Not every complication is a warning sign. Property transactions are genuinely slow and paperwork-heavy. These nine, though, warrant real caution.
1. Pressure to pay before you have seen documents
"Book today, we will sort the paperwork" is the single most common precursor to a bad purchase. Documents exist or they do not. A seller who wants money first is managing a problem.
2. Reluctance to share the RERA number
It is a public registration. Any hesitation about providing it, or providing a screenshot instead of a number you can verify yourself, is worth taking seriously.
3. Cash components
A request for part payment in cash is illegal, exposes you to tax consequences, and leaves that portion of your payment undocumented and unrecoverable.
4. A price notably below the market
Property is not a market with hidden bargains. A price well below comparable units usually reflects a title issue, an approval gap, a litigation, or an access problem — something the price is compensating for.
5. The seller will not let you speak to existing residents
In a delivered project, residents are the best available source. A sales team that discourages this has a reason.
6. Power of attorney sales without a clear explanation
GPA sales are not automatically improper, but they add a layer between you and the owner. Ask why the owner is not signing, and have a lawyer review the PoA's scope and validity.
7. Verbal promises that never make it into writing
The metro, the school, the road widening, the upgraded fittings. If it matters and it is not in the agreement, treat it as not existing.
8. Approvals described as "in process"
Construction that has begun before approvals are complete is a real risk. In-process is not approved.
9. A developer with no completed project you can visit
Everyone has a first project, and a first project is not disqualifying. But it changes your risk, and it should change your due diligence and possibly your price.
How to respond to a red flag
Not necessarily by walking away — but by slowing down, putting the question in writing, and involving a lawyer before any further money moves. The cost of a week's delay is small. The cost of proceeding past a genuine warning sign is not.
The one that matters most
If the answers keep changing depending on who you ask, stop. Inconsistency across a sales team usually means nobody has the real answer.
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