Your First Site Visit: A Checklist That Looks Past the Show Flat

Before you leave home

Most first-time buyers arrive at a site with only an ad in mind. Arrive with three facts instead:

• The project's RERA registration number, found on the state RERA authority's website. In Karnataka that is rera.karnataka.gov.in.
• The name of the promoter company registered against that number.
• Any approved plan or layout the promoter has uploaded there.

Now you know what the site should say before anyone says it.

At the gate: read the board

Most projects put up a board at the entrance with the registration number and approval details. Compare it with what you found online. Read the number slowly, one character at a time. Numbers that look alike but differ by one digit are common in ads, sometimes by mistake.

What to photograph

• The display board, with the date visible on your phone.
• The construction stage of the actual tower you are considering, not only the one nearest the gate.
• The approach road and the last turn to the site, so you can compare with the map later.
• Any price sheet, offer sheet or payment plan you are handed.

These photos cost nothing and become your own record.

The show flat: enjoy it, then measure it

A show flat helps you picture a home. It is not a promise. Ask which items are part of the standard specification and which are decoration. Ask whether this flat has the same carpet area as the one you are booking. Carpet area is the usable floor inside your walls, as defined in section 2(k) of RERA. If you can, carry a measuring tape and check the main bedroom.

Questions for the site, and questions for email

On site, ask anything that helps you understand the place: where the sun comes in, where water tanks sit, how parking is allotted. Save the questions that matter legally for email: registration number, carpet area of your specific flat, what the price includes, and the date of possession written in the draft agreement.

Before you leave the site

• Ask for the draft agreement for sale to read at home.
• Ask for the specification list as a document, not as a brochure page.
• Ask who to email for follow-up questions.

The same week

1. Recheck the registration number on the RERA site.
2. Match the promoter name on RERA with the draft agreement.
3. Read the latest quarterly update for the project.
4. Put the carpet area you were told next to the figure in writing.

Visit at the right times

One visit tells you how a site looks at one moment. Two visits tell you how it lives. If you can, go once on a weekday at rush hour and once on a weekend afternoon. On the weekday trip, time the drive from your office or your child's school. On the weekend trip, look at sun, noise and how busy the approach road gets.

Look beyond the gate

Walk ten minutes in each direction from the entrance. Check:

• The nearest grocery store, pharmacy and clinic.
• Bus stops, and how far an autorickshaw has to come to pick you up.
• Street lights on the approach road, for coming home after dark.
• What is on the plots next door: open land, a factory, a school, a quarry.
• Drains along the road, and whether they look blocked.

On the construction site itself

Safety rules usually keep visitors to marked areas, so stay where you are allowed. From there you can still see a lot:

• Progress against the plan. Count floors of your tower, and compare with the latest RERA quarterly update.
• Workers on site. A site that is quiet on a working weekday is worth asking about.
• Housekeeping. Materials stored neatly and covered from rain are a good sign.
• Water source. Ask where water comes from now and where it will come from after handover.

A worked example: checking carpet area on paper

Say you are told a 2 BHK has a carpet area of 900 sq ft and the brochure says 1,250 sq ft. Divide 900 by 1,250 and you get 0.72. So, on these illustrative numbers, 72% of the area you are quoted is usable floor inside your walls, and the rest is walls, balconies and a share of common space. RERA section 2(k) defines carpet area, so ask for that figure for your exact flat, in writing. If two homes cost the same, the one with more carpet area gives you more usable space for the money.

Questions to take with you

• Which tower and floor is my flat in, and what direction does it face?
• What is its carpet area, as defined under RERA?
• How is car parking allotted, and is it in the price?
• What are the expected maintenance charges and corpus deposit?
• What is the payment schedule, and is it linked to construction stages?
• What is the possession date in the agreement?

Common mistakes

• Booking on the day. Offers that expire tonight are a sales tool. A good home will still be there after you check the papers.
• Paying a large booking amount. Section 13(1) of RERA caps the advance at 10% of the cost before a registered agreement for sale.
• Going alone. A second person notices what you miss and asks what you forget.
• Not writing things down. By the third project you visit, details blur. Make notes in the car before you drive off.

Your one-page visit kit

• RERA number and promoter name, printed.
• Measuring tape and phone with space for photos.
• This list of questions.
• A notebook, or a notes app, for answers.
• The commute route timed both ways.

Step by step: the visit itself

1. Arrive early and drive the last kilometre slowly. Note the road, lights and drains.
2. Read the board at the gate and photograph it.
3. Ask for your actual tower and see it from the nearest safe point.
4. Walk the show flat with your tape and the plan of your own unit.
5. Sit with the sales team and ask your list of questions. Note every answer.
6. Collect papers: draft agreement, specification list and payment schedule.
7. Walk the neighbourhood for ten minutes before you leave.
8. Write notes in the car before your memory blurs.

Done this way, a visit takes about two hours. It is the best two hours you will spend before committing lakhs of rupees, and it turns a pleasant outing into a real check.

After the visit: compare projects fairly

If you see more than one project, put them in a simple table with the same rows for each: RERA number checked, promoter name matched, carpet area in writing, what the price includes, possession date in the agreement, maintenance estimate, commute time and your own notes on light and air. Fill it in the same evening. A table stops the most recent or the most polished visit from winning by default, and it shows which questions you still need answered before you decide.

The bottom line

A good site visit is part curiosity and part homework. Enjoy imagining your life there, then check what you were told against what is written. Take your time, keep your notes, and do not let a deadline rush you. The best projects welcome careful buyers, and the right home will still be right after a week of checking.

Planning a visit to Sarjapur–Attibele Road? Our first-home guide walks through the whole buying journey, step by step.