What is in the guide
The full contents are below, section by section. The fourth section is the one to read twice.
Week 1 — Before you plan anything
- Take possession only after a joint inspection; list every defect the builder owes you.
- Get the carpet area from the agreement. The brochure number is not the number you will live in.
- Photograph every wall before anything is installed. You will need it to drill safely later.
- Find out your society's renovation rules on day one, not on the day work is meant to start.
- Set a total budget and decide immediately whether furniture and appliances sit inside it.
Weeks 2 to 4 — Deciding what you need
- Do a storage audit. Count clothes, utensils, luggage and books; convert to cubic feet.
- Decide how you actually live: where you eat, where you work, who visits and how often.
- Separate must-have from nice-to-have in writing. The list will be tested by the budget.
- Get three estimates on the same written scope. Different scopes are not comparable.
- Read a quotation line by line. Ask what plywood grade and which hardware brand.
Weeks 4 to 6 — Choosing who does the work
- Design-and-build gives you one accountable party; designer plus contractor gives you two.
- Visit a live site, not just a finished one. Sites tell you more than photographs.
- Check that the BOQ names brands and grades. 'Branded hardware' is not a specification.
- Fix the rate for extra work before you sign. It is never cheap to negotiate later.
- Tie payments to site milestones, not to dates.
The decisions that cost the most if you get them wrong
- Electrical points. Every regret list starts here — plan them room by room before first fix.
- Waterproofing. It is invisible, it is cheap now and it is ruinous later.
- Storage volume. Beautiful joinery that holds less than your old cupboard is a failure.
- Appliance cut-outs. Buy the appliance before the carcass is cut.
- Kitchen counter height. Set it to the person who cooks, not to a standard.
Money, honestly
- A 2BHK in Mumbai at a decent premium specification runs Rs 11 to 16 lakh ex-GST in 2026.
- GST at 18 per cent is on top of that, and it is not optional.
- Loose furniture, curtains and appliances are typically another 15 to 25 per cent.
- Hold 10 per cent for contingency. Something behind a wall will surprise you.
- Never pay more than 15 per cent before work starts on site.
Move-in
- Snag in daylight and again after dark; the lighting faults only show at night.
- Collect warranties, brand schedules, as-built drawings and paint codes before final payment.
- Hold 5 per cent retention for 30 days of actual use.
- Do a second snag walk after a month. It always finds more than the first.
- Set up a maintenance calendar in week one. Hinges and sealants are cheap to keep and expensive to replace.
How to use it
- Do the week-one items before you talk to any designer. They cost nothing and they change every conversation afterwards.
- Do the storage audit properly. It is the single most useful hour a first-time client can spend.
- Get three quotations on the same written scope. Different scopes are not comparable, however similar the totals look.
- Hold 10 per cent contingency and do not spend it on an upgrade in month one.
Three things nobody tells a first-time buyer
- The brochure carpet area is not the carpet area. Use the sale agreement number; it is what your interiors are priced against.
- GST is 18 per cent and it is not optional. Budget it as part of the cost, not as a surprise at invoicing.
- Loose furniture is another 15 to 25 per cent. Almost every first-time budget forgets it until three weeks before moving in.
Start with the cost calculator and read how to plan a home interior project.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a first-time buyer budget?+
For a 2BHK in Mumbai in 2026: Rs 7 to 10 lakh at an essential specification, Rs 11 to 16 lakh at premium, plus 18 per cent GST, plus another 15 to 25 per cent for loose furniture, curtains and appliances. Hold 10 per cent contingency on top of all of that.
Should I use a designer or go straight to a contractor?+
A contractor alone is 10 to 20 per cent cheaper and leaves the coordination and the drawings to you. A designer alone gives you drawings and no execution accountability. Design-and-build gives you one accountable party and costs somewhere in between. For a first flat, single-point accountability is usually worth the premium.
What should I never economise on?+
Waterproofing, electrical points, plywood grade in wet areas and kitchen hardware. All four are invisible, all four are expensive to revisit, and all four determine whether the flat still works in year seven. Economise on shutter finish, ceiling complexity and stone instead.
How much should I pay before work starts?+
No more than 15 per cent before any drawing is approved and no more than 25 per cent before the site is mobilised. A contractor asking for 40 or 50 per cent up front is asking you to fund their business, and you will have no leverage for the rest of the project.
When should I start planning interiors?+
Two to three months before possession if you can. Design takes four to six weeks, society NOC one to three, and site work another ten to fourteen. Starting on possession day means moving in five months later, which is longer than most people plan for.