Before you go
A site visit is only useful if you know what the plot should look like. Get these first, and carry copies:
- The survey number, and the site number if it is in a layout
- The approved layout plan, with your site marked
- The RTC (pahani, the land record) for the parent land
- The 11E sketch or podi sketch showing the plot's boundaries and measurements; see 11E sketch, podi and survey numbers
- The exact location, pinned on your phone
Take a measuring tape of at least 30 m, a phone with a camera and GPS, and a notebook. If you can, take someone who has built a house before.
On the plot itself
Boundaries and size
- Find the boundary stones. Survey stones or layout markers should be at each corner. If there are none, ask the seller to have the plot marked by a licensed surveyor before you pay.
- Measure every side. Compare with the layout plan and the sale papers. A 30 × 40 ft site should measure that on the ground, not "about that".
- Check the shape and facing. Corner and odd-shaped sites differ from the plan more often. Confirm which road the plot faces.
- Look for anything already on it. A shed, a fence, crops, a well or a path that people use all suggest someone else has a claim or a habit of use.
Ground and drainage
- Low ground. Is the plot lower than the road or the neighbours? Rainwater will collect there. Filling a plot costs money and the fill must settle before you build.
- Water marks. Silt lines on walls, debris caught on fences and damp patches show where water stands.
- Slope. On hill land, a steep plot needs cutting, retaining walls and drainage, which add cost. Our guide to land in the Malnad hills covers slopes and rain.
- Soil and rock. Black cotton soil swells and shrinks and needs deeper foundations. Hard rock near the surface raises digging cost. Ask what neighbours found when they built.
Trees
Large trees on a plot may need permission from the forest or tree authority before felling. Ask before you plan the house around their removal.
The road and access
- Measure the road width in front of the plot, edge to edge. Compare it with the layout plan. Road width affects what you can build and how easily trucks can reach the site.
- Who owns the road? In an approved layout, roads are handed over to the local body or planning authority. A road that is still the developer's or a neighbour's private land can be closed.
- Is it a real road? Tarred, gravelled or a mud track? Will it take a vehicle in the monsoon?
- Follow it to the main road. A good road in front of the plot that turns into a footpath 200 m away is not good access.
Services: water, power, drains
| Check | What to look for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Piped line in the road, or the depth and yield of neighbours' borewells | Many plots depend on one borewell; dry ones are costly to replace |
| Power | Poles and lines in the road, distance to the nearest transformer | A new line or transformer can add cost and time |
| Drains | Open or covered drains along the road, and where they lead | Without drains, the road and plot flood |
| Street lights | Working lights, not only poles | Shows whether the local body maintains the layout |
| Sewage | Underground drainage line, or a shared treatment system in the layout | Otherwise you need your own septic tank and the space for it |
In a layout, compare each service with what the brochure and the approval promised. "Will be provided" is not provided.
What is around the plot
Walk at least the surrounding few hundred metres and look for:
- High-tension power lines crossing or near the plot. Building close to them is restricted and unsafe.
- Lakes, streams and storm-water drains. Land near them carries buffer restrictions and flood risk. In Bengaluru, a rajakaluve (primary storm-water drain) is a common problem; see buying a plot near Bengaluru.
- Quarries, crushers, brick kilns and factories. Dust, noise and heavy trucks.
- Burial grounds, waste dumps and sewage plants.
- Highways and railway lines. Good for access, but ask whether widening or a new line is planned and could take land.
- Temple, community or government land next to the plot. Boundaries with such land are often disputed.
If the plot is near a planned road, ring road, rail line or industrial area, ask the taluk office or the planning authority whether the survey number is notified for acquisition. A notification can freeze a sale.
Talk to people
Papers do not tell you the history of a piece of land. Neighbours often do.
- Who owned this land before, and is there any family dispute over it?
- Does water stand here in the rains? How deep are the borewells?
- Has anyone else claimed or used this plot?
- Is the road public? Who maintains it?
- Has the local body been here to clean drains or fix lights?
Also visit the local body office, the gram panchayat or the town council, and ask whether the plot has an e-khata or e-swathu record and whether property tax is paid. The papers to check before you pay explains what each record should show.
Visit twice
Go once in dry weather and once during or just after heavy rain. Go once on a weekday, when quarries and factories are working, and once in the evening, to see lighting and how the area feels. A plot that looks fine on a sunny Sunday can look very different in the monsoon.
Red flags: when to walk away
- No boundary stones, and the seller will not arrange a survey
- Measurements on the ground do not match the plan or the papers
- The road is private or narrower than the plan shows
- The plot floods, or sits in a drain or lake buffer
- Someone else is using or occupying it
- The seller pushes you to pay a token on the day of the visit
- The seller will not share copies of the papers before payment
How we help
We walk plots with buyers, check what is on the ground against the layout plan and the records, and follow up on the papers before you pay. In Mudigere, you can visit our Kempegowda Layout, where every site faces one of two 9 m cement roads, and the layout brings power, water, drains and street lights to every site; book a visit. Elsewhere, tell us which plot you are looking at.
