Tag Archives: real estate tips

Top 10 Things to Consider When Buying a New Home (part 2)

If you landed here directly and haven’t read the first half of this article, click here to go to: Top Ten Things to Consider When Buying a New Home (Part 1)

So just to quickly recap, we reviewed 5 of our 10 primary things your everyday home buyer should make it a point to consider, before making that final offer on a new home – Location, Credibility of Ownership, Budget, Loan Approval and Access to Essentials. Wondering what else is left to add to the checklist? Read on and you might just be surprised 🙂

Credibility of Builder

In cases, where the keys of your new home are being handed to you directly by the builder himself (or herself 😛 ), be sure to run a quick background check and do your fair share of homework on the builder/developer’s reputation. In addition to their profile and years of experience in the industry, view some of their more recent projects. And if possible, try and visit at least one completed home/apartment and maybe even talk to a few of the residents, getting their review(s) of the builder.

Learning about their experiences with the builder, can give you valuable insight and this in turn can go on to help you in your own negotiation with the builder.

Quality of Construction

You want to make sure that the home you are buying, is of a good structure and doesn’t have any structural issues no matter how minor they might be. You want to avoid any such issues that might cost you big money to fix in the future, or might depreciate the value of the house at the time of resale, if they aren’t fixed.

Seek the help of a civil engineer or even a local mason to help you inspect the quality of the house. However, here are a list of things you can look for yourself:

  • issues with the foundation – look for cracks or tiny cave-in holes in the walls or ceiling, especially on the lower floors.
Cracks in the walls like these, are an immediate sign of bad foundation.
Cracks in the walls like these, are an immediate sign of bad foundation.
  • any signs of mold or water damage- these can be rather expensive to fix and are usually signs of larger foundation and roof issues.
  • problems with the electrical and plumbing systems – these are a home’s lifeblood and can be quite nuisansical  to fix.
Amenities Provided

If you are purchasing a brand new home from a builder, find out what are the upgrades versus standard amenities that come with the house. Most model homes are setup with interior upgrades to showcase the homes in their “highest quality” state. 

Clubhouse and infinity pool at Habitat Crest
Clubhouse and infinity pool at Habitat Crest

Inspect amenities such bathroom fittings, kitchen appliances, wardrobe and furniture, heating/air conditioner unit and in the case of an apartment, check for provision of a clubhouse, swimming pool, children’s play area and parking space. While these are pretty much standard features offered with every apartment now days, find out the exact terms of usage and/or any restrictions that might be in place or if there is an additional cost associated with the usage of these amenities.

Access to Sunlight

habitat crest villament-bedroom

Look for a home that’s not only well ventilated but ventilated in the right areas. It’s a bonus if the house is already located in a spacious and open area that doesn’t block out the sunlight. However, it that isn’t a luxury, at least make sure the home is architecturally designed to allow for maximum inlet of sunlight.

Studies indicate that 60% of homeowners who reside in a well-lit and naturally illuminated home are more active and are generally happier. Another obvious benefit is the save of electricity. Invest in a solar power system and you can reduce your electricity bills by less than half 🙂

Security

indian-home-security-guard

And finally for you to be able to consider it a complete home, you want to ensure that the house is safe and secure and you and your family can zZZ peacefully at night 🙂 Though it may be a relatively safe neighbourhood, check if the house comes fitted with any sort of security system. Especially with kids at home and the outburst of crimes in the recent past, a home security system is soon becoming a thing of necessity.

If it’s an apartment, get as much info from the builder about the security agency and security guards who are stationed at the gate. Take some time out and talk to these guards. Inquire about their patrol routines and what is their plan of action in case of any attempt at burglary of any other emergency for that matter like a fire in the building. These might sound silly at first but knowing these finer details might just come handy when an actual theft or burglary happens.

.

So now that you are prepared and have your checklist ready, happy house hunting 🙂

Have any other points you feel are necessary inclusions to this checklist? We’d really like to hear from you in the comments below.

Top 10 Things to Consider When Buying a New Home

Before you lace your boots and set out on your next house hunting expedition, here are some vital survival tools that need to go in your backpack. Not one for well-crafted metaphors? 🙁 Well, all we saying is if you’re in the market for a new home, our list of “Top 10 Things to Consider When Buying a New Home” can help get your search off to a right start 🙂

While the square footage, the number of bedrooms and the size of the living room are all important, there are other things you should consider before cashing in that final offer. Let’s start with the basics which you probably already have on your checklist:

Location

“Location, Location, Location!” A phrase that everyone in the real estate business or anyone who isn’t new to buying a home, is more than familiar with; and for good reason too. You can work around almost any imperfection within a house, but the one thing you cannot change once the home is bought – is it’s location. A safe and friendly neighbourhood with warm friendly neighbours, will make it a lot easier to follow the Bible’s preaching “Love thy neighbour as thyself” 🙂

When you are choosing your home, in addition to the charm of the neighbourhood, also consider these following essentials – proximity of neighbouring homes, noise from neighbours, traffic levels at rush hour, distance from the nearest main road, ease of parking, convenient to home a pet if your a pet person, and finally access to good restaurants, shopping outlets, schools, offices, parks, and public transportation.

buying-a-new-home-featured image
Credibility of Ownership

The last thing you or any one wants, just after moving into your new home, is finding out that the previous owner who sold you the house was not the rightful owner of in the case of a newly constructed home, the land on which the home is built on, belongs to someone else. It can be quite a traumatizing experience, having random stranger(s) knocking at your door, claiming their land or ancestral property. And this has become quite a common practice in India, to an extent that goons have starting using it as a method to falsely extract money from home owners, by making false claims of land ownership and creating havoc if they don’t get compensated.

We suggest having all the necessary paperwork, reviewed and thoroughly inspected by not one, but two lawyers to be doubly sure. It may cost you a little more to do this, but in the larger scheme of things, it’s a small price to pay for a peaceful mind 🙂 Also, talk to some of the older residents of that neighbourhood to find out if they might have any stories to share 🙂

Budget

Certainly number one on every house hunter’s check list. This list would be but incomplete without a mention of budget. While we all want to own that inexpensive dream home, budget yourself properly to a home that suits your lifestyle, as you don’t want to be caught paying through your nose on the mortgage, over the years to follow.

Also, staying up-to-date with the real estate market can help you get the best value within your budget. For example, Villaments are a fairly new concept in the real estate world which offers home buyers the luxury of a villa at the affordable cost of an apartment.

Loan Approval

Speak to a reputed home-loan agent and ensure you pre-qualify for a home loan first. This will put you in a better position to negotiate on the final offer, as this will tell the seller that you are financially ready to make a purchase.

According to a recent news article, home loans of affordable homes may drop by 8-10%! So now might very well be a good time to consider investing in a new home, even if your aren’t in the market.

Access to Essentials

In addition to basic amenities such as 24/7 running water and electricity (which to be honest, not much can be done about the irregularly regular power cuts in India, other than finding out if the local service personnel are responsive and quick to fix any issues other than scheduled power cuts) , ensure that your other essential service providers (like internet, LPG connection, cable television and practically any other service that’s important to you) are able to provide their respective service at the new address. Every so often, we’ve heard our own colleagues cursing ACT or Airtel, for not being able to provide a new internet connection at their new address, stating they do not have access points in that neighbourhood; and how they are being forced to settle with other internet service providers. Only way to make sure this doesn’t happen to you, is to make a few calls and find out directly.

NEXT>

.

.Do you have a checklist of your own, that you’d like to share with us and our readers? If so, please do so in the comments below 🙂