How do I verify if a property has a clear title before buying?

Title verification is the single most important step before buying any resale property, and it is worth spending on a lawyer for this rather than skipping it. Start with the chain of title documents — ask the seller for at least the last 30 years of sale deeds, gift deeds, or partition deeds showing how ownership passed from one person to the next, ending with the current seller. Any gap or inconsistency in this chain is a red flag that needs explaining.

Next, get an Encumbrance Certificate (EC) from the Sub-Registrar's office covering the same 30-year period. This document shows whether the property has any registered mortgage, loan, lien, or legal charge against it. If the EC shows a home loan was taken and not yet closed, you will need a loan closure certificate and a No Objection Certificate from the bank before proceeding, since an unpaid mortgage survives the sale and can attach to you as the new owner in some circumstances.

You should also verify property tax receipts to confirm dues are cleared, check the latest mutation entry in municipal or revenue records (this reflects who is currently recorded as the owner for tax purposes, though mutation itself does not create ownership), and if it's an apartment, confirm the building has proper occupancy certificate and that the society or builder has clear title to the underlying land. If the seller inherited the property, check whether probate or a succession certificate was obtained where required, and whether all legal heirs have signed off — a sale by only one heir without the others' consent is a common source of future disputes.

Given the number of documents involved and how state-specific some of these rules are, I'd strongly recommend hiring a property lawyer to do a formal title search and give you a title report before you pay anything beyond a token amount — this typically costs a small fraction of what a title dispute would cost you later.