Home Buyers Speak: "If You Want To Buy A Home, Buy It Young"

Amit Kumar, 34, Marine Engineer, Pune

Marine engineer by profession, Amit Kumar loves outdoor sports and enjoys spending time with his wife Manisha and two kids in his serene, peaceful and quiet society in Pune. Born in Patna, Amit spent his first 15 years in the city, another three in Delhi for higher education, and finally, ended up in Glasgow for engineering and later in Leeds for his MBA. Lucky enough to have traveled across the globe, he is currently on a break to spend time at his beautiful home in Pune.

Could you please describe your home?

This is what is popularly called a 'row house'. A row house is one of a series of semi-detached homes, often of similar or identical design, situated side by side. I booked this home way back in 2004 and got possession of it in 2006. There are some 200 odd houses, which all look alike, in the same society. The society has all the amenities like gym, swimming pool and a temple. It is a two-floor home with four bedrooms, kitchen, hall, backyard, parking lot and a garden in the front. Most importantly, it has got a lot of open space. There are five gardens inside the society. I live here with my wife Manisha and our children - three-and-a-half year old son Ahaan and 9-month-old daughter Vaanya.

How did you get this home?

It is actually difficult to find row houses in Indian cities. I got this through one of the leading groups called 'Pride Purple Group'. In fact, the credit goes to my wife. It was really difficult for me to take out time to search for property owing to my profession, because of which I am on the ship every three months in a year. My wife did all the ground work to identify the property. She had a fair bit of idea about Pune. And, she is the one who has made this space a great place to live in.

Why did you choose Pune?

I was born and brought up in Patna. I studied there till class 10^th. I did my Plus-two in Delhi and my engineering course outside India. When I returned, I wanted to pick up a city other than Patna. I had Delhi on my mind. I did some ground work about the Indian cities. Eventually, I chose Pune. Certain things like safety standards, close proximity to Mumbai etc influenced my decision. Also, my wife had studied in Pune. We finalized the city. 

In row houses, every unit looks the same (Picture Credit: Amit Kumar)

Did you face any difficulty during the process of buying it?

Nowadays, you have many builders, real estate advisers, property exhibitions and so on. But, in early 2000s, we didn't have many options. You had to go around the city to see what exactly you wanted. I wanted an independent home. Eventually, I found it. I didn't want to stay in an apartment. I am not comfortable with the concept of apartments. I found row house as a good option for me. When we booked this home, the construction of phase 1 in this society was already over. So, we could actually see the construction quality.

Could you please tell us your experience with row houses?

All the houses here look the same from outside. It is part of our agreement that you can't do anything on the exterior of the house. You could change things inside. Here, one cannot make out the purchasing power of the people living in this society just by looking at their houses from outside. Every unit looks the same. You feel some kind of equality here in that sense.

How much money did you spend on it? How did you manage it?

Rs 30 lakh. I had started working by that time. I made down payment with my savings. Luckily, the company where I worked had a corporate tie-up with HSBC bank. So, I easily got a loan for 85 per cent of the total cost.

Is it your dream home?

It is! There are a lot of projects being launched in Pune these days. But, I must say that nothing has thrilled me more than what I already have.  I am saying this keeping in mind the price of the property as well.

What is your advice to new home buyers?

My profession gives me enough time to help my brothers and cousins to search property during my holidays. So, I have good experience in this regard. I must tell you that if you want a dream home, buy it at a young age when the family life starts. Do it as soon as you get into a job. Later, you can concentrate more on family rather than on buying home. Do online search. There are a lot of online resources. Always go for reputed builders, for the brand name of the builder matters. Do research on previous projects of your builder.  See what the basic idea of the project is, as that reflects in the whole project. Most importantly, sort out your finances - assess if you need to pay more down payments or a bigger EMI. Don't buy very expensive homes. Builders earn a lot even in the current market scenario. They often have a big margin. Somebody needs to do something about the skyrocketing property prices.