Hi,
Welcome aboard!
My suggestions, opinions and experience:
1. I’m looking to buy some farm land in Maharashtra, around Pune. I’m not an agriculturist, so I need to buy some land in Madhya Pradesh to become a farmer first, and then I’ll be able to buy land here.
[K] This is not without risks. So please be careful around this.
2. When buying land, what should I be looking at? I’m not picky about what I grow. I was thinking of doing a bamboo plantation or a fruit orchard. Does it matter if half the land is on a steep slope, and the other half on top of a plateau?
[K] You have not mentioned the land parcel size. I would say check for water availability, soil quality, gradient of the land (too steep and its becomes impractical), erosion on the slopes, will you, family, farm help, farm machinery (tractor) and other implements be able to move around unhindered, increases pumping requirement etc. This is obviously not a comprehensive list but it should help you to train your thoughts.
Is electricity already available?
3. How do land deals usually go down? Do I need to pay a token before I do a title search? Does the land owner share the plots official boundaries while we’re negotiating the price?
[K] I would say give a token amount and do an “agreement to sale” maybe valid for 3 to 6 months. In Marathi it is called “sathe-khat”. When you finalise, you get the sale deed done and adjust the amount. The owner should return the amount and maybe he will deduct a small percentage. You can get a postdated cheque for that amount and mention the terms and conditions in the agreement. If you walk out then you forfeit the small amount. If the documents are not in order then no forfeiture. The land owner is bound to provide all documents. Unfortunately, most of them are not available with them.
4. How do I ensure that he returns the token if the lawyer raises issues?
[K] I have answered that in the earlier point.
5. If the land’s been in the sellers family for generations, can some unknown grandchild lay claim to the property years from now?
[K] Yeah and it gets tricky. Hence it is important that you do a very thorough search spanning generations. Please get help from a qualified, well experienced lawyer and especially one whom you are acquainted with. Do not go on the recommendation of the middle-man or the owner. Also, if you know folks in the village it will be helpful for you to map out the whole ancestry. Sometimes, some beneficiaries have disappeared and owner might not mention them and they can spring back.
Documentation is th key here. Getting hold of everything. You need to be very cautious.
6. The land I’ve seen doesn’t have road access. There’s a plot about 30 feet wide in front of the one I saw that touches the road. The seller says he’ll ensure that I have a 15 ft path so that I can bring vehicles in. How do I ensure this?
[K] I am not comfortable purchasing land where there is no mapped road access. The road needs to be shown in the village map, should be mentioned as easements in 7/12, agreement needs to be registered. Road access needs to be bullet proof. Future plans showing access is not helpful.