How To Buy A House On A Budget
Everybody wants their dream home. With the current boom in the property market, you will see billboards advertising attractive property rates per square feet and to buy flats in Andheri, urging you to buy your dream home. They will all ask you to book now. However, be warned that most of these adv come with many hidden costs and clauses. The unmentioned costs add up to the price of the property, making it much higher than what is advertised.
Here are a few things that should be on your checklist while buying a budget home.
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This is the area for which you will be charged. However, remember that you don’t get the full area that you actually paid for. For example, if you are buying a 1200 sq. Feet apartment, then the actual usable area is around 800 to 900 sq.feet only, typically about 75 percent.
The remaining area includes the facilities and common areas like staircase, lobby, clubhouse, office, etc. So, remember the greater the number of advertised amenities, the lesser amount of actual usable property space.
Taxes
Around 5 per cent of the property value foes towards paying for stamp duty and registration charges. This could be different across the states as well. These are charges that have to be paid. Another addition to the long list of taxes is the VAT. This charge varies from state to state as well. So, if you are looking to buy flats in Andheri , the VAT is charged at 1 per cent on the contract price of the apartment as mentioned in the agreement.
Then comes the brokerage charge which varies between 1 to 4 per cent. Also, if you are taking a home loan, then there is a processing fee for that as well. That depends on the loan amount and could be up to 2 per cent.
Infrastructure
If you are looking to buy an apartment, you will not only be paying for the quoted price per square feet but also for the maintenance and other infrastructure related costs. This would include the parking charges, for example.
Also the price doesn’t include the PLC or the preferential location charges. A particular floor which faces the park or has a view of the swimming pool wll be charged more. This could be around 5 to 10 per cent over the basic cost.
For parking you will have to pay a one-time parking charge that could go by up over a lakh or so. Then of course comes the water and the electricity costs.
Administrative costs
These are the costs that you will incur the local and community maintenance. For example, the payments to the security guards, the sweepers, the repairs to the amenities and so on. Even before the apartment is allotted you will have to pay a security deposit which will be sued to meet these charges. If you are taking a club membership then the costs will be even higher.
Miscellaneous charges
Other than the apartment charges, you need to pay your lawyer to see if the title and ownership of the property is in dispute or not. You also have to get an inspection done by a surveyor if you are going to be taking a home loan.
Thus, these are some of the things that you will have to keep in mind when you are purchasing a new budget home. Remember that the costs are going to be quite higher than what the sticker suggests.
About the author
John Goldberg works in the PR department of an established real estate company. He organises the publicity campaigns for new properties, especially for clients who want to buy flats in Andheri. John is a fitness freak and loves cycling in his free time.
Category: Housing
