How to verify a Hyderabad property before you pay a single rupee

There is a reason buyers who are not physically present get targeted more often than anyone else: they cannot walk to the site, they cannot ask a neighbour, and they are usually deciding from photographs and a phone call. NRIs in particular are described across legal and industry commentary as among the most targeted groups for property fraud in India, precisely because they are not there to verify.

The protection is not instinct. It is a sequence. Do these in order, and stop the moment one of them fails.

1. Check the RERA registration yourself

Every residential project in Telangana above 500 square metres must be registered with the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority. Go to rera.telangana.gov.in and search by project name, promoter name or district.

On the registration entry, read: the promoter entity name (does it match who is selling to you?), the sanctioned plan, the declared number of units, the approved carpet area, the commencement date and the proposed completion date.

2. Read the quarterly progress reports

This is the most under-used feature of the portal. Registered projects file quarterly updates, which in current practice include financial withdrawal data from the project's escrow account and photographic documentation of construction progress.

Compare the photos across the last four quarters. A project that has not visibly moved in a year while withdrawals continued is telling you something no brochure will.

3. Match the promoter entity exactly

Builders often operate multiple companies. The brand on the hoarding may not be the legal entity registered for this project, and it may not be the entity on your agreement. All three must reconcile. Ask directly: which registered entity is the promoter of this specific project, and is that the entity I am contracting with?

4. Verify the land title, separately from the project

RERA registration says the project is registered. It does not independently guarantee a clean title chain. Get an advocate to run a title search covering at least the last 30 years, and specifically ask for: the chain of ownership, any existing mortgage or encumbrance, and confirmation the land is not subject to litigation or an acquisition notice.

Pull the Encumbrance Certificate yourself through the Telangana registration department's portal. It lists registered transactions against the property and is the cheapest fraud check available.

5. Confirm the land-use classification

Check that the land use permits what is being built, under the applicable master plan. Agricultural land that has not been formally converted cannot lawfully carry a residential project, and "conversion is under process" is a sentence that has cost a great many buyers a great deal of money.

6. Check the local body approvals

Depending on location, the sanction comes from GHMC, HMDA or the relevant local authority. Ask for the sanctioned plan document and confirm the approval number with the issuing authority rather than accepting the copy you were handed. Then compare the sanctioned plan against what is actually being built — extra floors beyond sanction are a recurring problem and the buyer carries the risk.

7. Look for the specific fraud patterns

Industry commentary on Indian property fraud repeatedly names two patterns worth knowing by name:

• The same unit sold to multiple buyers. Defence: insist on registration, and check the encumbrance certificate immediately before you pay.
• Funds collected for construction diverted to buy more land. Defence: the escrow requirement exists precisely for this — check the withdrawal data in the quarterly reports.

8. Read the payment schedule against construction milestones

Your money should be tied to visible progress, not to dates on a calendar. A schedule that front-loads payment before meaningful construction transfers all the risk to you. Push for milestone-linked payments and be genuinely willing to walk away over it — this is the single most negotiable and most protective term in the agreement.

9. If you are buying from outside India

Two things that catch people out:

• NRIs generally cannot buy agricultural or plantation land or a farmhouse in India under the applicable foreign exchange rules — residential and commercial property is permitted. If a "farm plot", "managed farmland" or "farm commune" opportunity is being marketed to you, get the land's legal classification in writing and take independent advice before you commit anything.
• Give a properly drafted Power of Attorney to someone you would trust with your own bank account, scoped narrowly to this transaction. A broad, open-ended PoA handed to a stranger in the transaction chain is how a large share of NRI property disputes begin.

10. Visit, or send someone who works for you

Not the builder's representative. Not the broker who is being paid on the sale. Somebody whose only interest is yours — a friend, a relative, or a paid inspector you engaged. Have them photograph the site, the approach road and the neighbouring plots, and ask the neighbours what has been happening there.

The order matters

Do these in sequence, because the early ones are free and fast and will end most bad deals before you have spent anything. RERA check, progress reports, entity match and encumbrance certificate can all be done in an evening from a laptop anywhere in the world. Only then is it worth paying an advocate for the deep title work.

Verification process based on the TG-RERA portal's published project registration and quarterly reporting requirements. Fraud patterns and the NRI land-eligibility restriction reflect widely published legal and industry commentary; this article is general information, not legal advice — take advice on your specific transaction.