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Paid advance and seller backed out

What usually matters in this situation, and the papers to keep ready before you meet an advocate or free legal aid (call 15100).

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Your situation

Where are you? Paid an advance / agreement signed

Papers to gather

Chain of title documents for about 30 years
The core check — who owned it before and how it passed. Where: Seller, sub-registrar office.
Encumbrance certificate
Reveals mortgages and earlier sales. Where: Sub-registrar / state portal.
Revenue / municipal records (mutation, khata, record of rights) and tax receipts
Must match the title documents. Where: Tahsil / municipality.
Agreement to sell, receipts and payment proof
Basis for refund or a suit to enforce the sale. Where: Your records, bank statement.

You may also need, depending on your answers

RERA registration, approved plan and occupancy/completion certificate — Unregistered projects and missing OC are major risks.
Registered power of attorney and proof the owner is alive — A cancelled PoA or deceased owner makes the sale invalid.
Death certificate, legal heir proof and consent of all heirs — One missing heir can challenge the sale.
Land-use / conversion order and any purchase eligibility — Agricultural land has state restrictions.

What the law says

Title passes only by a registered sale deed; a power-of-attorney or agreement sale does not transfer ownership (Supreme Court, Suraj Lamp, 2011). New projects must be RERA-registered. Tax must be deducted at 1% where the price is ₹50 lakh or more.

General information, not legal advice.

Saboot will also ask

What kind of property?
Who is selling?
How did you pay?

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Similar situations

Sources

The full guide: Buying property — what to check, or I was cheated in a property deal · All situations