Senior citizens must plan ahead to avoid faltering on home run
Everybody loves the security of a roof over the head. Especially, silver citizens. If the house is in a nice and quiet locality with basic amenities to support stress-free living, that is a luxury. However, with real estate prices touching the cloud with scorching home loan rates for company, the idea almost appears a day dream.
But a little foresight and some diligent planning can turn that dream into a reality. The idea is simple: Buy a plot today, preferably a little away from the city. Save some money over a few years and build the house a little later – closer to the time of your retirement.
If you have time to save and invest for the construction of the house, it will be a smooth exercise. However, make sure you do your due diligence while buying the land and, consider your financing options, to make sure that your retirement home would become a reality without glitches.
Due Diligence of the Plot
Check the plot’s title deed and ownership of land for the past 30 years. “The land should have a clear title deed and be free of dispute. The buyer needs to ensure that it does not fall in government-regulated zones. The seller should have complete rights to sell the land, and the property valuation should be in tune with the prevailing pricing trend in the area. Also, he should see to it that basic requirements like roads, water and electricity are available,” says Sanjay Dutt, CEO (business), Jones Lang LaSalle India.
The basic due diligence requires checking the property card, title records and to confirm the land use. If required, put an advertisement in newspapers to confirm the title of land.
Parameters to Consider
Whatever location the buyer selects to buy a plot, he needs to ensure the NA (non-agricultural) status of the plot. “If the conversion of a plot to NA status is still underway, it means that the local authorities still retain the right to make changes in the plan submitted to them. In other words, the status of land acquisition by the government (or any other authorities) for any purpose is not clear. The status of any particular plot number can change at any time within the plan. All this can be verified by using the services of a professional consultant or a lawyer specialising in property deals,” Dutt adds.
But there is a definite space crunch even in developed parts of smaller towns. “Most areas where land is affordable today will be on the outskirts or at remote locations.
Also, no plotted land would be available at prime locations. Hence, whatever land is being bought will be slightly futuristic. Some of the things to be kept in mind are development in and around the site, current and potential infrastructural development planned and currently underway, and most importantly, whether there is any plan of incorporation into the municipal limits if currently outside of the limit,” says Akshay Kulkarni, executive director (residential services), Cushman & Wakefield India.
‘Ideal’ Retirement Home
There is nothing wrong in choosing a far-flung suburb, provided some basic facilities are in place. The key factors to keep in mind are the convenience offered to the senior citizens and the availability of a convivial neighborhood supporting a stress-free lifestyle. It should be well connected to other cities and should have all basic facilities like hospital, medicine stores, banks, post and telegraph offices, internet, telecom, market, gymkhana, etc, in the vicinity.
Do Your Math
The actual cost of your dream house can be arrived at by adding the projected weight of inflation at the time of actual construction to the current estimated cost of construction.
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