‘Biggest scam for salaried buyers’: Viral post slams under-construction property deals in India
The post argued that the long waiting periods for possession often clash with buyers’ changing life situations, reducing the real benefits of ownership. Selling later, comes with challenges like brokerage costs, quality concerns, it warned.
- Aug 21, 2025,
- Updated Aug 21, 2025 6:10 PM IST
A viral post on Reddit has sparked intense debate about the risks of investing in under-construction real estate projects in India. The author, in a strongly worded cautionary note, described such purchases as “a scam” and urged salaried professionals to avoid them altogether.
According to the post, builders often pre-sell project square footage to early investors even before construction begins, leaving retail buyers with inflated prices while also bearing all the risks of project delays, regulatory hurdles, or quality issues. “You are not really investing ‘early’,” the user wrote, claiming that initial investors “take their huge amount of flesh within a few months of project launch.”
The post further argued that the long waiting periods for possession often clash with buyers’ changing life situations, reducing the real benefits of ownership. Selling later, the author warned, comes with challenges like brokerage costs, quality concerns such as seepage or cracks, and the risk of steep depreciation in fixtures and interiors.
Highlighting the financial trade-off, the Redditor compared under-construction properties unfavourably with mutual funds: “For the same amount of risk and duration, you will get much better return if you just buy a small-cap MF and keep it till possession is available.”
The author also pointed out that renting is far cheaper when factoring in property taxes, loan interest, and maintenance. They suggested channeling the savings into systematic investment plans (SIPs) and only buying a house when family stability demands it — ideally when children are in school and long-term housing needs are clearer.
In a sharp conclusion, the post differentiated between salaried individuals with “all white money” and business people with “black money,” noting that the calculus for the latter group is different. But for the majority of salaried professionals, the warning was blunt: “Forget buying under-construction property. No, you will not miss anything.”
A viral post on Reddit has sparked intense debate about the risks of investing in under-construction real estate projects in India. The author, in a strongly worded cautionary note, described such purchases as “a scam” and urged salaried professionals to avoid them altogether.
According to the post, builders often pre-sell project square footage to early investors even before construction begins, leaving retail buyers with inflated prices while also bearing all the risks of project delays, regulatory hurdles, or quality issues. “You are not really investing ‘early’,” the user wrote, claiming that initial investors “take their huge amount of flesh within a few months of project launch.”
The post further argued that the long waiting periods for possession often clash with buyers’ changing life situations, reducing the real benefits of ownership. Selling later, the author warned, comes with challenges like brokerage costs, quality concerns such as seepage or cracks, and the risk of steep depreciation in fixtures and interiors.
Highlighting the financial trade-off, the Redditor compared under-construction properties unfavourably with mutual funds: “For the same amount of risk and duration, you will get much better return if you just buy a small-cap MF and keep it till possession is available.”
The author also pointed out that renting is far cheaper when factoring in property taxes, loan interest, and maintenance. They suggested channeling the savings into systematic investment plans (SIPs) and only buying a house when family stability demands it — ideally when children are in school and long-term housing needs are clearer.
In a sharp conclusion, the post differentiated between salaried individuals with “all white money” and business people with “black money,” noting that the calculus for the latter group is different. But for the majority of salaried professionals, the warning was blunt: “Forget buying under-construction property. No, you will not miss anything.”