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The Physical Inspection Checklist Before You Buy a Flat in Bengaluru
The room-by-room physical checks that catch what fresh paint hides — seepage, wiring, plumbing, structure — and the document checks that must run in parallel.
Fresh paint before a sale is not dishonesty — it is staging. Your job as a buyer is to look through it. This checklist is the one our inspectors work from; every item exists because it has cost some buyer real money.
Water — the biggest risk first
- Ceiling corners and wall tops in every room: patches, bubbling, or suspiciously fresh paint on one patch only
- Under-sink cabinets and behind toilets: swelling, stains, smell
- Balcony and utility: slope toward drain, drain actually draining
- Top-floor flats: the terrace above is YOUR risk — inspect it
- Ask to visit during or just after rain if at all possible
Electrical
- MCB board: age, labelling, evidence of tripping or scorching
- Earthing: three-pin sockets actually earthed (a socket tester costs ₹300)
- Load headroom: will the sanctioned load run your ACs?
- Wiring age in resale flats older than 15 years — budget rewiring if original
Plumbing
- Run every tap and shower together — pressure drop tells you about the riser
- Flush every toilet; listen for refill problems
- Hot-water pipe routing: insulated, or losing heat through a wall?
- Ask the age of the building's risers and overhead tank cleaning schedule
Structure and finish
- Cracks: hairline plaster cracks are cosmetic; diagonal cracks from corners of openings deserve an engineer's look
- Floor hollowness: tap tiles — hollow sounds mean debonding
- Doors and windows: do they close square? Sticking frames can mean settlement
- Balcony railing anchorage — shake it properly
Society and building
- Lift condition and AMC status
- Common-area maintenance standard — it predicts your future maintenance bills
- Water source: Cauvery, borewell, tankers — and the monthly cost
- Parking allocation in writing, not by custom