[hondatoyotafan]

After living in apartments all my life except for a brief period in Canada where I rented an individual house I had this individual house fascination. I relocated to India in 2018 and started building my own house on a vacant plot bequeathed to us by our grandfather.

It was a big adventure to deal with multiple contractors and also deal with construction during the pandemic. This was my first foray into construction and I learned a lot.

Been living in the new house since early 2021. The biggest pros of living in an individual house are you have no obstructions to light and ventilation and have a certain degree of separation from your neighbours.

My neighbours are all retired folk whose children have settled abroad and they just mind their own business.

In a Team-BHP perspective the biggest advantage is easy parking for all your cars. Since we have 4 cars it was always a pain in the apartment where we used to stay.

Coming to the cons the whole ecosystem of water , power and minor repairs fall into your hands. You have no association to take care of all that.

Getting permissions from Municipal, power and other authorities is also time taking and i had to engage various touts to do the work.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by zavegur

So we have two options now:

One is a brand new villa, part of a gated community in a respected neighbourhood but slightly off the market/ likes and other is part of a small apartment complex (7 yr old, 7 apartments) within walking distance for everything we need. Both are great in terms of space they provide, no amenities in both options apart from a security...

The entire point of apartment complexes is numerous amenities within the society. You get multiple playing facilities, gathering and party halls, swimming pools, etc.so that you don't have to take membership of any Bangalore Club, Bowering Institue, etc.
In fact, the only reason why (and if) apartments appreciate overtime is because of facilities within and nearby.
Both being equal with zero amenities, go for a villa, eyes closed!

[antz.bin]

Most of the issues people highlighted on the Apartment living were

1. Longevity of the structure
2. Parking issues
3. Too compact / claustrophobic
4. Lack of customizability
5. High maintenance (really? and Individual house maintenance is cheap?)
6. Nosy / Noisy neighbours
7. Common areas not under your ownership

Lets address each one of them one by one.

1. Longevity: The older method of construction i.e. RCC + Brickwork was definitely lacking in this aspect. MAX life of the structure would be 30-40 years. But with modern Aluform / Mivan construction, this point has been adequately addressed. Mivan construction buildings have a life upwards of 70 years since they don't develop cracks and leaks over the years which weaken the structure.

2. Parking issues: Yes, a 1 Cr flat will probably come with 1 or max 2 parkings. But Are you sure that you can get that in a villa which costs 1 Cr in the same area? I have been house hunting recently in West Pune and the absolute *minimum* you can buy a villa for (as per Magicbricks) is 2x the cost of the flat in the same area. So guess what, 2.5 Cr buys you 2 * 3BHK Apartments with 4 Parkings. Same as that 2.5 Cr Villa. But the villa won't be able to match the number of rooms available. This one probably covers #3 as well.

4. Lack of customizability: This is definitely true. Especially so for Mivan constructed buildings where you can change absolutely nothing.

5. High maintenance: This one is definitely a misconception. Maintenance paid in a modern apartment includes maintenance for Gym, gardens, security, lifts, power backup diesel and maintenance, cleaning, garbage disposal, pest control, sewage treatment, tank cleaning, swimming pool cleaning, lifeguard. Try doing all of this for a 4 digit number (or even 2 x the same 4 digit number as shown in #2/3) for your villa.

6. Nosy neighbours exist everywhere. Noisy ones are a nuisance in apartments though. Point conceded. BUT, you can choose your neighbours. Remember you saved 1.2 Cr when you didn't get the villa? Use it to choose your neighbours. Your parents, your siblings, your in laws or your favourite cousin or nephew/niece. Anyone can be your neighbour now and *potentially* also pay you more than #5 for that privilege (rent). Why live 10 minutes away when you can live next door?

A modern luxury apartment is the way to live in the congested modern world of Tier-1 cities. Villas are good only if you want to settle down in a tier-2/3 cities or towns. Film stars, cricketers, neo-rich, everyone wants to live in apartments. If Virat wants to live in Mumbai, he gets an apartment, so does Ayushmann Khurana or Kartina Kaif. It is only the Tatas, Ambanis, Godrejs and Birlas who can afford to stay in Villas. Either those people or SKR, Amitabh Bachchan and co. who can afford their villas.

[zaks]

Majority of the people who choose apartments do so because they lack the needed affordability to build and live in individual house, simply because real estate is too expensive for the middle class, even upper middle class. Of course apartments give a sense of security and provide some amenities based on which brand you buy, not all are equal. Just check the prices paid for apartments vs the cost of building a house of same size in the same locality as apartment.

Then there are some people for whom the apartments living is comfortable, especially elderly and immigrants to city from other states. For them the apartment gives them a sense of ready made community and sharing which can be hard to establish if they live in their own house and don't speak the common language.

[balenoed_]

In Bangalore, the apartment prices have sky rocketed that any Tier 1/2 builder quotes 1.4Cr onwards for a 3 BHK. While you can buy a decent 30x40 plot and build a house with a larger square feet, almost at the same price at the minimum.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

In Bangalore, the apartment prices have sky rocketed that any Tier 1/2 builder quotes 1.4Cr onwards for a 3 BHK. While you can buy a decent 30x40 plot and build a house with a larger square feet, almost at the same price at the minimum.

Can you get a 3BHK in a 30x40 plot at the same location of the 1.4C 3BR apartment with membership at the club to compensate for the facilities?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

While you can buy a decent 30x40 plot and build a house with a larger square feet, almost at the same price at the minimum.

In the same locality as the apartment?

Apartment costs have certainly skyrocketed, no doubt. And certainly not worth it. But won't land rates in the same locality in Bangalore be higher (assuming you can even find a vacant plot in any of the older localities in the first place!)?

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by m8002?

Can you get a 3BHK in a 30x40 plot at the same location of the 1.4C 3BR apartment with membership at the club to compensate for the facilities?

Absolutely. And I meant a plot inside a developed plot community which has club house and other facilities that an apartment might have.

Originally Posted by am1m

In the same locality as the apartment?

Apartment costs have certainly skyrocketed, no doubt. And certainly not worth it. But won't land rates in the same locality in Bangalore be higher (assuming you can even find a vacant plot in any of the older localities in the first place!)?

Yes, in the same locality. And by locality, I didn't mean the premium places like Indiranagar, Koramangala, HSR, ORR etc.

For eg: Check what is the price of say, a new Tier 2 construction called Klassic Land mark near Kasavanahalli (or as they say - Off Sarjapur road). It is 1.4Cr onwards and you can compare any developed plot prices in that area. It is around 5K to 6K/sq ft. Even if you take 6K, you can get a 30x40 for 72 Lakhs. And a construction cost of say 50-60L. The math simply turns out to be cheaper to build a house/villa in that comparatively.

[bluevolt]

After living in individual house for around 30 years, we moved to high rise apartment in NCR region. The feeling is mix, as they say you can't have best of both worlds.

Individual or independent houses do offer you independence in terms of making the choices in terms of developing/customizing it and the charm of G+1 or 2 as per house construction makes you feel the complete owner of the land.

But with growing population in NCR, the parking mess has so much increased that with independent houses, even though you may build a G+4 structure for your own use, the neighboring community will be all scattered as builder floors where in the same size, some 4-5 families with 8-10 cars will live and everyone would block the colony roads with no space to let your own car out.

Parking is a big hassle in individual house unless you live in colonies where there are 1000 sq yards independent houses like we have in Chandigarh with no builder floor concepts.

Another big issue is security in independent houses. You just can not leave your house alone even for few hours in city like Delh/NCR. We hardly left our home alone + even when you are there, you need to remain cautious on the activities going around your house.

From independent house to moving into high rise apartment was a different experience altogether. High rise apartment gives you great view, lesser mosquitos/insects and lesser noise from parks or events that keep happening in a society. But on the same front, you get totally dependent on lift and for god sake if they fail some day, I can not imagine how things would be managed.

It's a very mixed feeling - you get gated community, private covered parking, security, great view from apartment but the feeling of living in ground floor of independent house is also tough to forget.

In the end, there is some emotional attachment as well to your old house and often we take pros and cons out of emotional context rather than practical sense. But still I would love to go back to my earlier place someday after renovating it like my current apartment.

[akhil_007]

My rule of thumb used to be "If you want to enjoy the amenities, Rent an Apartment". Buying an apartment for the sake of amenities is simply not worth it. But post pandemic, apartment rentals have also shot up. So its a catch up game for people wanting to enjoy amenities.

Another reason people prefer apartments are that land/plots in that area tend to be stuck in litigation/not clean papers/no approvals etc. They "TRUST" that the apartment builder "exclusively" got all the approvals in place and the titles are crystal clear. They tend to think that since all buyers are lining up, everything has to be proper. I m not saying if the titles are clear OR not, just that people believe what they want to. Also expenses are pooled in. You pay regardless of whether you use it or not.

In addition to plots being expensive, construction cost has shot through the roof. A G+2 on a 30x40 easily costs 1Cr for construction including approvals, civil, interiors. So land + house tends to touch 2Cr,which is a pretty high barrier.

While initial cost for an individual house is high and maintenance is owner's headache, it does saves lot of money which otherwise would have been paid as maintenance (10k x 12 months=1.2L). I don't see any individual house spending so much on any maintenance every year. And it does generate rental income, which can offset either EMI or maintenance.

[pram_ind]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

It is 1.4Cr onwards and you can compare any developed plot prices in that area. It is around 5K to 6K/sq ft. Even if you take 6K, you can get a 30x40 for 72 Lakhs. And a construction cost of say 50-60L. The math simply turns out to be cheaper to build a house/villa in that comparatively.

I disagree. WHen I was in search of plots in Kasavanahalli area last year ( As it is near to my office in Bellandur), the plot rate with E khata was around 9k to 11k per sq feet.

Ex : There is a new site besides Lakeshore homes in Kasavanahalli, which does not have a A khata and for a 30x40 plot he is asking for 1.5 crores. With hard negotiations, he bought it down by 2 lacs.

Plots in choodasandra are a little bit cheaper with a range of 7k to 8k for a sq feet.

[gotoguru]

There probably needs to be a comparison between 3 options, rather than 2, (i.e.) Individual house vs Apartment in a single building with 6 to 12 units vs Apartment in big housing societies.
Most of the comments with respect to the apartments given above are for the third option. There is a separate class of apartments where an individual house gets converted to the second category building, and the amenities are almost NIL, and maintenance of those amenities, if any, are also not taken care well due to non co-operation and differences of opinions. In a large housing society, at least there is an option of having a voting, in small building, that also does not and could not be used at all times.
I strongly suggest that the second option is better to be avoided rather than accepted in any sense.