Buyer's Guide
Buying your first home in Bengaluru
Budget to registration, step by step — with the mistakes first-timers actually make.
Updated 2026-07-11
Step 1: Fix the budget before the browsing
Browsing before budgeting is how people buy 20% more flat than they planned. Work backwards: banks typically finance 75–80% of the property value, so plan for 20–25% down — in cash, without touching your emergency fund — plus roughly 10–12% over the sticker for stamp duty, registration and incidentals, and interiors after that. A common lender rule of thumb keeps the EMI within about 40% of take-home income; treat that as a ceiling, not a target. Get a pre-approval before shortlisting — it converts you from a browser into a buyer, and sellers price the difference.
Step 2: Shortlist corridors, not flats
The corridor decides your price band, commute and appreciation curve before any flat does — Bengaluru's corridors span a 2.3× price spread (see current prices per sq ft). Anchor on your workplace, then compare deliberately: the neighborhoods guide maps all ten corridors, and the head-to-heads (like Whitefield vs Electronic City) settle the common dilemmas with data. Only when the corridor is fixed should a specific flat get your weekends.
Step 3: Pick your market — new launch or resale
Same corridor, two different products: a new launch trades waiting time and construction risk for staged payments and a never-lived-in flat; resale trades age and refurbishment for immediate possession and a negotiable human seller. The trade-offs — GST, loan mechanics, overlap years — are mapped in new launch vs resale. First-timers skew resale for certainty; just budget the refurbishment honestly.
Ready-or-not is measurable
Your FIFSCORE tells you if you're actually positioned to buy — budget, timing, groundwork — before a builder's salesperson tells you that you are.
Check your FIFSCORE →Step 4: The paperwork that protects you
Karnataka has a specific document stack, and every item exists because someone got burned skipping it: the title deed chain (who owned it, in unbroken sequence), the Encumbrance Certificate (no loans or claims riding on the property), the khata (the BBMP account that legitimizes tax records — insist on A-khata for clean financing), the Occupancy Certificate for completed buildings, and RERA registration for anything under construction — verifiable on the Karnataka RERA portal. A lawyer's title opinion costs a fraction of a percent of the flat; skipping it wagers the whole flat.
Step 5: Close like you mean it
The endgame: negotiate from corridor data, not hope (a Fifsee AI report arms you with current numbers); agree what stays (fittings, parking, society transfer); then register — stamp duty and registration charges are the final, unskippable line item, payable at the sub-registrar's office. Keys after registration, never before. Congratulations are appropriate only after the Encumbrance Certificate shows your name.
Frequently asked questions
How much down payment do I need in Bengaluru?
Banks typically finance 75–80%, so plan for 20–25% down plus ~10–12% in duties and charges.
What should I verify before booking a flat?
RERA registration, clear title, OC/CC status for completed buildings, and the builder's delivery track record.
Can Fifsee help me decide what I can afford?
Yes — get your FIFSCORE and a free buyer report tuned to your budget and corridor.
What is a khata, and does A vs B matter?
The khata is the BBMP record that ties the property to municipal tax accounts. A-khata means fully compliant — banks finance it readily. B-khata signals irregularities and complicates loans and resale; price accordingly or walk away.
How long does buying take, end to end?
With financing, typically 2–4 months from shortlist to registration for resale; new launches add the wait until possession — often 1–4 years.