Buying A House? The Ultimate Checklist For First-time Home Buyers In Mumbai

By Author: IM Buildcon
Total Articles: 4
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In case you aren't in the process of browsing through various residential projects in Mumbai to find your dream house, let us tell you that it is going to be a long and overwhelming journey. With countless amazing residential projects in Goregaon and beyond, you are bound to get confused, miss out on a few steps of home-hunting or even end up buying the wrong house.
But don't fret. To save you time and havoc, we have curated a list of all the key things you must do and everything you must avoid in the journey of buying your first home.
1. Get All Your Finances Together
Before you even start looking at residential projects in Mumbai, make sure you know where you stand financially. It is crucial to know how much you can afford and from what sources you can get finances. This will help you in looking for apartments that fit within your budget and save a lot of time by removing expensive houses from the list.
2. Set Your Expectations
Once you know how much you can pay for your first home, it’s time to make a list of everything of your expectations based on your family size, preferences, lifestyle ...
... and so on. If you are a family of four people, a 2 BHK apartment in Mumbai should suffice. But if you are just starting your family, a 1 or 2 BHK should be ideal depending on what your future plans are. Shortlist a few locations in Mumbai based on your preferences and your budget. A house on lower floors or a top floor is also something you must look at before getting started.
3. Get a Helping Hand
As mentioned above, going through multiple residential projects in Mumbai and selecting the best one is an overwhelming process. It is a smart move to hire someone - a realtor, real estate agent or broker - to help you throughout the process. This will prevent you from missing any vital step or making any mistakes, both are things you cannot afford to do.
4. Look For Amenities That Matter
If there are a few things that you definitely need in your life, this is the time to do it. Make a list of everything that’s indispensable for you. And once you have the list, start looking for homes that offer all of those. This way, you will narrow down your search and have quality options to consider and compare.
5. Start Your Search
Once you have an idea of what you are looking for how much you can pay, the actual task begins! It is now time to start looking at various residential projects in Mumbai. If you have hired a real estate agent or broker, they will be of great help in finding the right property that is fit for you. You can also look at various multiple listing sites (MLS) to find a decent home online and gather your options.
6. Visit and Inspect Every Property
Whether you are looking at residential projects in Goregaon, Bandra or South Mumbai, be ready to visit every property that you consider. It is nearly impossible to get an idea of how the place will be by merely looking at pictures and reading information online. Always visit properties, take a close look at every nook and corner of the house, inspect electrical and plumbing systems, look for any tell-tale signs of failures or damages and only then make your decision.
7. Get an Idea of Amenities
Today, most residential projects by renowned real estate builders in Mumbai come with a long list of amenities and facilities. You must check all of them. Make sure these amenities are actually provided and not just claimed to be present. Make sure all of them are in good shape. And then lastly, figure out if you will be willing to pay extra for those amenities as per your need-and-want evaluation.
8. Check Builders’ Track Records
This is an important step. You cannot simply buy a home in a building made by some newbie real estate builders in Mumbai. For all the apartments you are considering, check the track record. Conduct online research, ask the builders to share their profiles of past projects and find out everything about the past record of all the real estate builders in Mumbai.
The same goes for real estate companies in Mumbai. Do thorough research and select a project by a credible and renowned company and builder, not someone bogus.
9. Examine RERA Details
As a first-time homebuyer, you expect your home and investment to be legit. Hence, ensure that all the homes you are considering are RERA registered. Ask the builder or company to share RERA details of their buildings. Almost all newer apartments in Mumbai are RERA registered. And if they aren’t, you should not consider those properties at all!
10. Select a Property
After going through several properties and inspecting them and their RERA details well, you must shortlist at least one property that you can call “home”. Make sure you spend enough time at every stage and only then move on to the next step to find a perfect house. The more research, contemplation and comparison you do, the better will be the chances of finding the right fit.
11. Keep All Documents Ready
Just because you shortlist a house doesn’t mean the property is yours. It is still a little brief process after home selection. This is when you’ll have to be ready with all your personal documents, previous home renting details, employment proof, etc. You can try to have all your documents ready parallelly while you go through residential properties in Mumbai and do other preparations. If you are working with a real estate agent, they should make your life easier and look after all the essential paperwork on your behalf.
12. Start Living
And once you clear all the processes, complete paperwork and get possession of your house, it’s finally time to step into your first dream home officially. Hire a movers and packers company, call your loved ones over, have a house warming ceremony or party, decorate your den and start living an ideal life you always imagined!
Although it may seem tiresome, DO NOT miss out on any of these steps. If you follow the checklist well, you should find your first dream nest without many troubles. Just be patient, alert, open-minded and ready for everything.