Buying a plot? Check these before you pay

By Parish Rao · 25 August 2026 · 6 minute read

Land is the easiest property to buy badly. There is no building to inspect, the seller sounds confident, and everything wrong with it is either invisible or in a document you have not read.

Check what is actually on the ground

Visit the plot itself, and take the papers with you.

• Does the plot on the ground match the plot on paper? Measure it. Boundaries move over decades, and a shortfall discovered after payment is a nightmare.
• Is anyone in possession? A shed, a caretaker, a neighbour's extension, crops being grown. Possession by someone else is a serious problem.
• How wide is the approach road, and is it a real road? Some approaches cross land belonging to someone else, with no legal right of way.
• What is the level like? Filling and retaining cost real money.
• What is next door and behind? Come back at a different time of day.

Check the paper

This is your lawyer's work, and it is not optional. What matters most:

• The title chain, going back far enough to be convincing.
• Whether the land is converted for the use you intend, or still classified agricultural.
• Whether the layout is approved.
• Encumbrance position, so you know nothing is charged against it.
• Whether any part is affected by road widening or acquisition.
• Property tax and dues paid up to date.

Then check the price

Here is where most buyers rely on the seller's confidence and the broker's enthusiasm.

Ask for actual registered sale prices of nearby plots, not asking prices. Asking prices are hopes and are routinely well above what changed hands. Then compare like with like, using the differences that genuinely move value: road width, corner position, shape, frontage, level. Our post on why one plot is worth more than the next lists them.

Also look up the official rate for the area so you know where you stand against the government floor. You can check any Delhi colony rate free. If your price is meaningfully below it, read the circle rate tax trap, because it affects buyers too.

When a valuation before purchase is worth it

Not for every plot. It earns its fee when:

• The amount is large enough that being wrong by ten percent genuinely hurts.
• You are buying in an area you do not know well.
• You are borrowing, since the bank's own figure will decide your loan anyway.
• Something feels off, such as a seller in a hurry or a price notably below the area.
• You are buying from family, where a documented fair price prevents later accusations.

The order that protects you

1. See the plotWith the documents in hand.
2. Lawyer checks titleBefore you pay a token, not after.
3. Establish the price independentlyRegistered comparables, not the seller's claim.
4. Then negotiate and payWith everything already known.

Most bad land purchases skip step two or three because the seller created urgency. Urgency is itself a warning sign.

Tell us about the plot you are considering and we will tell you whether a valuation is worth it in your case.