Home Buyers Speak: Sujata Sabnis On Owning A Home In A City Safe For Women

Sujata Sabnis, Novelist and Script Writer, Pune

Sujata Sabnis is a novelist and a script writer who grew up in Delhi. She later moved to Pune and has been living here for the past few decades. cently, she bought a penthouse triplex apartment in the city and renovated it over the next two years. In an interview with PropGuide, Sabnis says that husband Satish Sabnis, and their children, Siya and Rohit, loved the flat so much that it was bought without inquiry about the price. Sabnis's third novel, 'Songs of Stone', will be published by yllis in the Spring of 2016. Her earlier novels are 'Silent Whispers' and 'A Twist In Destiny'. Edited excerpts.

Q. Why did you decide to buy your new apartment in Pune?

Sabnis: Women are safer in Pune than in almost any other city in India. You can see more women driving two-wheelers in Pune than in other Indian cities. The attitude of the public toward women is much better here. In , for example, if a girl reaches home at 12 AM in the morning, her family would fear for her safety. This is not the case in Pune. My daughter goes for parties late in the night, and I don't have to worry.

Q. How did you buy this apartment?

Sabnis: We knew the builder. When he showed us this apartment, we really liked it. Our apartment was on the top floor of the building, and the view outside was great. However, we did not like the specifications of the apartment much. So, we decided to changed everything. We also told the builder that we did not need everything that they were offering, and that we needed a refund for that.

Q. How did you renovate the apartment?

Sabnis: This was not a ready-to-move-in apartment. We renovated the apartment using our own material. The bathrooms were built from the scratch. It was, of course, expensive to do this. But, we wanted our apartment to be really beautiful. So, we did not mind paying more for it. We wanted the view from outside to match the interiors. We wanted out apartment to match our personalities and not that of the designer or the builder.

Q. Pune is near Mumbai. Was it expensive to buy an apartment in Pune, where real estate prices have been rising greatly in the recent past? How does real estate in Pune compare with that of other cities?

Sabnis: Yes. Property prices are very high in Pune. Since we bought this apartment, the area where we live has become more expensive. However, real estate in Pune is not as expensive as in cities like Mumbai. We bought an apartment in Mumbai in 2006. In nine years, this apartment in Andheri became five times as expensive. We have been thinking of buying an apartment in Bandra for the past four years. We had expected property prices to fall because many experts were predicting that the real estate markets would crash. However, it has not happened yet. Many corporations in South have been moving to the Bandra- Complex. The Infrastructure in Mumbai has been improving a lot in the past few years, especially in Andheri. Metro lines are connecting the suburban areas to the central city.  So, real estate prices in Bandra have only risen in the past four years. The common man would find it impossible to buy a flat in Mumbai.

Q. Was there conflicts with the builder?

Sabnis: There were a few conflicts, but we could talk it out and settle the matter. The builder did not give us all the amenities he had promised. We wanted a health club as it is very important to us, but the builder failed to provide this. So, we did not pay the final instalment.

Q. What should home buyers do to ensure that they do not get entangled in builder-buyer conflicts?

Sabnis: Home buyers should make sure that the builder is telling the whole truth. ad builder brochures very carefully. Home buyers should inspect the layout plan of the apartment carefully to ensure conflicts do not emerge in future. Also make sure that the builder provides all the amenities that he promises. ad all the clauses carefully.