Site Visit Checklist: What to Check on the Ground Before Buying a Plot

A little preparation turns a pleasant outing into a proper inspection.

• A copy of the approved layout plan, with your plot marked and the neighbouring plot numbers noted.
• The property description from the sale deed or draft deed — the schedule that lists each side's measurement and what lies on each boundary.
• A long measuring tape; a surveyor's tape that can cover the longest side in one go is ideal.
• A phone with a camera, a map and a compass, to note directions and save the exact location.
• Water and sensible shoes; new layouts can be dusty, or muddy after rain.
• If possible, a second person — someone to hold the other end of the tape, or better still an engineer or a friend who has built a house before.

For the first visit, arrange for the seller or agent to be there, so they can show you the exact plot and its boundary stones. Our guide to site dimensions explains how plot sizes are described, which helps you read the deed before you go.

In most layouts, each plot's corners are marked with boundary stones, sometimes with the plot number painted on them. Ask to be shown all four. If stones are missing, broken or look as though they have been moved, note it: the boundaries need to be clear before you buy, not after.

Measure every side, not just the front. Then measure the two diagonals, from each corner to the opposite one. On a true rectangle the two diagonals are equal, so if they differ noticeably, the plot is not the shape the paperwork suggests, or a stone is out of place.

Compare your measurements with the deed schedule and the layout plan. Tiny differences can come from how the tape was held; anything larger, or a missing corner, needs an explanation. Where the plot is irregular or the boundaries are in any doubt, have a licensed surveyor measure it and mark the boundaries formally.

While you are there, walk the edges. Look for a neighbour's wall, fence, shed, stored material or crops crossing the line, and for any path people use through the plot. Each can signal encroachment, which is far easier to sort out before you buy than after.

It is surprisingly easy to be shown the wrong plot, innocently or otherwise. Use the layout plan to confirm that you are standing on the one you are buying.

Start from a fixed point you can identify both on the plan and on the ground — a road junction, a park, a corner of the layout — and count the plots to yours. Check that the roads around it match the plan in position and direction, that the neighbouring plot numbers are where the plan puts them, and that the plot faces the way it should.

Then look at what the plan shows around your plot. Is the open land next to it marked as a park or civic-amenity site, or as another plot where a house will one day stand? Is there a road on the plan that does not exist on the ground, or the other way round? Make sure your plot is not sitting on land the plan reserves for a road, park or drain.

If anything does not match, stop and ask why before going any further. Our guide to MUDA-approved plots explains how to confirm that the layout plan itself is genuine and approved.

Measure the width of the road in front of the plot and compare it with the layout plan. If the road on the ground is narrower than the plan shows, find out why — an encroachment, an unfinished road or a plan that has changed. Road width matters for access, parking and daily comfort, and building rules can link what you are allowed to build to it.

Notice what kind of road it is. Is it tarred, or still gravel? Is it a through road or a dead end? Are there drains along it? Could a lorry carrying construction material reach the plot and turn around?

Then look at the whole route in, from the nearest main road to the layout. Is the approach road public and wide enough, or does it pass over private land that someone could one day fence off? Does it cross a railway line, a canal or a low stretch that floods? Is it lit at night? How far is it to the nearest bus route, school, hospital and shops? A plot that is good in itself but awkward to reach will be harder to live in, and harder to sell later.

Water decides a great deal about a plot, and a dry, sunny visit can hide it completely.

Look at the level of the plot compared with the road and the neighbouring plots. A plot below road level may collect water from the road in heavy rain, and filling it adds to your building cost. Notice which way the land slopes and where rainwater would run, and check whether the road has storm-water drains and where they actually lead.

Signs that a plot is low-lying or gets waterlogged include:

• a layer of silt or dried mud left behind on the surface;
• water marks or moss on nearby compound walls;
• reeds, rushes or other plants that like wet ground;
• neighbouring houses built well above road level, or with raised steps and gate thresholds.

Find out what lies nearby. A lake, tank, stream or large storm-water channel close to the plot raises the risk of flooding, and building rules can restrict construction near such water bodies, so ask the approving authority. And visit at least once during or soon after heavy rain.

Services are easy to overlook on an empty plot, and costly to sort out later.

• Electricity poles and transformers: see whether a power line runs along your road and where the nearest pole is. A pole or transformer exactly where your gate would go can sometimes be moved, but only through the electricity supply company, and it takes time and money.
• High-tension lines: look up. High-voltage lines crossing over or close to a plot carry safety clearances that restrict building beneath and near them. Do not buy a plot under or near one without confirming with the electricity authority what, if anything, you can build.
• Water supply: check whether there is a water pipeline in the road, whether neighbours have connections, and whether households rely on borewells or tankers.
• Underground drainage: manholes along the road can suggest a sewer line. Without one, you may need a septic tank.
• Anything crossing the plot: note any drain, pipeline or cable running across the land, since it could limit where you build.

Our guide to water, drainage and power in new layouts explains how connections usually work and whom to ask about each.

A plot can feel very different early in the morning, in the evening rush and late at night. Visit at different times — a weekday rush hour, a weekend, after dark — and at least once without the seller or agent, so you can take your time.

On each visit, notice:

• traffic and noise from nearby roads, highways, workshops, factories, function halls or anything using loudspeakers;
• smells from drains, garbage dumps, poultry farms or treatment plants, which can depend on the wind;
• street lighting, and how safe the approach feels after dark;
• building work next door — a clue to future views and noise, and to whether material is being dumped on your plot.

Then talk to the people who already live there. Neighbours can tell you about water supply, power cuts, flooding, how well the layout is maintained, whether there are any disputes over the land, and sometimes whether anyone else claims the plot you are looking at. A few friendly conversations are worth more than any brochure.

Write up your notes and sort your photos the same day, while the details are fresh. List anything that did not match the paperwork, anything that worried you, and any questions for the seller, your lawyer or an engineer.

Some findings are reasons to negotiate or ask for something in writing — a missing boundary stone to be reset, an unfinished road to be completed, a pile of debris to be cleared. Others are reasons to walk away, however attractive the price: a plot that does not match the layout plan, clear signs of waterlogging, a high-tension line overhead, an access road over private land, or neighbours who describe a dispute over the land.

And remember that the site visit is only half the job. Before any money changes hands, the documents need to be verified by a property lawyer.

If you would like company on a site visit, you can browse current plots in Mysuru and ask to see any of them. Siddaganga Real Estate has helped buyers across the city for over twelve years, and can help with document verification once you have found the right plot.