Here are a few tips that could help you.

First you have to hire a competent Advocate to check all the original documents of the property you plan to buy.
Here are a few things that you should check and verify before buying a property –
• Verify the land details in the sanctioned Master plan of the concerned City Corporation / Municipality / Grama Panchayat or the concerned authority
• Documents relevant to the Land / Project / Building / Apartment
• Documents relating to the Premises
• Stamp Duty and Registration

Land Documents

Conveyance Deed or Sale Deed
This is a deed document. By this, the title of property is 'conveyed' by the seller to the purchaser. Conveyance is the act of transferring ownership of the property from a seller to the buyer. This document will help you ascertain whether the flat in an apartment complex which you are buying, is on land belonging to the society/ builder/development authority in which the property is located.

Land Register Extract
This document issued by the village officer or land authorities contains details like survey numbers, area, date - from which current owner is registered as owner.

Land Encumbrance Certificate
This document issued by the Sub Registrar's office mentions the names of the sellers & purchasers of the property, for which the document is registered.

Title Certificate
An advocate issues the Title Certificate after conducting a search on the title of the property intended for purchase.
The title certificate would state if the property is unencumbered and has a clear marketable title.
Usually, a search on the title of the property is taken for a period of the last 30 years. It is mandatory for the developer to annex a copy of these reports in the "Agreement for Sale" with the intended purchaser of the apartment.
These documents would state whether the title to the property is clear, marketable and free from encumbrance. It would state clearly whether or not there is any existing mortgage, litigation, condition or claim, which is likely to affect the title of the buyer adversely.

Non-Agricultural Land Permission
If the land you are planning to buy is a paddy field or agricultural land and if you plant to use it for residential/commercial/industrial purpose, the agricultural land has to be converted to non-agricultural land and an Non Agriculture Order has to be obtained from the Collector of the District where the property is located.

Along with this, one needs to take the latest receipts evidencing the payment of Non Agriculture Tax. In cases where the conversion from agricultural use to non-agriculture use is not done within the stipulated period then, there should be an order from the concerned authority extending the period.