<div><em>If you are planning to fund your home purchase through a loan, ensure that your EMI is not more than 40 per cent of your net take-home pay, says <strong>Sunil Dhawan</strong></em><br><br>Buying a property to have a home of your own requires money, time, lots of running around, even surfing property portals. But, its actually worth the effort. The house you buy is the biggest investment that you will make in your life. So, do not rush into the process. There is merit in taking out time and consulting real estate professionals, home finance companies, like-minded friends and members of the family before arriving at a decision.</div><div> </div><div>Thanks to the sweeping economic changes that India has undergone over the last decades of economic reforms, people are not only able to save and buy their first home in their late 20’s or early 30’s, but also service the home loans well within their working life.</div><div> </div><div>Prices of real estate -- as seen in the past -- shoots up fast, if not in minutes and hours but certainly in days. But then, they aren’t looking to move up in the near future either. For someone to buy a home for living and not as an investment purpose, it’s always the right time. Amura Marketing Technologies in association with 99acres.com are organising flash sales on www.irfs.in , there will be properties galore but one needs to be watchful when it comes to buying or booking properties online.</div><div> </div><div>Here are few things to consider while searching for your dream home:</div><div> </div><div><strong>Stick With Reputed Developers</strong>. There isn’t a real estate regulator in place yet. Builders therefore have been taking buyers of real estate properties for a ride. To be on safer side, stick to reputed builders. One can take a chance with them for finishing the project in time and as per the agreed terms and conditions. Builders who are listed on stock exchanges can be preferred as they are mandatorily required to meet transparency standards. </div><div> </div><div><strong>What You See Is Not What You Get: </strong>“<em>Hathi Ke Dant Khane Ke Aur Dikhane Ke Aur'</em>, an old Indian idiom probably fits in real estate practices. What you see is not what your get because the area mentioned in most property advertisements and for calculation purposes is the super built-up area, while the area that you really get is the carpet area, which could be lesser by up to 30 per cent or more depending on the building’s design. Lower the ratio, better for consumer and therefore get to know the ratio from builder during the discussion phase. At times, there could be a specific apartment within the same project having a favourable ratio (could be less than 20 percent) while all other apartments ratio could be 30 percent. You need to pursue the builder in disclosing this aspect as normally they keep it hidden only for hard-pressed deals.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Is ‘All-inclusive’ Actually Inclusive? </strong>In most cases the price advertised will be the cost of the house. But there are other charges you would need to pay. Mostly, the extra costs for things like a car park, club membership, power and water connections, will add up to a substantial bit. Don’t be surprised if what you finally end up paying is more than the advertised price.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Do not over-leverage</strong>. If you are planning to fund your home purchase, even for the first one, through a loan, ensure that your EMI is not more than 40 per cent of your net take-home pay.<br> </div><div><strong>No Over-stretching</strong>: If you are already servicing EMIs, make sure not to over-stretch your finances. Moneywise, you may be in a comfortable position today but do a due diligence on the situation few months, years down the line. See, if you have a back-up plan with your spouse pitching in and contributing towards EMI’s. </div><div> </div>
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