Here are the six most common, and how to avoid each.
1. Not Tracing the Full Chain of Title
Buyers look at the current sale deed and stop there. Ownership must be traced back through the earlier deeds, ideally thirty years, to confirm an unbroken chain. A missing link is the most common fatal defect in land titles.
2. Ignoring the FMB and the Actual Boundaries
The deed states one extent, while the survey record and the ground may say another. Buyers who do not check the FMB sometimes pay for land the seller does not fully own, or inherit a boundary dispute with a neighbour.
3. Skipping the 22A and Prohibited Property Check
Assigned land, endowment land and government land cannot be lawfully sold. Buying such land, which is entered in the 22A register, can mean losing both the land and the money, with no way to recover it.
4. Not Checking the Buffer Zone Near Water Bodies
A plot near a lake, tank or canal may fall within a protected buffer zone where construction is restricted. An attractive location near water is exactly where this risk is highest.
5. Trusting an Unapproved Layout
Plots sold in unapproved layouts, without proper DTCP or local authority sanction, can face regularisation problems, penalties or difficulty at resale. A registered plot in an unapproved layout is still a risky plot.
6. Not Converting Agricultural Land Before Building
Agricultural land generally cannot be used for construction until it is converted for non agricultural use. Buyers who assume they can build immediately are frequently caught out.
Land rewards patience and punishes assumptions. Before you buy a plot, trace the title, check the survey records, confirm the land is neither prohibited nor within a buffer zone, and verify the layout approval. Each check is small, and skipping them is what turns a good investment into a long dispute.