Asset verification services for lenders and creditors

What is asset verification?

Asset verification is checking that an asset is real, is owned by the person who claims it, matches the documents, and is not already charged or under dispute. For property this means title, encumbrances, approvals and possession. For a company it means its registered charges, filings and the assets in its balance sheet. The aim is to know before money moves, or before you spend on litigation, what you can actually rely on.

Collateral verification before lending

• Title search over the required period and the chain of documents.
• Search of the CERSAI registry for existing security interests.
• Search of charges registered with the Registrar of Companies for company borrowers.
• Revenue and municipal records: 7/12 extract, property card, property tax and mutation entries.
• Building approvals and occupancy certificate for flats and commercial units.
• Pending litigation search against the owner and the property.
• Possession and occupation status, through inspection where arranged.

Valuation is done by an approved valuer; we check that the valuation report describes the same property as the title documents.

Asset tracing services after default

A decree or a recovery certificate is worth only what you can attach. Tracing starts with the public record: property registered in the debtor's name, shareholdings and directorships, vehicles, and charges in favour of other lenders. Then the court can help. Under Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, the executing court can examine the judgment debtor about assets, and the Supreme Court in Rahul S. Shah v Jinendra Kumar Gandhi (2021) told executing courts to require the debtor to disclose assets on affidavit early. Bank accounts and receivables are reached through attachment orders.

We stay within lawful sources and court processes. We do not offer surveillance or private data.

Who uses asset verification?

• Banks and NBFCs, before sanction and when a loan turns bad.
• Asset reconstruction companies buying portfolios.
• Businesses with a decree or an arbitral award to execute.
• Companies vetting a guarantor or a counterparty before a large contract.
• Individuals buying property who want an independent check.

How an asset verification assignment runs

1. Brief. Purpose, the person or company, known assets and the deadline.
2. Records search. Registration, CERSAI, ROC, revenue, municipal and litigation records.
3. Inspection where needed. In Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai we can arrange it directly; for other cities we tell you at the outset how it will be arranged and what it costs.
4. Report. Findings, documents relied on, gaps and risks, in a form usable in court if needed.
5. Action. SARFAESI measures, DRT proceedings, attachment or a revised sanction decision.

Asset verification services by city

Records and authorities differ by state, so these pages explain what is local:

• Asset verification in Mumbai
• Asset verification in Delhi
• Asset verification in Pune

For recovery steps after verification, see debt recovery and our article on asset verification for debt recovery.

What can go wrong without verification?

• The same flat mortgaged to two lenders because nobody searched CERSAI.
• A decree that cannot be executed because the debtor's only property was transferred to a relative.
• Security over a building with no occupancy certificate and an unauthorised floor.
• A guarantor whose declared assets turn out to be joint family property with other claimants.