6 Things to Watch Out While Buying a Home
Whether you are buying a house for the purpose of self-occupancy or investment, it requires huge funds from your end. Hence, it makes sense to make a checklist of things to watch out for before purchasing a house. This checklist is nothing but a measure to safeguard yourself against fraudulent builders and to ensure that you don’t regret your purchase decision later.
Evaluate your Requirements
The first step in the search for the right house is to understand your requirement and purpose of buying. Are you the end-user, or going to rent it out? Are you expecting just monthly returns or long-term capital gains as well? If you are going to be the end-user, figure out how much space your family needs and shortlist properties accordingly. If you are making the purchase for the purpose of investment, shortlist properties with a great potential for growth. Having a clear picture of your requirements and your family needs will aid you in making better purchase decisions.
Location of the Property
If you are going to live in the house along with your family, ensure that it is close to their office/school/college. Ideally, you shouldn’t have to commute beyond the 10 km radius of the house. Also, check whether the house has decent connectivity, social infrastructure, hospitals, and shopping center in the proximity. However, if you’re buying a house for the purpose of investment, pick a location that is likely to witness steady appreciation. Regardless of the end use of the house, choose the location based on the current or upcoming infrastructures such as metro & monorail connectivity, flyovers and IT parks to name a few.
Property Price: Compare Options
Before you buy the house, compare its price with other similar properties in the area. An important decision you’ll have to make is whether to buy an under-construction property, a ready to move in property or a resale property. Each stage of the property cycle has its own set of pros and cons, hence you should make up your mind after thorough consideration. You can buy an under-construction property at a low price point, while a ready to occupy house will cost you more but is likely to have the no objection and possession certificates in place. On the other hand, an old resale property could be affordable but requires repair and renovation.
Thorough Background Check of the Developer
A very important step before investing in your new house is to verify the reputation and credibility of the developer. Find out if the developer has adhered to delivery timelines with his previous projects. It would be safe to assume that a developer who is registered with associations such as CREDAI and NAREDCO is a reliable one.
Verify necessary approvals
An apartment complex requires several approvals before the construction actually starts. These include approvals from the fire, water and electricity departments, to name a few. Thus, buyers must ensure that the developer possesses all the necessary approvals.
In addition, the quality of construction should also be checked with utmost seriousness. Often, the material used in the sample flat is totally different from the one used in the actual building. Thus, time to time visit of the property is recommended.
Another common area of conflict is the size of the property. Thus, one must carefully check the carpet area, built-up area and super built-up area of the property. Assistance from a reputed lawyer/law firm is advisable here.
Check All Important Documents
To ensure that all the documents are in place is to hire a lawyer with an expertise in the field of real estate. It is also recommended that you buy the house through a home loan, as the lending bank will check the authenticity of the property and papers before sanctioning the loan to you.
