7 Important Questions to Ask Your Home Sales Representative

Buying a home can be a tedious affair. At every level you are faced with several questions that need to be asked. Often, with first time home buyers, the right questions to be asked can remain elusive.The answers to all these questions will help you make an informed decision. It will also prevent any complicated legal and financial hassles in the long run.If you are planning to invest in a home, here are some of the questions you must ask your sales representative:

1. Ask which banks have lent their approval: It is important that you check with the sales person on which banks have come on board in terms of approvals. This will make approaching financial institutions for a loan easier for you in terms of paperwork. It also stands testimony to the quality of the project as banks will have done their due diligence.
2. Ask for legal title clarity: Ask for the license of the project which will tell you whether the land has been rightly converted for a specific kind of use. It is also important to know whether the land acquisition is complete before you actually invest in a property that is under construction. Often builders acquire 80% of the land and end up with legal issues when trying to acquire the last 20%.
3. Ask for a detailed breakup of the price of the property: The price breakup should include the cost of utilities such as water and electricity as well as lift services and parking spaces, besides, of course the registration costs. All taxes applicable must be included. Some legal charges may also be necessary. With this in hand you can be sure that the builder does not spring any surprises in terms of costs at a later stage.
4. Ask for the actual size of the house: You must have a clear understanding of what constitute the built-up area, the carpet area and the super built up area. Carpet area is the actual habitable portion of the space without the thickness of the walls included. Built-up area takes into consideration the walls and the balcony as well. The super built-up area includes all of this as well as the area of the common spaces.
5. Ask about the construction agreement terms: Ideally stick to a format where you have a strictly construction linked payment plan. This ensures that you pay a bulk of the money closer to possession or after it. This places the onus on the builder to complete the project on time.
6. Ask about the tentative date of completion of the project: This will help you ascertain when the project will be ready for you to move in. It will also help you plan your finances. An important aspect to check is what kind of penalties may be in place should the builder not be able to complete the project in time.
7. Ask about the remedial measures if the plan of the project changes: There are times when a builder may change a plan to suit a particular need at the point during construction. This may increase your apartment size or even decrease it. Amenities you may have been assured of may change in terms of positioning and quantity. You have to ask on the remedial measures and how the builder will handle the change in financial obligations in such cases.

You may also want to ask your sales person questions related to:

• Extra charges that may be levied for preferential location, development charges and the like
• What are the penalties involved should you not be able to pay on time
• Escalation clauses if any and the means the builder will use to assure you that the rise in cost was a legitimate one.

Of course during the course of your interaction you will also find several additional questions that may spring to mind. Do remember that no question is trivial and that you should have all your doubts cleared in one go.

Take-aways

• It is important to have all your questions listed down to ask the sales person
• Your questions should cover land, size of home, finances, clauses among other subjects
• No question is trivial, clear all your doubts during your interaction session