My choice as a home buyer-I

By: Priyanka Manjari

Track2Realty Exclusive: When it comes to buying the dream home that is largest investment one makes in the lifetime, the choice should ideally rest with the buyer. Ironically but true is the fact that in the property market majority of the beggars…oops buyers are not choosers, unless one has the deep pockets for privileged condominiums.

At times I feel that asking a home buyer like me about the choices and preferences is like either making a mockery of the consumer or promoting the builders’ brand loud enough that dictates more than it asks as to what you as a customer want.

It seems the developers make the best of their brand campaign (read financial clout) to teach or dictate us what we need, instead of listening to us as to what we want. And it is here that I, as a prospective home buyer, have a strong disconnect with most of the real estate companies.

Home buying is a very personal and emotive decision and when the developers loud mouth about location, location & location, I feel they must understand the differences in preferences when it comes to factors such as region, demographics and household composition. Deciding where to live comes with a lot of options nowadays, but one has to quickly realize that some features are more important than others when it comes to choosing the right house for the lifetime.

Location really does matter but only in the right context for the right set of people. Someone’s dream location can be a nightmare for others, for reasons from the lack of public transport to many others.

For example, when a given location is over sold on the pretext that it is strategically close to the airport, I wonder what do I do with it when I am not a frequent flier, nor does the location has the luxury of public transport. For me a home close to airport would rather disturb my day & night with hovering choppers around.

What I need is a house close to my work place, my child’s school and other such day-to-day needs. These preferences suggest that a neighbourhood is more essential with facilities which can be reached on foot. I believe this helps engender a sense of community, along well-lit streets, connected to public transport, hospitals in the neighbourhood and other essential services are fundamentals which can produce a quality environment.

I read newspapers and amidst the bombardment of advertisements I keep wondering as to how one project is different from the other. Even if location is good and close to my workplace, how come one project is different from the other is my biggest decision dilemma.

So far, I have been listening about green open spaces, Jacuzzi, swimming pool etc, but the question is do I really need all this in a fast-life of metro city where balancing work and life hardly gives me time for such luxuries?

What I would prefer, for instance, is a comfort zone where traffic noise doesn’t disturb my privacy. I am yet to find an advertisement that claims this not-so-costly offering. But wait, may be the real estate can not offer this to a mid segment buyer like me in a metro city.

…to be continued