A mere 20 minutes spent on the site of the property that is going to be your home eventually, is vital to keep unpleasant surprises at bay. Read on…

Seeing is believing - an adage, which holds absolutely true in the real estate parlance. Therefore, site visits should top the to-do list of potential buyers looking to book their dream abode.

Not an underrated activity anymore…

Till a couple of years ago, homebuyers would send in their relatives or friends living in the nearby area to visit the property site or blindly trust the developer and his progress card without crosschecking with the ground reality. However, that is not the case anymore. Since the market of today is dominated mostly by end-users, they ensure they evaluate every aspect and then take a call.

"With RERA now a reality, developers cannot take the buyers for a ride with misleading advertisements and promotional activities. Hence, it is the buyers' responsibility to make sure they review every detail pertaining to the project and report any misadventures. In this regard, site visits are of utmost importance and should be undertaken by buyers before they decide to invest in a project," says Ramesh Prabhu, chairman, Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association.

Make it a part of your to-do list!

• When visiting the property site, match the sales pitch to the ground reality to help you decide the developer's authenticity and transparency; 
   
• Review the construction quality, pace of the construction and the progress of the project; 
   
• Visit the site office and check on the RERA registration status and other legal approvals; 
   
• It is advisable to view the projects in daylight and at night to give you a better idea about the locality, especially w.r.t. safety; 
   
• Physically inspect the property, especially a resale apartment, in the monsoon season to check for leakages, construction quality, seepages and water-logging in the area; 
   
• Involve all stakeholders (parents / spouse / kids / financer) in a written down matrix-analysis and make them visit the property to help objectively make a decision. For instance, at times, the developer may reduce the play area for children and it might go unnoticed by you, but the children will divert your attention to this aspect; 
   
• Is the elevator working? Is the phone signal strong? Does the building have a power back-up facility? Is it easy to access public transport? Is the grocery store at a walking distance or far? And most importantly, does it feel like you could make it your home? Get an answer to these and other important questions when visiting the site of a property