question to the builder for each problem you saw or heard.
2. Ask for the answers in writing, or in the agreement for sale.
3. Search K-RERA complaints and orders for the old project.
4. Compare with the builder’s delivery record.

Sachi reads the Promoter Details and past projects on K-RERA for Bangalore builders. To list a builder’s completed projects before you visit, Ask Sachi.