Nine documents to check before you pay a token for a plot

Plots are where most disputes start, because a plot with a clean fence can still carry an unclear title. This is the checklist we run before listing any plot, and it is the same one you should run before paying a token.

1. Original allotment letter or sale deed in the seller's name. 2. Chain of title for the last 30 years. 3. Jamabandi or property card from the tehsil. 4. PUDA or Improvement Trust layout approval for the colony. 5. Non-encumbrance certificate from the sub-registrar. 6. No-dues certificate from the colony or society. 7. Latest property tax receipt. 8. Court case search in the seller's name. 9. Mutation entry showing the seller as the current owner.

The two that people skip

The layout approval and the mutation are the ones most buyers skip, and they are the ones that surface years later when you try to build or sell. If the seller cannot produce either, walk away or let us get it checked before you decide.