Real Estate Sector of Law

When an individual aims to buy a property or venture into any property-related adventure, it is essential to ensure that the documents related to a property are finalized and legal compliances are full filled in order to ensure that you are protected from any future legal hassles. The following is the list of documents one needs to be particular about.

Title Deed

It is one of the most pertinent things to check for. It is essential to understand that no one, can transfer better title than he himself has. A seller cannot transfer his property to a prospective buyer if the title isn’t perfect and free from any encumbrances or defects. A person who claims himself as the seller can’t so sell his property if the property is not in his name and he doesn’t hold any good title over the same. The title search of a property can take place at a Sub-Registrar’s office. The buyer is entitled to receive all title documents of the property and the title document can be asked for properties that are extremely old, title documents that are prepared thirty years prior to the date of the title search need to be traced. The title should be free of any disputes over the ownership of the property. The title deed lets buyers ascertain ownership rights. The seller should be the actual owner of the property. Before buying the property, one should also ascertain whether the seller has the ownership of the property or just has its development rights.

Encumbrance Certificate

It is essential to know whether the property is free from any legal dues whatsoever. It is advisable that at the time to the title search, one even looks into the status of legal dues of the property and that to ensure that there are no debts associated with the same. Encumbrances over the property can be searched for at the Sub-Registrar’s office. The office would provide all the background about the property concerned, as to whether there is any mortgage, or any third-party claim, liens it can be looked into.

Care must be taken when buying or investing in a mortgaged property. An encumbrance certificate or an EC would have a record of all the transactions done during a stipulated period of time over the property concerned, for which the EC is sought. The sale deed in duplicate needs to be submitted for obtaining an EC. A form needs to be filled for obtaining the Encumbrance Certificate and submitted to the nearest Sub-Registrar office.

Master Plan

At times you might come across sellers or builders of properties claiming certain infrastructural development at the place where the property is situated. Tall claims like a shopping mall will be built, schools would be constructed, highways and metros would be constructed often hold no ground and they are merely said to entice more and more buyers. Before buying a property, one should closely scrutinise the master plan of the area concerned and ascertain for themselves whether these claims would actually see the light of the day. These master plans of the area can be procured from the local town planning department of your city. You should also make it a point to carefully check the land use zone as per the master plan for the property.

No Objection Certificate

No objection certificates should be obtained wherever necessary. The seller should provide you a copy of the urban non ceiling no-objection certificate and NOCs for water, electricity etc. as well.

Commencement Certificate

This certificate is essential for any construction of a property to commence. This is issued by the town planning department after scrutinizing the building layout, plan, superstructure etc. The builder should have all the necessary sanctions before he sets out to construct.

Property Tax Receipts

Tax receipts should be checked to ensure whether the seller of the property has paid all tax accruing on the property for the past 3 years to the authorities. One as a potential buyer should ask for previous receipts of property tax if you are buying a property that is being resold.

Sale Deed

Before executing a sale deed, the buyer should ensure that the property has a free title. Sale Deed is one of the most important legal documents. It is a proof that states that the property has been sold and the ownership of property has been transferred from the seller to the purchaser. Before executing a sale deed all charges like property tax, electricity and water charges, maintenance and housing society charges Importance should be given to the fact that a sale deed needs to be compulsorily registered.

Khata Certificate/ Extract

Khata when translated to English means �account�, it is essentially the account of a seller or the owner of the property. A Khata extract is essential for buying property. This is of prime importance for not only transferring a property but also for the registration of the new property. Completion Certificate (CC), Power of Attorney, Probated Will, Occupancy Certificate (OC) etc. are few the other legal documents that are essential at the time of buying property.

Conclusion

According to be what is to be noted is that, that the presence of too many acts governing the same sector causes a lot of delay in order to get the paper work done and hence there arises a delay to fulfil the interests of the individual potentially interested in order to acquire the property. This obviously delays the addressing of the issue and too many middlemen lead to corruption and further illegal activities. Further to conclude my opinion about this sector is that it is the ever-growing sector of law with a massive scope, growth and development but what is essential is a one act inclusive of all existing acts.