Flat Booked in Bangalore? What Happens Until the Keys Arrive
A token paid for a flat in Bangalore settles very little. Months or years of paperwork, instalments and site checks separate that payment from the day the keys are handed over. This piece answers the questions that arise one after another during the wait, in the order a buyer meets them.
What Does the Wait Look Like?
Seven milestones mark the way. Each brings a new document or payment, and the order itself shows a buyer what to expect next.
- Token payment, then the allotment letter
- Agreement for sale, signed and registered
- Loan sanction, then instalments tied to the building's progress
- Construction, watched against the promised schedule
- Occupancy certificate and a walk-through of the flat
- Sale deed, then handover of the keys
- Khata, power connection and society records moved into the buyer's name
What Should the Allotment Letter Say?
It should read like a summary of the deal struck at the sales office. Check it that same day against the cost sheet. The letter must identify the flat, its floor and its tower, and give the carpet area, parking slot and full price. A mismatch caught now costs nothing to fix.
RERA, the 2016 national law on real estate regulation, limits what a builder may demand early on. Section 13 caps the advance or application money at 10% of the flat's cost. Beyond that, the agreement for sale has to be written and registered first.
The law also entitles buyers to see the approved plans, the layout, the specifications and a timetable for completing each stage. They should be requested at booking and filed with the letter.
What Goes Into the Agreement for Sale?
This is the document that makes the purchase binding. Under Section 13 of RERA, it must state the dates of payment, the date of possession and the interest that either party pays if it defaults. Before signing, three things need confirming.
- Every figure tallies with the letter and the cost sheet
- The possession date matches the completion date declared for the project with Karnataka's RERA authority
- Payments are linked to building milestones and no large sum falls due early
Signing happens at the office of the sub-registrar, where stamp duty and the registration fee are paid. A bank will not release funds without the registered copy. Its original should be kept safe, since every later argument about price, area or delay comes back to it.
How Does a Home Loan Behave During Construction?
Banks disburse in parts as the structure goes up. Whenever a milestone is reached the builder sends a demand letter, and the lender pays its portion after verifying the stage. Money from the buyer's own pocket normally goes in first.
Matching the builder's timetable with the lender's process saves trouble. At sanction, hand the bank the schedule from the agreement and ask how many working days a demand takes to process. Because RERA expects the buyer to pay on time, with interest if late, a sluggish disbursement is a cost the buyer carries.
Interest accrues only on what has been released, starting from the first disbursement. Borrowers normally pick between servicing only the interest until possession and paying a full EMI straight away. Our EMI calculator gives the monthly sum on the whole loan, useful when rent and loan payments overlap.
It is worth keeping one tidy folder, in print and scanned. It should hold demand letters, receipts, the bank's advice of each disbursement and the loan statements. Where tax must be deducted on payments to the builder, the challans belong there too.
How Can Progress Be Verified?
Each quarter the builder must refresh the project's entry in the state's RERA portal. It reports status, flats booked and approvals received or pending. A look every three months takes minutes and shows whether the schedule is holding.
Visits to the site show what a portal cannot: the pace of work, how many workers are present and the standard of what exists. Photos from the same vantage point on every visit give a clear record.
Demand letters should be tested against reality too. A demand tied to the tenth-floor slab is valid only once that slab has been cast, which the bank's engineer will usually confirm. When a stage looks billed early, ask the builder in writing.
If the Date Is Missed
When a builder overshoots the agreed date, two paths open. Under Section 18, a buyer may leave and get money back plus interest. A buyer who stays on is paid interest for each month of delay until possession, at the rate in the Karnataka rules.
What Other Costs Are Waiting?
Most of these are met from savings and not from the loan, so listing them at booking prevents a cash crunch at the end.
- Stamp duty of 5% for flats costing over Rs. 45 Lakhs, rising to 5.6% after cess and surcharge
- Registration, charged at 2%
- GST on the instalments paid during construction
- Connection deposits and fees for power and water
- Maintenance paid in advance and the corpus (sinking) fund
- Fees for lawyers and documents
- Furnishing, appliances and the move itself
A Rs. 1 Crore flat attracts about Rs. 7.6 Lakhs in stamp duty and registration combined. Money already paid as duty on the agreement is normally credited at the time of the sale deed, so the receipt is important. Around six months ahead of handover, the builder should be asked for a single consolidated statement listing what remains.
Why the Occupancy Certificate Matters
The approving authority issues an occupancy certificate (OC) to confirm that the building is finished and safe to live in. Under RERA the builder must obtain it and share it with buyers. A useful copy states which tower the flat is in.
Issue of the OC starts two periods. Physical possession is expected within two months of the date the certificate is issued for the flat. On its side, the builder has to execute and register the conveyance deed, with three months from the OC as the Act's default period.
Inspection comes before acceptance. Walls, floors, doors, windows, switches, plumbing and bathrooms all need testing, and the rooms should be measured to the carpet area agreed. Defects go to the builder as a written list, with a signed copy retained.
What Closes the Purchase?
Ownership passes by the registered sale deed. It should list the buyer's names correctly, the flat with its carpet area, the car park and the undivided land share. The bank keeps the original while a loan runs, so certified copies are needed.
The account should be closed before the possession letter is signed, using a statement of payments received, charges levied and interest due in either direction. Signing for possession is safest with the certificate, the deed and the keys all in hand.
The builder's liability does not end at handover. Section 14 of RERA says faults in structure or workmanship that appear within five years must be repaired in 30 days at no charge. Reports are best made in writing, backed by photographs that show the dates.
And After the Keys?
New owners have a few records to update: the khata application, the first property tax payment, the electricity connection and membership of the owners' association. Every paper deserves copies in two separate places. Anyone still comparing projects can reach us about a particular development through the contact page.
