Buying Property in Nashik: A First-Timer's Checklist

Start with what the bank will not lend

RBI caps a home loan at 90% of the property's value for loans up to Rs 30 lakh, 80% for loans above that up to Rs 75 lakh, and 75% beyond, according to its 2015 circular as reported at the time. The rest is your down payment. Stamp duty and registration come on top, and banks rarely fund them.

Get a written sanction in principle before you visit flats. It tells you the loan figure your income supports, and it stops you negotiating for a home you cannot close on.

The government charges are larger than most first-timers expect

Stamp duty under the Stamp Act is 5% inside Nashik Municipal Corporation limits and 4% in a gram panchayat area. City purchases also carry a 1% municipal surcharge, as reported from the corporation's receipts, and possibly a 1% metro surcharge that has not been confirmed for Nashik. Budget 7% in the city and check the exact rate with the sub-registrar. Maharashtra gives no first-time buyer discount. The only concession is 1% off for women when women are the only purchasers.

Registration adds about 1%, capped at Rs 30,000.

Run it on a Rs 40 lakh flat. The loan can be at most 80% because Rs 40 lakh is above the Rs 30 lakh line, so you bring at least Rs 8 lakh. Stamp duty is Rs 2.4 lakh at 6% or Rs 2.8 lakh at 7%, plus registration. Keep that cash ready before you book.

Check the project before the developer

A promoter cannot advertise, book or sell in a project that needs registration until MahaRERA has registered it, under section 3(1) of the RERA Act. Small projects are exempt: land of 500 square metres or less, or eight apartments or fewer. Search the project on maharera.maharashtra.gov.in, the only official site, and read the declared completion date, the approved plans and any complaints.

The promoter's own filing must list the projects it launched in the past five years. Visit two of them and ask residents how possession went.

Have an advocate trace the title

A sale deed in the seller's name proves less than it looks. The advocate needs every earlier deed back to a clean start, a search of the sub-registrar's index for registered mortgages, and the 7/12 extract or property card for the land underneath. Plots on the city's edge often sit on land still recorded as agricultural, which needs conversion before anyone can build.

Ask for the advocate's fee in writing before the work starts. Fees vary widely and are not published anywhere.

Paper to collect for a resale flat

Get the registered sale deed and the chain behind it, the society's share certificate, a no-dues letter from the society, the latest property tax receipt and the electricity bill in the seller's name. If the building is newer, ask for the occupancy certificate. Without it the flat should not have been occupied in the first place.

Where the seller still owes a bank, get the lender's letter stating the outstanding amount. That part of your payment goes straight to the bank, against its release.

Paper to collect for a new flat

The agreement for sale must follow the MahaRERA model form and be registered, and the promoter cannot take more than 10% of the cost before that happens. Stamp duty is paid at that registration, not at possession, which is the step first-timers most often miss in their budget.

Read the possession date in the agreement closely. If the promoter misses it, section 18 lets you withdraw with a refund and interest, or stay and receive interest for every month of delay.

TDS, and who pays it

When the price is Rs 50 lakh or more and the seller is resident, you deduct 1% from the payment and deposit it with the income tax department. It is part of the price, paid on the seller's behalf. Since 1 April 2026 the rule is section 393(1) of the Income-tax Act 2025, as reported in summaries of the department's table. Your CA can file it for you in an afternoon.