A layout drawn from a plot size alone is guesswork. Two 20-guntha plots in the same village can need completely different homes because of slope, access, water and what the planning authority permits. This list keeps the first conversation about your land, not about generic plans. You do not need every answer before you call anyone; mark what you know and what you still need to find out.
1. The plot
- Location: a Google Maps pin and the nearest village or landmark.
- Access: how the plot is reached, and whether that road stays usable through the monsoon.
- Size and shape: area in guntha or acres, boundary measurements, or a survey drawing if you have one.
- Photos or a video walk-through: slope, trees, rock, where rainwater flows, neighbours and the best views.
- Slope: roughly flat, gently sloping or steep? Sloping sites need a contour survey first - see building on sloping land.
2. Land documents (for your lawyer)
These are for an independent local lawyer to verify, not for an architect to approve. Buildability is confirmed plot by plot with a lawyer and the planning authority.
- 7/12 extract (satbara) and mutation entries
- Sale deed or the document under which you hold the land
- Whether the land is agricultural or NA, and any tenure conditions
- The plot's zone under the applicable Regional or Development Plan, if known
- Whether the plot touches an eco-sensitive, forest-buffer or coastal regulation zone
- Which authority grants building permission for the area
3. Water, power and connectivity
- Water: existing borewell or well, yields nearby, and any shared water source.
- Power: distance to the nearest electricity connection.
- Mobile and internet: coverage on the plot, if you plan to work from there or use cameras.
- Help nearby: the nearest market, local labour and someone who could look after the home.
4. How you will use the home
- Who: your family, parents staying longer, friends, or guests paying to stay.
- How often: most weekends, a few times a year, or long stays.
- Rooms: bedrooms, a caretaker room, parking, workspace, outdoor living.
- Access needs: anyone who needs step-free rooms or a ground-floor bedroom.
- Rental: if you may rent it out, decide early - see designing for family use and rental.
- Must-haves and dislikes: anything you have seen and loved, or never want.
5. Budget and phasing
- Total budget for the whole project: not just the house, but site works, water, power, approvals, fees, landscape and a contingency.
- What must be done in phase one, and what can wait (a pool, a second cottage, landscape).
- Finish level: basic, standard or premium. Our budget guide lists every line a total budget should include.
6. Timing and decisions
- When you would like to start, keeping the June-September monsoon in mind.
- Who makes decisions and signs off on design and spending.
- How often you can visit site, and how you want progress reported if you cannot.
Questions to ask any architect or contractor
- Will I get an itemised estimate, and what does it exclude?
- Who checks each stage of work before I pay, and who pays them?
- How are changes to scope priced and approved?
- How is the monsoon handled in the schedule?
- Which completed homes can I see, and what exactly was your role on them?
If you are still choosing between hiring an architect with project management or a turnkey contractor, read architect + project management vs turnkey contractor.
Want a first view of your plot?
Send us the location pin, a few photos and whatever you have filled in above. We design farmhouses and manage their construction for plot owners across the Karjat, Mulshi, Bhor, Lonavala and Pen-Pali-Khopoli belts. See how we work.
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