How to evaluate a real estate developer – A checklist,What is mutation of property and why is it important?

Buying a home is an important decision and there are a lot of things that you should know about before investing your hard-earned money. While researching for your home, you must have realised that there are a lot of developers building various kinds of housing projects. So, how to pick a developer and select a project that is value for money? Though, it is critical to evaluate a developer but a checklist helps in taking a fair decision.
After you have selected a few developers in your area, check for –
Background check
Checking the background of a developer is very crucial. As a customer, you should be able to identify the name of the developer. The developer should be stable and must be in the market for some time. A trusted developer is someone who has satisfactorily delivered at least one project. “You need to consider the delivery record of the builder. The time, when the developer delivers the project and people start moving in, is crucial for a developer,” says Sandeep Sahni of Soultrean Building Technologies Ltd.
However, this does not mean that one must stay away from the new developers in the market. Though there is some risk involved in trusting a new developer, a thorough background check really helps here. “With new developers, trust is the only medium. A customer, who trusts a new developer, gets benefitted in the future with comparatively low property rates,” says Dujendra Bhardwaj of JMD Real Vision.
Legal opinion
Take the services of a legal expert to check that the project in which you are aspiring to invest have all the necessary approvals in place. Check all the documents related to the project, such as papers related to land acquisition, bank loan, building approvals etc. “The customer should check that the land on which the project is being developed or is already developed should be owned by the developer independently or jointly. It should be approved by the authorities so that no legal complication arises in the future,” says Bhardwaj.
Finances
The customer should check about the financial standing of the developer before investing. “The developer should have his own funds’ source independent from the market. It should not be directly affected by the market sentiment,” emphasises Sahni. “In a market, good times last lesser than the bad times. The success of a developer is in the management of finances he has. The builder should push for project completion as when project is delivered, the rates of the unsold inventory go up and depleted funds can be recovered,” he adds.
Quality
The quality of construction and development holds a lot of significance for a home buyer. The property should indeed be durable enough to last for generations to come. “The prices of flats available for sale in an area can differ as per their quality. A developer who is using branded building materials and is following all the rules of construction will naturally keep the rates of the flats a little higher than the market price,” says Abhay Kumar of Grihapravesh developers

 What is mutation of property and why is it important?

There have been times while selling your property, the prospective buyer would have asked for a copy of the latest mutation. Many people do not know the importance of the document hence, let us start with understanding what mutation is?
Mutation is the change of title ownership from one person to another when the property is sold or transferred. By mutating a property, the new owner gets the property recorded on his name in the land revenue department and the government is able to charge property tax from the rightful owner. The documentation procedure and the fee payable vary from state to state.
Also known as “Dakhil Kharij”, mutation of a property should ideally be taken every six months from the revenue office in order to check for any wrongful transaction on the property. In case of inheritance after the death of the owner, the property should be mutated by submitting copies of Death Certificate and relationship documents.
Updation of revenue records should be applied in case the property has been bought through a registered Power of Attorney, as it transfers the ownership from the seller to the buyer.
In case of ownership related to land, mutation is considered a vital document. For eg If an agricultural land is acquired by the government and the registry of the land is in the name of person A while mutation is in favor of Person B, the government will release the acquisition funds in favor of Person B, as in the revenue records he is recorded as the owner of the land.
To apply for mutation, an application to the tehsildar of the area has to be given on a plain paper along with the required value of a non judicial stamp paper.
Following documents are required for mutation:

• Copy of Sale Deed
• Application for mutation with court fee stamp affixed on it
• Indemnity bond on stamp paper of requisite value
• Affidavit on stamp paper of requisite value
• Receipt of up-to-date property tax payment

Documents required for mutation in case of inheritance or Will are:

• Death Certificate
• Copy of Will or Succession Certificate
• Indemnity bond on stamp paper of requisite value
• Affidavit on stamp paper of requisite value attested by a Notary
• Receipt of up-to-date property tax payment in case of Power of Attorney
• Copy of Power of Attorney.
• Copy of Will
• Receipt for payment registered with a sub-registrar
• Application for mutation with court fee stamp affixed on it