What should I check on a site visit before booking a flat?

Check the project's MahaRERA entry before you go, then on site look at the water supply, the approach road, how far construction has really got, and where your car will park. Ask for the draft agreement for sale and the refund terms in writing. Do not pay token money until you have both.

How much can a builder take before the agreement for sale is registered?

Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, section 13, a builder may not take more than ten per cent of the flat's cost as an advance or application fee before a written agreement for sale is signed and registered. If you are asked for more, stop and ask why.

How do I know the possession date the builder gives me is real?

Compare it with the completion date the builder declared on the MahaRERA register, and check whether the project has applied for an extension. The date in your agreement for sale is the one you can hold the builder to; a date said out loud on the site is not.

Should I trust the carpet area in the brochure?

Trust the RERA carpet area written into the agreement for sale, not a brochure figure. Brochures often quote built-up or super built-up area, which include walls and shared spaces. Ask for the carpet area of your exact flat, in square metres, before you compare prices.

Site visit checklist: 20 questions to ask before you book a flat in Panvel

Look the project up on the MahaRERA register before you go, and on site check five things: water, the approach road, real construction progress, parking, and the papers. Ask every question below, get the answers that matter in writing, and pay no token money until you have the draft agreement for sale and the refund terms in your hand.

A site visit is the one time you see the project with your own eyes. The sales office is set up to show you the sample flat and the clubhouse. The questions below are about everything else.

Before you leave home

Is the project on the MahaRERA register, and does the entry name this project and this builder? A registration number that merely exists proves nothing. Search it on the register and check the name and the promoter match what you are being shown.
What completion date did the builder declare on the register, and has the project applied for more time? An extension is a moved date, not a verdict, but it is a fact, and it is public before it is in any brochure. Across the Panvel belt, 29.6% of registered projects have asked MahaRERA for more time (counted 28 October 2026).
How many other projects does this builder have on the register? Most builders in the region have only one, so their past deliveries often cannot be checked. When there is no track record, the checking moves to this project’s own filings.

Water and the road

Where does the water come from: the municipal supply, a borewell, or tankers? Ask which, and for how many hours a day. Then ask to see the tank, not just the clubhouse.
Who will maintain the approach road, and is it built yet? A road shown on a plan is not a road. Drive it, at the hour you would commute.
Is the building connected to power and sewerage, or is that still to come? Ask what is pending and who pays for it.

How far construction has really got

Which floors are built, and which are only on the plan? Walk the site if you are allowed. Compare what you see with the progress the builder reports to MahaRERA.
What has been promised but not started: the clubhouse, the garden, the second tower? Ask for each one in the agreement, with a date.
Is the project being built in phases, and which phase is your flat in? Each phase can carry its own registration and its own completion date.

Parking and the flat itself

Is a parking space allotted to your flat, covered or open, and is it in the agreement? Ask whether it costs extra.
Is there visitor parking? Ask where it is.
What is the RERA carpet area of your exact flat, in square metres? Compare flats by carpet area only. Brochure figures that include walls or shared areas make a flat look larger than it is.
Which floor, which direction, and what is in front of the window? A plot that is empty today may be built on tomorrow. Ask what is planned next door.

The papers

Can you take the draft agreement for sale home and have your own lawyer read it? A builder who will not let you is telling you something.
What are the refund terms if you cancel, and are they in writing? Get them before any token money.
Has anyone reviewed the title search report and the encumbrance certificate for the land? Ask to see both, and have your lawyer read them. We do not check title for buyers, and nobody on a sales floor should tell you title is “clear”.
What does the agreement say if possession is late? Read the delay clause, and the date it counts from.
How much is the builder asking before the agreement is registered? The law caps an advance or application fee at ten per cent of the flat’s cost before a registered agreement for sale (Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, section 13).

The costs after the price

What is added on top of the base price: parking, floor rise, legal charges, society formation, maintenance in advance? Ask for the full cost sheet for your exact flat, line by line, in writing. Stamp duty, registration and GST come on top of that.
What will the monthly maintenance be once you move in, and who sets it until the society takes over? Ask for the figure in writing.

What to do with the answers

Write the answers down the same day, and ask for anything promised out loud to be sent to you in writing. If an answer is “don’t worry about that”, worry about it. Two projects that look alike on a brochure rarely look alike after twenty questions.

If you want a partner on the walk with you, that is what we do: we take you to the projects we represent, ask these questions with you, and the builder pays our fee, not you. Nothing here is legal advice; for the agreement and the title papers, use your own lawyer.