It is everyone's dream to buy one's dream house. However, buying your dream house is not always as easy as it seems. For, you can’t be sure about the quality of your flat, particularly if you are buying a house from a builder.

It is better, therefore, not to get carried away by the claims of a builder or his team. Verify the facts all by yourself and take safeguards to protect yourself from being short-changed during the delivery of the final apartment. Here are some precautions to take while buying a builder's flat:

Choose a reputed developer to buy from

This is very important as India's real estate industry is still inundated with unscrupulous and fly by night operators who are just interested in making quick bucks and consumers’ interests hardly matter to them. In fact, sometimes it is very difficult even to locate such builders once their projects are sold out.

Check the documents

It is also important to check the credibility of the documents and whether all necessary approvals have been obtained. If not, the buyer of the flat may land in trouble later on."Check the credibility of the documents. Get the certified copies of all documents that prove the undisputed ownership, non encumbrance etc and consult a lawyer to check whether every document is clear and legally valid,"

Buy the flat by taking home loan

One of the better ways to avoid landing in trouble is to buy a builder's flat by taking a home loan. This helps as "the bank would always enquire and verify the project, the builder and his past record

Take an informed decision

It is important to keep the basics in mind and read the fine print carefully before taking the decision to buy. For, if you don't take an informed decision, chances are that you may have to repent your decision later on when you will discover something wrong with your dream home. Therefore, "ensure that the fine print on the amenities are clearly understood and clarified by the sales team,

Recheck promises made by sales personnel

Recheck with a senior member of the developer's organisation the promises made by sales personnel.This is because "often marketing and sales could be outsourced and agencies who undertake this would be interested in the 2% transaction fee and seldom would follow up on quality issues,"

Verify the various offerings

Thoroughly examine and verify the various offerings and other amenities – such as children's park, swimming pool, gym and club -- provided by the builder and get everything on paper. This will help in resolving a dispute in case that arises later on.

Verify about maintenance work

It is always helpful to know in advance who will be doing the maintenance work once the project is complete. In case of reputed builders, maintenance services are normally provided by them only. But you can’t be sure about this with all the builders. Also verify about the maintenance charges and how they will be increased in future.

Check about the parking space

Parking spaces and facilities are very important today – particularly in big cities and metros. Therefore, enquire about the parking facilities from the builder. These days a majority of builders are asking for hefty sums for providing reserved parking spaces. Keep this in mind and see whether the parking charges are reasonable or not. Also check whether the apartment has enough parking space or not.

Regularly visit the site during construction

Don't relax even after buying your flat. "Visit the site during construction to see that the developer is installing what was promised earlier and also in the proper manner," . If not, complain about this to the builder in writing and keep a copy of that.

Check the quality of the flat after completion