10 TIPS TO FOLLOW WHILE BUYING A HOUSE

Buying a house is a dream cherished by millions of people in our country. But financially speaking, investing Lakhs of hard-earned money in a house requires a through house-hunting exercise. In this article, my efforts to present some important pointers which ones should keep in mind while buying a house.

1.       Before you buy a house, make sure you are aware of all costs. Apart from parking, floor rise, stamp duties, registration fees, one should also check for value added tax liabilities and services tax.

2.       A due diligence on the developer’s track records is a must before looking buying a home. One should also ideally settle for trusted builders only. It is also advisable to check the land on which property is built to know whether it is free of any legal issues.

3.       Never stretch yourself too much on floating interest rates. People do not realize the latent risk of floating interest rates or loans with low interest rates for the initial years. In fact, one should do a proper check of their EMI obligations. The EMI should ideally not exceeding 35% of one’s income. Put the maximum down payment.

4.       It is some time useful to buy a little old property, may be 2-3 years old. This ensures that there is a market place, school and other amenities nearby. One can always talk to the inhabitants and gets a faire idea about the real scenario.

5.       Consider the resale value of the property. Check carpet area, infrastructure facilities and the place should have lesser maintenance cost as well.

6.       People are often given a option of under construction or ready to move in a flats. Under construction flats are generally cheap while ready to move in flats are costly. In case you have funds select the letter.

7.       One should check the individual plan and especially match the area of the balconies. The builders generally seize this opportunities and charge the customers as part of the super build up area.

8.       For under construction houses, it is very common for the builders to make lapses and delay other services. Hence, hold up the money of amenities until the work gets completed.

9.       Check the frontage length of the plot, type of soil, type of ground water, rain water stagnating issues, and drainage facilities.

10.   As a rule, registration stamp duty is 8% of the land value and 1% as registration fees and miscellaneous charges. Never believe anything in Oral!