15 Questions to Ask a Builder Before Booking a UC Flat

You are sitting across a glass table in a sales office, a scale model of the project lit up behind the executive, and a form on the table that says "Expression of Interest." Somewhere between the third cup of tea and the mention of a "limited-period price," most first-time buyers stop asking questions and start nodding. That is exactly the moment an under-construction (UC) booking goes wrong — not because the flat itself is bad, but because nobody in the room asked the ten or fifteen questions that would have surfaced a problem before money changed hands.

This article is that list. It will not tell you whether to buy ready-to-move or under-construction — that decision depends on your timeline, your rent situation and your risk appetite. What it will do is arm you with fifteen specific, answerable questions that any legitimate developer should be able to answer on the spot, in writing, without flinching. If a question makes the salesperson uncomfortable, that discomfort is itself useful information.

Why the Right Questions Protect You

India's under-construction housing market has a structural information gap. The buyer sees a brochure, a sample flat and a sales pitch; the builder sees a project timeline, a cost sheet and a sales target. According to the ANAROCK Consumer Sentiment Survey H1 2025 (via MediaBrief, 08 Sep 2025), which surveyed roughly 8,250 respondents across 14 cities, the ratio of end-users preferring ready-to-move over new-launch projects stood at 16:29 — new launches were still preferred by a wider margin, but a meaningful share of buyers explicitly favor RTM specifically to sidestep construction-stage uncertainty. The same survey found that among buyers targeting the affordable segment, 62% were unhappy with the options available to them, 92% flagged concerns with location, and 90% with quality — numbers that reflect a market where buyer expectations and delivered product frequently diverge.

None of this means UC bookings are inherently risky. It means the burden of due diligence sits with you, the buyer, at the point of booking — before the token amount is paid and before you are emotionally invested in "your" flat. A good developer welcomes precise questions because precise questions from an informed buyer are cheaper to handle than a dispute two years later. Before any sales-office conversation, it also helps to browse and shortlist verified listings on DrawMagic so you are comparing this specific project against real alternatives, not evaluating it in isolation.

The 15 Questions, Grouped

Legal and Approvals (Questions 1–5)

1. What is the RERA registration number for this specific project/phase, and can I see it on the state RERA portal right now? Every state has a RERA website where the registration, promised completion date and encumbrance details are public. Ask for the number, not just a certificate photocopy.
2. What is the sanctioned Floor Area Ratio (FAR) versus what is being marketed? Some projects market amenities or floors that are "proposed" rather than sanctioned. Ask for the approved plan.
3. Has the Commencement Certificate (CC) been issued, and for which phase/tower exactly? A CC for the wrong tower does not cover your flat.
4. What is the carpet area versus the super built-up area, and what loading factor is being applied? RERA requires carpet-area disclosure — ask for it in writing, not just verbally.
5. Is there any pending litigation, encumbrance or bank charge on this land parcel? This should also be visible on the RERA portal and the state land-record system; ask the builder to point you to it rather than taking their word alone.

Timeline (Questions 6–8)

6. What completion date is registered with RERA, versus the date being verbally promised to me? These can differ, and the RERA-registered date is the one with regulatory weight.
7. What construction stage is the project at right now, and can I see current site photographs or visit the site? A site visit tells you more than any brochure.
8. What happens contractually if possession is delayed beyond the RERA date — is there a penalty clause, and what is the rate? RERA mandates a way for delayed possession to be compensated; ask for the exact clause number in the agreement.

Payment (Questions 9–11)

9. Is this a Construction-Linked Plan (CLP), a Possession-Linked Plan (PLP), or a subvention scheme — and what are the milestone triggers for each demand? Each structure has different cash-flow implications for you.
10. Are there any escalation clauses — for cost of construction, government levies, or area variation — that could increase the price after booking? Get the exact clause, not a verbal assurance that "it rarely happens."
11. What is the exact demand-note schedule, and what taxes (GST, stamp duty, registration) are additional to the quoted price? GST on under-construction residential property is charged separately from the base price; make sure your written cost sheet itemizes it rather than folding it into a round number.

Area, Quality and Disclosure (Questions 12–13)

12. What specifications (brand of fittings, flooring, electrical load) are contractually guaranteed, versus shown only in the sample flat? Sample flats can feature upgraded fittings not included as standard.
13. What common-area amenities are complete and functional today versus planned for a later phase? Ask which amenities you are actually paying maintenance for from day one.

Exit and Transfer (Questions 14–15)

14. What is the process and cost if I need to transfer/resell my allotment before possession? Some builders charge a transfer fee or restrict resale until a certain construction stage.
15. What is the cancellation and refund policy if I choose to exit before possession, and within what timeframe are refunds processed? RERA sets some floor protections here, but the builder's specific process and any deductions should be in writing.

Data Table: Question, Good Answer, and How to Verify

Geographic and Regulatory Specifics

RERA is a state-implemented central law, so the portal name, exact disclosure format and enforcement pace vary — Maharashtra's MahaRERA, Karnataka's K-RERA, and other state authorities each run their own websites. Stamp duty and registration charges are also state-specific and are levied on top of the base price and GST, so a cost comparison across two projects in different states needs a like-for-like adjustment. None of these checks require legal training — the RERA portal is designed to be searchable by a member of the public — but each state's site has a slightly different interface, so budget twenty minutes the first time you use one.

Delay-prone patterns exist in several high-density metro markets where large multi-phase townships and complex approval chains have historically extended timelines beyond the marketed date. This is presented here as neutral market context, not as a judgment on any specific builder or project — the way to protect yourself is the same regardless of city: verify the RERA-registered date, ask about the specific tower/phase, and build a buffer into your own plans.

Mini Scenario: Spotting the Gap

Consider a buyer, Ravi, evaluating a two-bedroom UC flat in a suburban project. The brochure quotes possession in "30 months." When Ravi asks Question 6 — what date is registered with RERA — the sales executive initially repeats "30 months" without a date. Ravi asks again, specifically for the RERA number, and later that evening looks it up. The RERA portal shows the registered completion date as 42 months from the project's registration date, which had already elapsed eight months earlier — meaning the real remaining window was closer to 34 months, not 30. That gap did not stop Ravi from buying, but it changed his decision: he negotiated a written delay-penalty clause referencing the RERA date rather than the marketed date, and he kept his existing rental lease flexible for an extra year. A four-minute question, asked and then verified, reset his entire risk plan.

How to Verify Answers Against Public Records

Every one of the fifteen questions above has a paper trail that exists independently of the sales office:

• RERA portal (state-specific): registration number, promised date, project documents, complaint history.
• Municipal/local body records: sanctioned plan, Commencement Certificate, Occupancy Certificate once issued.
• State land-record portal: encumbrance and title status of the underlying land.
• The written agreement itself: every clause discussed verbally should also appear in writing before you sign.

DrawMagic's evolving Buyer Intelligence workspace is being built specifically to make this kind of official-records cross-check faster and more structured as it rolls out — it is not a certification service and will not tell you whether to trust a builder, but it aims to surface the same public-record signals referenced above in one place. Until then, treat the checks above as your own manual due-diligence routine, and use them regardless of which platform you're browsing on.

Pro Tips

• Ask for answers in writing, even by email, immediately after the meeting — a verbal answer that later doesn't match the agreement is a useful record.
• Bring a second person to the sales-office visit. A second set of ears catches inconsistencies that are easy to miss when you're also processing a sales pitch.
• Request the draft agreement before paying any token amount, not after. Reviewing it under no time pressure changes what you notice.
• Use a floor plan visualization tool — DrawMagic's AI Interior Visualizer lets you see how a still-unbuilt unit might look furnished, which is a useful way to mentally test whether the carpet area you're being quoted actually fits your furniture and lifestyle.
• Compare the same fifteen questions across at least two projects before committing — the answers are far more informative in contrast than in isolation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Accepting a verbal possession date without checking the RERA-registered date — these are frequently different, and only one has regulatory weight.
• Treating the sample flat as a binding specification — always get fittings, flooring and electrical load in writing.
• Skipping the escalation-clause question because the price feels final — many agreements permit cost increases under specific conditions.
• Not asking about resale/transfer terms until you actually need to sell — by then, the fees and restrictions are already fixed.
• Rushing the token payment to "lock in" a limited-period price before the fifteen questions are answered — a genuine price benefit will usually survive a week of due diligence.

Bringing It Together with DrawMagic

Due diligence works best as a habit, not a one-time event. Start by browsing shortlisted properties on DrawMagic so you're comparing this UC project against ready-to-move and other UC alternatives side by side. For a broader view of what a well-prepared home search looks like, the buyer resource hub collects guides on financing, locality checks and paperwork that pair naturally with this question list. And once you've cleared the legal and payment questions, use the AI render tool to sanity-check whether the actual carpet area and layout will work for your household before you commit.

If your due-diligence process reveals that a project genuinely checks out, DrawMagic's pricing plans outline how deeper research and comparison tools are packaged for buyers who want to go further than the free checklist stage.

Key Takeaways

• Ask for the RERA registration number and verify it yourself on the state portal — never rely on a photocopy or verbal confirmation alone.
• The RERA-registered completion date and the marketed possession date are not always the same; always ask for both.
• Get carpet area, super area and the loading factor in writing, not just verbally described.
• Understand your payment plan type (CLP/PLP/subvention) and the exact milestone triggers before signing.
• Ask specifically about escalation clauses and delay-penalty clauses — both should have exact clause numbers you can point to later.
• Itemize GST, stamp duty and registration separately in your cost sheet rather than accepting a bundled quoted price.
• Clarify resale/transfer and cancellation terms before booking, not after you need them.
• Bring a second person and request written answers — verbal reassurances are hard to act on later.
• Use independent public records (RERA portal, municipal records, land-record portal) to verify every major claim.
• None of these questions requires legal training to ask — they require preparation, which this list gives you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it rude to ask a builder for the RERA number directly? No — RERA registration is a legal requirement for most projects above a threshold size, and the number is meant to be public. A legitimate developer will have it ready.

What if the sales executive can't answer a question on the spot? That's normal for detailed clauses — ask them to follow up in writing within a specific timeframe, and treat a pattern of unanswered questions as a signal to slow down.

Should I still ask these questions if I'm buying a ready-to-move flat instead? Several apply in modified form (OC status, carpet area, agreement clauses), but the timeline and payment-plan questions are specific to under-construction bookings.

Does DrawMagic verify or certify builders? No — DrawMagic is an information and discovery platform, not a certifier, broker or financial advisor. The questions and public-record checks above are meant to support your own independent due diligence, ideally alongside a qualified legal professional for the agreement review.