A site visit is not a viewing. You are not there to decide whether you like the place -- photographs settle that. You are there to collect information that does not exist in any document, and to test the claims that do.
Go twice if you can, in different seasons. Go with the survey sketch in your hand. And budget three hours, not thirty minutes.
Before you leave
Pull the records first. Take the RTC or revenue record, the survey sketch showing boundaries and hissa numbers, and the seller's stated extent. You cannot verify what you have not read.
Check the satellite view. Look at the parcel on current satellite imagery and on older imagery if available. You are checking for structures, tracks, water bodies, tree cover, and whether the shape matches the sketch. Compare what the imagery showed three years ago to what it shows now -- new construction on a neighbouring boundary or a vanished tank tells you something.
Note the access route. Trace how you will physically reach the plot from the nearest public road.
The boundary
1. Walk the full perimeter. All of it, on foot. This is non-negotiable and it is where most discoveries happen.
2. Locate the survey stones. Boundary markers should exist at corners. Missing or recently moved stones are worth asking about.
3. Compare shape against the sketch. A parcel that is materially a different shape on the ground than on paper needs a surveyor before anything else.
4. Check for encroachment in both directions. A neighbour's fence inside your line, or the seller's fence outside theirs. The second is worse -- you would be buying a boundary dispute you inherited.
5. Look for paths crossing the land. A track people have used for years can attract an easement claim. Ask who uses it and for how long.
6. Check what abuts the boundary. Common land, a tank bund, a forest boundary, a canal, a highway. Each carries its own setback rules or restrictions, and land abutting notified forest or a highway needs extra clearances at conversion.
Access
7. Is there a legally recorded access road? The most underweighted issue in farmland buying. Establish whether the access is a recorded public road, a right of way over a neighbour's land documented in writing, or an informal path. An informal path is not access. A landlocked parcel is worth far less and fixing it means negotiating with whoever owns the land between you and the road.
8. Can a truck reach it? Tractors, construction material, harvest transport. A route passable on a two-wheeler in February may be impassable in monsoon.
9. Check the route in monsoon conditions if you can. Ask locally how the approach behaves in heavy rain.
Water
10. Test the borewell yourself, for at least two hours. Full detail in verifying a farmland water source. Trace the pipe from pump to bore to confirm it is actually on this plot.
11. Ask neighbours their bore depth and whether they have re-drilled. They will tell you the truth because they have no stake in your transaction.
12. Identify the water body and its condition. Tank, canal, stream. For canal, establish whether the parcel is in the command area and whether it sits in head reach or tail end.
13. Take a water sample. A district lab test for salinity, pH and TDS costs very little and determines what the land can grow.
The land itself
14. Dig. Take a spade. Check topsoil depth in three or four places across the parcel. Shallow soil over rock in one corner is common and it changes the usable area.
15. Look at what is actually growing. Standing crop, natural vegetation, tree species. Cross-check against the crop columns in the revenue record. Silent disagreement between the two is informative.
16. Check the slope and drainage. Where does water go in heavy rain? Look for erosion channels and for low corners that will waterlog.
17. Note power availability. Distance to the nearest line, whether there is an agricultural connection, and what the local supply hours are. An unelectrified plot dependent on a borewell has a real ongoing cost.
People
18. Talk to at least two neighbouring farmers. Ask what the land has grown, whether there have been disputes, who has been farming it, and how long the seller has held it. Neighbours are the best-informed and least conflicted source available to you.
19. Find out who has been cultivating it. If someone other than the owner has farmed it for years, establish the basis. Recorded tenancy has protections that survive your purchase -- this is the RTC's cultivator and tenancy entries made physical.
20. Visit the gram panchayat office. Ask about the access road status, tax arrears, proposed works and any acquisition notices. See gram panchayat records and NOCs.
Photograph everything
Geotagged, with the date. Boundary stones, the pump running, the crop, the access route, the tank, anything that looks like a problem. You will be describing this parcel to a lawyer, a surveyor and possibly a bank, and photographs settle arguments that memory cannot.
After the visit
If the site checks out, start the paper work in order: the Encumbrance Certificate, the chain of title, eligibility under Sections 79A and 79B or ceiling limits, and then stamp duty and registration.
State-specific walkthroughs: Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.
Browse listings to visit: farmland near Mysore, farmland around Nashik, or agricultural land near Coimbatore.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Land laws and eligibility rules vary by Indian state and change over time -- verify current requirements with a local property lawyer before making any purchase decision.
Written by
Agriva Editorial
The Agriva Editorial team writes practical, field-tested guides for buyers, sellers, and brokers navigating India's farmland and niche real estate market.