There are many incentives to buying your own property. You may be wanting to live in your own place after living in a rented property, or you may be wanting to buy property as an investment mechanism, or to take advantage of some of the tax laws. At the same time, while buying a property, it is necessary that you ensure that everything is above board, that you are not investing a large sum of money if things are not clear or the legal title is not clear. Here is an attempt to prepare a checklist for cross-checking before buying a property.

- Call for original property documents. The non-availability of such documents should be taken as a red signal. It could mean that the title of the seller is not clear and there could be a lien, mortgage or other encumbrance on the property.
- Ask for photocopies of all deeds of title related to the property to be purchased. A legal opinion through a good standing advocate is advisable. The legal counsel will examine the deeds to establish the ownership of the property by seller, preferably through an advocate. Ascertain the survey number, village and registration district of the property as these details are required for registration of the sale. Previous encumbrances and loans, if any on the property must be cleared before completion of purchase of the property. The title of the Vendor to the property must be clear and marketable.
- For apartment. Check for approved layout plan and approved building plan with number of floors.
- Check the building bye-laws in that area to verify any issue with setback, side setback, height, etc.
- Confirm transfer fees, stamp duty and registration charges to be paid on purchase of the property as well as outgoings to be paid for the property i.e. property tax, water and electricity charges, society charges, maintenance charges.
- The original sale agreement should have the municipal-approved plan of the flat, carpet area with the area of the balconies shown separately, price of the property including the proportionate price of common areas and facilities shown separately and intervals at which installments may be paid.
- Check if proper stamp duty has been paid.
- If the property is in a co-operative society, examine the original share certificate. It mentions the latest owner’s name.
- Obtaining a society’s NOC may not be mandatory under the new Model Bye-laws of the Co-operative Housing Society, but it is advisable as it offers clarity about the title of the property, pending society dues, property disputes and hypothecation, if any.
- An income tax clearance certificate would ensure that the seller has discharged his income tax liabilities to avoid attachment of the property.
- If possible, consult a property lawyer, especially where the sale is through a power of attorney. A good lawyer will undertake proper investigation and issue prominent public notices to clear interest of other properties in the property concerned.
- Getting a home loan sanctioned ensures that the documents are in place as banks or institutions conduct due diligence before disbursing loans.
- Ensure payment and discharge of encumbrances that are to be cleared before purchase.
- Obtain physical delivery of the property and of the title deeds.
- Complete the transaction of sale by executing and registering the deed. An unregistered sale agreement has no validity in a court of law.
- Financing capability. The debt-service ratio helps you assess to what extent you can take financial risks. For every Rs 100 earned, your EMI should not exceed Rs 40, and that includes EMIs taken for other purposes. Maintaining this ratio is important as it helps you deal with other expenses easily.
- Accessibility. Access to the property is critically important. If access is difficult, re-sale values will be affected, and may cause day to day inconvenience.
- Locality: Proximity to transport hubs, schools, hospitals, market, central business district, entertainment centres, hotels, restaurants, pollution levels, safety records of the neighbourhood.
- Reputation of the builder or seller. Check around with local sources to find out more of the builders reputation.
- Get a good idea of the costs of various components like price, stamp duty, registration charges, transfer fees, monthly outgoings, society charges & costs of utilities. These are not immediately available, but should be factored in to the total cost.
- Facilities. Adequate water, electricity and other utilities should be an important factor.
- If you believe in beliefs such as Vaastu, get consultation done before buying the property.
- If you are buying property on loan, get an insurance so that in case of your fatality, your family can clear the outstanding loan.

These may seem like a of steps, but it is better safe than to be sorry before buying a property.

REFUND RS 92 CR TO INVESTORS DUPED IN 2005-06 ! if you were cheated during the IPO scam of 2 years back, then you may be in for help and relief.

Thousands of retail investors in the primary market could be in line to be compensated monetarily for losses due to manipulation in the initial public offering (IPO) allotment process of 21 companies two years ago. A Sebi-mandated committee has recommended that individual investors who were short-changed in IPOs between 2003 and 2005 be compensated in monetary terms.
The Justice Wadhwa committee has worked out a compensation of Rs 92 crore for investors who had applied for shares in the retail category in 21 IPOs in 2005-06. This is based on the closing price on the listing day for all these IPOs, which include IDFC, Jet Airways and Suzlon. In essence, investors who lost out in these IPOs should be paid the difference between the offer price and the closing price on the listing day, the committee has said in its report, according to sources. This is reckoned to be the unjust gain made by scamsters who cornered shares meant for individual investors.
Sources said the report has recommended that the first to be compensated should be retail investors who failed to get any allotment, followed by those who were allotted fewer shares than they had applied for. Orders to disgorge ill-gotten gains are common in the US, the world’s largest financial market. Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said last year that he wanted to send out a strong signal to those attempting to defraud investors by compensating them for the losses they had incurred. He had told Sebi to work out a mechanism to ensure this.

Sebi board to scan old records

The Sebi board will now have to consider the Wadhwa committee’s recommendations and then take suitable action. This would mean going back to old records with market intermediaries and identifying thousands of investors, which can be a cumbersome exercise. In almost all 21 IPOs, the shares were listed at a premium to the offer price. The compensation can be paid out by selling securities worth over Rs 140 crore of those operators involved in the IPO scam which have been frozen in their depository accounts based on an order issued by Sebi.
The 2005-06 scam featured a clutch of operators who put in thousands of fictitious applications in several IPOs in the retail category of a small value. After allotment, these operators transferred the shares to another set of players, who in turn transferred them to financiers who had provided the funds for investing in the IPOs. These shares were then sold on the first day of listing, landing them a windfall — the price difference between the IPO price and the listing price. Thousands of bank accounts and demat accounts were opened in the names of fictitious entities, which Sebi investigators unearthed in 2006 after checking over 100 IPOs.
During the probe, it came to light that key operators had cornered shares representing 0.52 % of the total number of shares allotted to the retail investors in the Jet Airways IPO. In the Suzlon offering, 3.74 % of shares were allotted to operators using over 21,000 different accounts while in the NTPC issue, the operators used 12,853 accounts to corner 1.30 % of the total number of shares allotted to investors.
Of the 21 IPOs, the IDFC IPO’s offer price was Rs 34, against which it got listed at Rs 49.9 — a premium of over 46 %. The shares closed on the opening day, at Rs 69.5%. In the case of Yes Bank — the offer price was Rs 45. On listing, it rose to Rs 65, a 44% premium, and closed at Rs 61. Maruti Udyog offered its shares to investors at Rs 125. On listing, it climbed to Rs 158.4, a premium of 27% and closed the day at Rs 164.05. Amar Remedies had an offer price of Rs 28, listed at Rs 50 — a premium of 78%, while for NTPC, the offer price was Rs 62 and the listing price Rs 70 — a premium of 12.9%. It closed at Rs 75.5. TCS had an offer price of Rs 850. It listed at Rs 1,076 — a premium of 27%, and ended the day at Rs 987. Suzlon offered its shares at Rs 570, listed at Rs 640 — a premium of 25 % — and closed at Rs 690. Jet airways offered shares at Rs 1,100, listed at Rs 1,211 — a 10% premium — and closed at Rs 1,305.

Such a measure would be very welcome for investors; most retail investors feel that the market is always manipulated, and that SEBI turns a blind eye to such things. So if SEBI can take a step in this regard, it would be extremely welcome.

In India, the cost of medical care has been going up year to year. With better treatment, and more specialized private hospitals coming up, it is all the more important that people buy medical insurance. If you have the need for some medical treatment, and you don’t have medical insurance, the cost will seem prohibitive. At the same time, when buying medical insurance, there is the need for ensuring that you buy the proper medical insurance (there are a range of policies available). Here is an attempt to show a checklist that you should evaluate carefully before buying medical insurance:

- Read the fine print on your policy form before taking on a policy, and make sure you understand precisely what your policy does and does not cover, so that unpleasant surprises do not crop up later on !
- Policies will often exclude factors such as : treatment for alcohol and drug abuse; dental treatment; HIV/AIDS-related illnesses; infertility treatment; beauty treatment; normal pregnancy; cosmetic surgery (to solely enhance appearance). You should ask and review a complete list of such exclusions.
- The medical insurance document requires that you declare everything on the application form, even if you think it trivial and unimportant. If you do not declare past problems for example, the insurance company can decide to not pay (and then you will need to discuss or go to court, which could be messy)
- Conditions that you are suffering from or have suffered from in the past are known as pre-existing conditions, and most individual policies (and some group policies) will not cover pre-existing conditions. This should be confirmed before signing onto a policy.
- Some policies cover a pre-existing condition only after a specific period of time has lapsed since your last treatment or visit to a doctor for the same condition. You might have a waiting period of between six months and two years before coverage begins.
- Never buy an insurance policy based on just the companies brochure.
- Do not accept verbal confirmation about what is covered or not covered from an insurance agent. Get it in writing.
- For most medical insurances, a medical exam may be required. Check who pays for the exam, including if the policy is not granted.
- Try buying health cover along with family members; it entitles you to discounts on premium ranging from 5-10 per cent, depending on the number of people you co-opt.
- There is no need to sign up for a very high insurance amount when you are young. Agents have a tendency to sell higher value policies by pointing out that the difference in premium is minimal. While this might be true on the face of it, if you are in your early 30s, you are unlikely to need a very high cover.
- A good insurance should cover Doctor visits, Lab tests, Hospital stays and Diagnostic tests.
- An added attraction of Mediclaim policies is the tax benefits which they attract under Section 80D. The maximum amount of deduction available under this section is Rs 10,000. In case of senior citizens, the maximum limit is Rs 15,000. Be sure to get a certificate for tax purposes.
- Make sure that you have a complete list of contact numbers for TPA’s, hospitals that have cashless hospitalization, and the insurance card number.
- For dental care having a personal dental insurance India policy is important. There are different types of dental treatment that involves huge expenses and even hospitalization.
- Check if the policy states that the insurance company can cancel your policy at any time with a few days notice without giving any reasons.
- Get clarification for vague points. For example, if the insurance policy states that they would not pay to remove a tumor that was not considered life threatening. So now who will decide whether a tumor is life threatening or not? Your doctor or the insurance companies appointed doctors?
- A insurance company might specify the maximum amount for certain diseases; double-check and confirm
- Compare the plans from different companies to see the ones that are good for you