Steps to Purchase
After you have identified the land that attracts your fancy (it will take anywhere from 10 days to 6 months before the land is yours), you will need to go through the following steps, though all are not necessary:
1) Preparing and executing a “Saataykarar” on MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)
2) Title search of land
3) Land Survey
4) Fence property
5) Advertisement in local newspaper
6) Preparation of Sale Documents
7) Registration
Normally a token payment of up to 10% of the agreed sale price is paid on signing the Saataykarar as negotiated. It is up to you, the buyer, to either speedup or delay the final sale. Thereafter, a lawyer should conduct a title search of the antecedents of the property, going back 30-50 years. The land should be surveyed to identify and mark the boundaries. It is advised to fence the property immediately after survey to determine whether any potential problems could arise with adjacent touching properties. To protect yourself, an advertisement of intending to buy should be placed in local newspapers asking for objections to the proposed transactions. Finally, the sale deed is to be prepared and executed at the Registrars Office at Alibag.