Before You Sign: A Buyer's Checklist for a Higher-Rate Year

Budget Stress-Testing & Total Landed Cost

The other pieces in this package describe a market with sales up 3%, average prices up 7%, launches outpacing sales, unsold stock up 12% and a repo rate that just rose to 5.50%. None of that tells you whether to buy. It does shape how carefully you should do it. This guide is our own framework, and the numbers in the examples are invented. It is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.

1. Stress-test the budget: Calculate your instalment at today's rate and at a rate two percentage points higher. In our earlier invented example, a Rs 50 lakh loan over 20 years costs about Rs 43,391 a month at 8.5% and about Rs 44,986 at 9.0%. At 10.5% it would be higher still. If the higher figure strains your budget, the loan is too large or the tenure too short. A common rule of thumb is that total loan payments should leave room for other expenses and savings; a lender's eligibility limit is a ceiling, not a target.

2. Count the full cost: Add stamp duty, registration, brokerage, parking, club membership, maintenance deposits, interiors and moving costs. Many buyers focus on the price per square foot and are surprised by the rest. Ask the developer for a written cost sheet.

RERA Due Diligence & Ready vs Under-Construction

3. Check the project, not only the price: Look up the project on the state RERA website. Check the registration number, the promised completion date, approvals, the promoter's other projects and any complaints. Ask whether the land title is clear and whether the project has bank approval for loans. For a resale flat, check the society's no-objection certificate, dues and title documents. This is where a lawyer's review is worth paying for.

4. Compare ready and under-construction homes: Under-construction homes are often priced lower, but you carry delivery risk and may pay rent while you wait. Ready homes cost more but have no delivery risk. With launches above sales, as Anarock's data show, there is a lot of choice in both categories. Compare the monthly cost of renting plus a pre-EMI against the cost of a ready home.

“A lender's eligibility limit is a ceiling, not a target.”

Leveraging Unsold Inventory & Commute Economics

5. Use the inventory to negotiate, carefully: High unsold stock in a city can give leverage, particularly on ready units. Ask for payment-plan flexibility, free parking, or waived charges rather than only a headline discount. Be cautious about "assured return" or "buyback" schemes, which depend on the developer's finances.

6. Think about location and commuting: The office data in this package show demand concentrated in a few cities. If your employer is in one of those, a home near the workplace may hold value better, though we cannot predict prices. Check the commute realistically, at peak hours.

Loan Terms, Benchmark Spreads & Emergency Reserves

7. Look at the loan terms: Ask whether your loan is linked to an external benchmark, when it resets, and whether the lender charges fees for switching or prepayment on floating-rate loans. Compare offers from at least three lenders. A small difference in spread matters over twenty years.

8. Keep a reserve: Hold emergency savings, ideally several months of expenses plus the instalment, after paying the down payment. A buyer who uses every rupee for the down payment is vulnerable to a job change or a rate rise.

9. Do not rush: Festive discounts and "last few units" messaging are designed to create urgency. A decision that is right in November will usually be right in December. If the offer disappears when you ask for time, that tells you something.

For investors: Buying to rent or resell adds further risks: vacancy, repairs, tax on rental income and capital gains. Rental yields in many cities are low compared with loan rates, so check the numbers before assuming rent will cover the instalment. Consult a tax adviser.

One-Page Summary & Questions for Developers

A one-page summary: • Budget at a higher rate. • Full cost in writing. • RERA and title checked. • Ready versus under construction compared. • Negotiate on terms, not only price. • Loan reset and fees understood. • Reserve kept. • No decision made under pressure.

What this guide cannot do: It cannot tell you where prices are headed, and it cannot replace professional advice on your own finances and documents.

Questions to put to the seller: Ask what happens if possession is delayed, what interest the developer pays under the RERA framework, and which charges are refundable. Ask for the answers in writing and keep copies.