Tips to Choose a House in a Locality Best Suited to You

The location of a property is one its most important aspects. Here’s how you can go about choosing a locality that’s best suited to your needs.

Often, home buyers may find it difficult to finalise a house, after shortlisting their final few properties. If these properties are in a similar price range and in the buyers’ preferred location, there are several other factors that buyers can consider, for reaching a decision.

Existing Infrastructure

1. Connectivity with your workplace:Among the locations that you have selected, ascertain each one’s connectivity to your workplace – while one location may be far off from your workplace, the other location may be closer to the office

2. Ease of commute:Besides the distance from your workplace, ease of commuting between the location and your workplace, is also crucial. If a particular location has a better mode of conveyance (such as a metro network or a direct bus service), then, it makes sense to opt for that location. Bhavna Gupta, a resident of Gurgaon, who takes the metro every day, to travel to her office in central Delhi, concurs that “Ease of commute can make up for the long distance and long hours of travel.”

3. Presence of basic amenities/markets:Once you move into your property, you will need some basic amenities and markets that fulfil your daily requirement. “Proximity to important services, such as healthcare, educational institutions and market place, is a boon,” points out Harinder Singh, a Delhi-based broker. If any of the shortlisted properties offer these facilities within the project, the buyer should ideally opt for such a property. Also, check if water and electricity is a problem, or not

4. Safety:Established localities tend to have better safety, compared to new locations. Some locations also have residents’ welfare associations, which takes care of the security of the colony.

Future Prospects

While projects in prime locations may seem alluring, buyers should also consider the future prospects of the project and the infrastructure developments in the location.

1. Residential versus commercial:It is important to gauge, if the location that you are considering, will be developed as a residential or commercial area. A fully residential area with a fair mix of commercial centres, offers good living conditions. However, a residential property in a fully commercial area, may not be a wise choice in the long run

2. ‘Green’ quotient:With global warming now a reality and most metropolitan cities facing problems of pollution, a home that offers more ‘green’ aspects has several advantages. Buyers can check if the property is equipped to conserve energy and has enough natural light, as such provisions will help to save power and money in the long run. You should also check the areas surrounding the property (which may be developed in future) for the amount of greenery it will offer, as it will have a direct bearing on air pollution and the lifestyle in future

3. Proximity to highway or an infrastructure project:While proximity to an upcoming highway can boost the property’s price, there can be other associated problems. Regular pollution from the busy highway, can cause health problems.

Social Life

One’s social circle may also play an important role in deciding where you want to buy a home. For example, Tuhina Singh bought a house in the Noida Extension region of the NCR, only because most of her friends and relatives lived in Noida.

Other than this, the location should also offer leisure activities in the neighbourhood. A location that has restaurants, clubs, gymnasium, multiplexes and other places of social and leisure activities, will attract more buyers, over locations that only have apartment projects.

Whatever be the final choice, there is always a certain amount of risk due to possible delays in construction and uncertainty in the market. Consequently, buyers need to be thorough in their due diligence, to guard against problems.

 Courtesy: Housing.com

Under-Construction/Ready-to-Move/Resale Property: Which should you choose?

Unsure whether you should buy an under-construction, or ready-to-move-in, or resale? Our analysis is bound to help you get clarity.

Home buyers normally put money on a property, based on the assessment of risk-to-reward ratio. For an end-user, the main focus while buying a home, may be low risk, good quality of construction and timely possession, whereas, investors also look for high ROI.

Under-construction home

Buying a home in an under-construction project, is one of the most popular options exercised by potential home buyers.

“It is no secret that home buyers can save up to 30% of the cost of a property, by investing at the pre-launch stage of a project. This is, in fact, the most popular mode of investment among property buyers. However, this is a riskier method of property investment, as one is investing in a product that is yet to be manufactured,” points out Arvind Jain, managing director, Pride Group.

Ready-to-move-in apartments

In the case of ready-to-move apartments, home buyers may need to make the entire payment in a short period of time. Unlike an under-construction property, buyers need not wait to get possession in ready-to-move apartments. However, buyers in the category are lesser than those who opt for under-construction houses.

“A ready-to-move-in flat is ideal, for those who buy their first property. Customers have to make a big investment in the ready-to-move-in home, compared to an under-construction home. The higher price also makes these less attractive, vis-à-vis return on investment (ROI). On the other hand, a ready-to-move-in property may help customers to save on the rental payment on their current accommodation,” explains RK Arora, chairman of Supertech Limited.
Those who are averse to any kind of risk, prefer to buy ready-to-move flats. However, there have also been cases where authorities have demolished buildings for illegal construction, after its completion.

Resale homes

Buying from the resale market, is yet another option for home buyers.

“Homes in this category cost about 15%-20% lesser than existing ready-to-move-in homes. However, this kind of deal is beneficial, only when the project’s construction quality is good. The age of the building is also crucial in this type of purchase,” elaborates Shailesh Puranik, MD of Puranik Builders Pvt Ltd. For resale properties, one must examine all the facts, including hidden encumbrances and legal clearances before taking a plunge, suggest experts.
A buyer should select the property (whether it is under-construction, or ready-to-move-in, or resale), depending on one’s individual needs, maintains DS Kulkarni, CMD of DS Kulkarni Developers Ltd. “If it is an under-construction house, the buyer must check whether the builder has delivered as per commitment on his earlier projects, or as per the specifications mentioned in the information brochure while booking,” he advises.

Courtesy: Housing.com

Know Your Neighbourhood - Velachery

Velachery is one of the important residential and commercial localities in Chennai. Velachery derives its name from the Tamil word “Vel” which represents king or leader (it also denotes Lord Sri Narasimha Swami) and “Chery”, another word in Tamil which means a place where people gather. Until the 90s, Velachery was known for its farmlands and lake. Infrastructure developments in and around this locality along with real estate developments has turned this area into a real estate hotspot.

Accessibility:

The micro market is well connected by bus and train. The airport and central railway station are located 9 km and 15 km away from this area. Velachery is surrounded by localities like Guindy, Adambakkam, Taramani, Madipakkam. It lies close to the IT corridor (OMR) and most of those who live here are from the IT/ ITeS sectors. The locality itself has quite a number of IT companies. Some major companies include Sutherland, Allsec, Tata Consultancy Services, and Zoho. It is also connected to the GST Road. Roads in this locality are well connected to all the prime localities and central business districts in the city. Connectivity has driven the growth of the locality.

Education:

Velachery has many universities, colleges and schools in and around it. A part of the IIT Madras campus is located here. Other universities like Anna University, Tamil Nadu Open University are located in close proximity to the area. Colleges like Guru Nanak College, Remo International College of Aviation, and Chennai Business School are located here. It has some of the best schools in Chennai. D.A.V. Public School, Ashram Matriculation School, Navadisha Montessori, and D.A.Ve Baba Vidyalaya are some of the schools which are located here. It also has a number of coaching centres for competitive examinations.

Hospitality:

Some star hotels such as the Westin, ITC Grand Chola, Asiana Grand Palace, and Ginger Hotel are located in and around this area. This micro market has plenty of serviced apartments and guest houses. Velacity, ARS Nest, Room to stay, and The Q Stay are some of the serviced apartments present here. Velachery has a huge number of restaurants which cater to all budget ranges and cuisines. Restaurants like Snow Park, The Peaches, Wangs, Kumarakom, Dindigul Aachies, Pind Pure Punjabi-Desi, and Regale are present here.

Retail:

Velachery has Chennai’s largest shopping mall, “Phoenix Market City” which houses hundreds of international brands. The Grand mall is also located here. The locality has never lacked for standalone retail outlets. Spencers, Puma, Croma, More, Europa, Rex, Connexions, Witco, Godrej interio, Nathella, and Jazz Fashion are present here

Entertainment:

The malls here have multiplexes. Sri Rajalakshmi Theatre is also located here. Guindy National Park lies in close proximity to this locality. The entertainment corridor of ECR which has beach houses, resorts and amusement parks is also located in close proximity to the area.

Healthcare:

Velachery has plenty of healthcare facilities. Some of the hospitals include Velachery KS Hospital, Nandhini Hospital, and Xcellent Care Super Speciality Hospital.

Places of worship:

Dhandeeswaram Temple, Siva Vishnu Temple, Sri Pidari Selliamman Temple, St. Paul’s Marthoma Church, CSI Good Shepherd Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Advent Christian Church, and J M Hawwa Jummah Masjid are a few places of worship located here.

Real Estate:

The locality has been an important residential and commercial real estate market which is an outcome of the good connectivity that this area enjoys. Most of the land parcels are developed. Traffic congestion is a major problem here but the proposed infrastructural projects in the locality are set to ease traffic congestion. The infrastructural projects include:

• Widening of Velachery Main Road
• A 1.1 km skywalk which will connect Velachery-Vijaynagar bus stand with the Velachery MRTS.
• An elevated road to come up in the Velachery Main Road.
• A proposed Monorail line will connect Vandalur with Velachery