Buying a House Online in India? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

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With the advent of digital media, over 90% of home buyers in India begin their property search online. The digital revolution has transformed how we approach one of life’s most significant investments, making it the new normal rather than a rare exception.

The days have ended when house investment meant endless weekend visits to properties, juggling multiple broker calls, and manually deciphering confusing paperwork. Whether you’re a first-time buyer in Mumbai’s bustling real estate market or an experienced investor looking to expand your real estate portfolio, buying a home online is now a convenient standard in today’s fast-paced digital world. Let’s take a deep dive together into what it means to buy a house online in India.

Why Online Home Buying is a Smart Choice

As a prospective home buyer, you must be aware of the traditional approach to buying a home, which involves coordinating multiple site visits across intense traffic routes in different parts of metro cities. Additionally, you need to review a vast amount of paperwork across various offices and compare real estate properties based on fragmented information. This approach is often overwhelming and prevents effective, informed decision-making.

However, online home buying eliminates these pain points while offering transparency, convenience, and comprehensive information at your fingertips. It encourages smart decision-making among potential home buyers. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, time is precious, and property options are abundant. The digital approach provides you with access to extensive listings, detailed property information, high-resolution photos, virtual tours, and even mortgage calculators—all from the comfort of your own home. It helps you evaluate properties in a time-bound manner across different suburbs efficiently.

Steps for Online Home Buying in India

The online home purchase process in India follows a structured approach tailored specifically for aspiring homeowners. The steps are elaborated below.

1. Begin with Smart Financial Planning and define your budget:

Establishing a clear financial framework is crucial before you dive into the exciting world of residential real estate investment. Online home purchases in a metro city can involve significant costs. We recommend creating a sustainable financial plan that won’t compromise your family’s long-term security.

  • Evaluate your monthly income and expenses
  • Calculate the available savings for a down payment
  • Assess your emergency fund requirements
  • Evaluate your existing EMIs, if any, and financial commitments
  • Keep a buffer for additional costs such as legal verification charges, loan processing fees, registration charges, etc.

 

2. Research and Identify Your Ideal Property Type

There are a wide variety of choices available for you in the process of buying a home online. For instance, Mumbai’s real estate market offers a diverse range of choices, from compact 1BHK apartments perfect for young professionals to spacious 4BHK homes ideal for growing families. The types of real estate properties you can explore for your home buying include:

Ready-to-Move Properties: Ready-to-move-in homes command premium prices, offering immediate possession and potential for rental income.

Under-construction Home Property: These residential properties offer more reasonable pricing but require time until project completion.

Resale Properties: These are properties with established infrastructure and community amenities that may require renovations.

Based on your priorities and requirements, such as the number of bedrooms needed, amenities required, and proximity to nearby hospitals and schools, you can research homes online accordingly.

3. Choose the right Location

We understand that location is the most critical factor while buying a home online, as it greatly influences your lifestyle and property prices. Thanks to the online search process, you can analyse property locations comprehensively without physical visits.

Here’s what you must focus on while choosing the right location for your home:

Connectivity: The expanding metro network in the area, any upcoming infrastructure projects, access to the suburban railway network, and other factors are crucial considerations.

Social Infrastructure: Quick access to school and college institutions, hospitals, shopping centres, and recreational facilities such as Jogger’s Park or a garden.

Scope of Future Development: The upcoming government initiatives and commercial projects can impact the location’s growth trajectory. It can also yield an appreciation in the property value in the coming years, making your investment decision a success.

4. Leverage Various Online Platforms for Property Search

If you leverage the digital landscape for buying a home online, you will come across unique platform-driven features. Look for detailed neighbourhood profiles, transport links, and existing lifestyle factors. Take virtual tours to explore the property, saving you time and giving you a sense of what the property is like. Explore various residential property price comparison tools to check if the property that you’re looking for has reasonable or hyped prices.

We recommend consulting a real estate expert online or researching reputable developer choices to determine the real estate forecasts for areas with high demand.

5. Zero in on a Few Properties and Conduct Property Visits

Since you have already shortlisted a few properties using various digital channels, it’s time to visit those properties in person to assess their condition, layout, and surrounding areas. Pay close attention to the existing lifestyle, property structure, and amenities provided.

If possible, have a professional and trusted real estate agent with you while visiting the property to evaluate these details. This approach helps you weigh the options carefully and make informed decisions.

6. Arrange for Financing and Get a Pre-Approved Loan

You must approach various banking institutions to explore home loan sanctioning options and see if you can qualify for a pre-approved home loan. Request your CIBIL score assessment to determine your loan eligibility. Having a pre-approved home loan sanction letter from a financial institution can help you negotiate the deal more effectively and expedite the home-buying process.

7. Finalising the Purchase Agreement

Once you have pre-approved the home loan, it’s time to negotiate with the seller and finalise the purchase price. We suggest using the insights and comparable sales data obtained from your research to negotiate a more favourable final price. Explore potential value-added benefits within the agreed-upon price.

Having a lawyer at this stage will help you draft a purchase agreement that outlines the mutually beneficial terms and protects your interests.

8. Finalise Possession of the Property

It is now time to coordinate with the financial institutions and the sellers to complete the home-buying process that started online. Ensure that you complete the stamp duty and registration formalities and pay the remaining balance as per the agreed terms and conditions in the purchase agreement. To make this crucial process smooth and streamlined, many states now offer e-stamping and online appointment booking systems that facilitate online payment of stamp duty and registration charges with minimal physical interaction.

If it is an under-construction property, make the necessary down payment and then request the bank to release the disbursement as needed.

Once your payment is complete, take possession of the property. For ready-to-move-in and resale properties, this process is quite fast.

Factors to Consider when buying a home online

Although individual circumstances may vary, several factors influence the optimal time to buy a home. Prominent factors responsible for online home buying include:

1. Low Interest Rates

Many potential home buyers look for home loans with low interest rates, making the home-buying process more affordable. It leads to lower EMI and potentially contributes to long-term savings.

2. Invest When the Real Estate Market Is Growing

When the real estate market is stable or growing consistently, there are fewer chances that your property investment will experience sharp declines in prices. We always recommend staying up-to-date with the latest real estate market trends in your preferred locality and following the steps to buy a home online once your budget is ready.

3. Availability of Government Incentives

Government incentives, lower stamp duty charges, and friendly programs for first-time home buyers can be a great boost if you are looking to buy your first home. Research any potential government initiatives before purchasing a home in your preferred location.

4. Explore potential tax benefits

Buying a home can offer potential tax benefits, including deductions for mortgage interest, property taxes, and other related expenses. Additionally, women home buyers can avail reduced interest rates on their home loan and relatively lower stamp duty charges and registration charges. We recommend consulting with tax professionals to determine if any tax benefits apply to your case.

5. Economic and Infrastructure Condition in the locality

Are the economic and infrastructure conditions in the local neighbourhood favourable? Factors such as incremental infrastructure development, growth in job opportunities, and commercial activities are likely to boost property values in the future and provide a better return on investment.

6. Personal Financial Stability

Are you in a secure financial position? Do you have any emergency savings to manage your debt? Being financially sound places you in a good position to buy a home online, and having a stable, high-income job helps you pay the EMIs without any default. Assess your financial stability before making a purchase decision.

7. Cross-Check Builder’s Track Record

If you are looking for an under-construction property, it is essential to thoroughly research the developer’s track record, their past projects, delivery timeliness, and client reviews. Visit the state’s official RERA portal and verify their RERA registration details. Conducting this due diligence helps to safeguard your real estate investment.

8. Prioritise Network Security

Security is a major concern in completing digital transactions safely. It is advised to use secure, private internet connections for financial transactions. Be wary of sharing OTPs, passwords, or banking details over unverified calls or emails. Always prefer sticking to official websites and verified apps for all communications and payments

Conclusion

The key to buying a house online is thorough research, leveraging technology effectively, and opting for reputed developers. However, you must understand that while the process has gone digital, the need to conduct due diligence remains paramount. The digital approach offers the speed and efficiency needed in today’s competitive real estate market. Leverage the wealth of information available online, but always verify credentials, legal documents, and project details through professional sources.

Ready to embark on your online home buying journey? Start exploring verified properties on leading online platforms today, or connect with a trusted real estate consultant for personalised assistance and peace of mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is location important when buying a home?

Yes. Location matters significantly when buying a home online. The ideal location will determine your living expenses, lifestyle experience, home appreciation potential, and scope of future development in the nearby areas.

How much money should I save before buying a house in India?

Generally, it is said that you must save at least 10% or 25% of your property’s price for the down payment. For example, if you are looking to buy a house worth ₹ 60 lakhs, you must save between ₹ 6 lakhs and ₹ 15 lakhs as a down payment for the home.

What is the golden rule of a home loan?

The golden rule of home loans is that you must always pay less than 40% or 50% of your monthly income as your home loan’s EMI. Although it can vary slightly depending on your financial situation, it is always financially safe to follow this rule, as it doesn’t cause any unnecessary burden.

Do I need a lawyer while looking for properties online?

We believe that having a lawyer’s assistance during the home search process will benefit you immensely in conducting the due diligence and verifying the legalities of the process.

What are the taxes and additional costs that need to be covered when buying a property in India?

The major additional costs associated with buying a property in India are the stamp duty and registration costs, which vary from state to state. The stamp duty charges range between 5% to 8% of the property prices, while the registration fees are generally 1% of the home price. Moreover, if you are purchasing an under-construction property, you need to pay an additional Goods and Services Tax, also known as GST. In cities such as Mumbai and Thane, the GST rate for premium under-construction properties is 5%, while for affordable properties it is 1%.