Agreement to Sell (Banakhat) that actually protects your money
Properly drafted Banakhat with clear payment terms, timelines and cancellation protection.
What this covers
- Agreement to Sell (Banakhat) drafting
- Payment schedule & penalty clauses
- Possession and timeline terms
- Token / advance protection
- Notarisation
- Conversion to sale deed later
The problem
Most people pay a token amount on a plain paper Banakhat. If the seller backs out, changes the price, or the title turns out to be unclear, that money is very hard to recover.
How we solve it
The agreement is built around the terms you have actually struck — payment schedule, possession date, what happens on default, how either side gets out — so neither party is relying on memory when it matters.
Why clients choose us for this
How it works
- 1
Share the terms
Price, advance, timeline and parties.
- 2
We draft
A Banakhat that protects your payment.
- 3
Review together
Every clause explained before signing.
- 4
Execute
Signed, stamped and notarised.
Documents to bring
- Property details and papers
- Aadhaar & PAN of buyer and seller
- Agreed price and payment schedule
- Passport photographs
Not everything to hand? Send what you have and we will tell you what the agreement still needs.
Send documents on WhatsAppBanakhat in Gujarat
Banakhat is the Gujarati term for an agreement to sell — the contract recording that a seller will sell and a buyer will buy, on stated terms, by a stated date. It is not a transfer. Ownership stays with the seller until the sale deed is executed and registered. What the banakhat does is fix the price, the schedule and the consequences of default at the moment both sides are still willing to agree on them.
Almost every property transaction in Ahmedabad passes through one, usually because money changes hands early. A buyer pays an advance to take the property off the market; a seller wants certainty before they clear a loan or vacate. That advance is precisely what a well-drafted banakhat protects, and what a one-page receipt does not.
The document also carries a deadline. Under the Limitation Act the window to enforce an agreement to sell through a suit for specific performance runs from the date fixed for performance, and it is shorter than most buyers assume. A banakhat left to drift is a right quietly expiring.
The procedure, step by step
- 01
Establishing what is actually being sold
Before terms, the property has to be identified beyond argument — survey or final plot number, area, boundaries, share in common areas, what fixtures are included. Where the seller is one of several co-owners or holds through inheritance, we establish who must sign for the agreement to bind the whole property. An agreement signed by one heir out of four is worth very little.
- 02
Preliminary title look
A full search normally comes later, but a quick look at the chain and any registered charge happens now, because it changes what the agreement should say. If a mortgage has to be cleared before completion, that becomes a condition with a date attached rather than an assumption.
- 03
Drafting the commercial terms
Price and payment schedule, the advance and how it is treated, the completion date, who bears stamp duty and registration cost, when possession passes, what happens to society dues and taxes up to completion, and the seller's undertaking to hand over the original documents. Each of these is a real argument we have seen; each is cheaper to settle here.
- 04
Default and exit
The clauses nobody wants to discuss are the ones that matter if things go wrong. What happens if the buyer's loan is declined. What happens if the seller finds a higher offer. Whether the advance is forfeited, refunded, or refunded with interest. Whether either side can compel completion through the court rather than simply walking away with damages.
- 05
Stamping, and the registration question
The agreement is stamped at the applicable rate. Whether it is also registered is a genuine decision rather than a formality: registration gives the agreement far more weight against third parties, and in Gujarat the duty paid on a registered agreement is ordinarily adjusted against the duty on the eventual sale deed. We will tell you which way we would go on your facts and why.
What you will need
Property papers
- Current title deed and the preceding chain
- Index-II of the seller's own purchase
- Latest tax receipt
- Society no-dues and share certificate, where applicable
- Approved plan, for constructed property
Party papers
- Aadhaar and PAN of every buyer and every seller
- Photographs
- Proof of the advance payment and how it moved
- Bank sanction letter, if the purchase is funded
What a banakhat costs to put in place
Two separate things: the state's duty on the instrument, and our fee for drawing it. The duty depends on the value and on whether you register.
| Stamp duty on the agreement | Quoted for your matter in writing |
|---|---|
| Registration fee, if registered | Quoted for your matter in writing |
| Set-off against the sale deed | Quoted for your matter in writing |
How long it takes
- Preliminary title look
- 1–3 working days
- Drafting and negotiation between the parties
- 2–5 working days
- Stamping and signature
- Same day once terms are agreed
- Registration, where chosen
- One appointment
Usually the parties, not the drafting, set the pace.
Where this goes wrong
Paying an advance against a receipt
A signed receipt records that money moved. It does not record what the money bought, by when, or what happens if the seller changes their mind. Recovering an advance without an agreement is a long, expensive argument about what was meant.
No completion date
An agreement without a date fixed for performance leaves the buyer waiting and the limitation position uncertain. Sellers rarely resist a date; it is simply forgotten.
Missing co-owners
Jointly held and inherited property needs every holder's signature. We check who is on the title and who has a claim through succession before drafting, not after a sibling appears at completion.
Silence on the loan
If the buyer needs finance, the agreement should say what happens if the sanction does not come. Without that clause the buyer risks forfeiting the advance for something the bank decided.
Common questions
Agreements to sell go wrong in predictable ways. Here is what people ask before signing one.
Call NowYes, when it is properly drafted and stamped it is a binding agreement to sell. A plain paper note with no clauses gives you very little protection, which is why the drafting matters.
Often needed alongside this
Agreement to Sell (Banakhat) that actually protects your money
Terms fixed while both sides are still agreeing, not after the argument starts.