[Samurai]

Originally Posted by i_see

Well, I am also one of those who is waiting for property prices to drop. Here also in Mysore, sales have stagnated, but there is no drop in price. Intact, some builders are quoting higher prices than before and slightly negotiation on that!

RE prices are always price inelastic in short term. Once inventory builds up, price will drop.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

The other maintenance costs for the apartment don't seem to have come down, neither have home loan rates, so i dont see why the annual hike would go away.

Maintenance is separate than rent and that changes only when association changes it once in 3 years. The rent on the other hand depends on the black money in the system, as many owners/rentees prefer pay in cash.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Maintenance is separate than rent and that changes only when association changes it once in 3 years. The rent on the other hand depends on the black money in the system, as many owners/rentees prefer pay in cash.

I don't see many cases in Bangalore atleast in apartments where rent is paid in cash. My first landlord in Marathalli used to demand a cash payment, which was a massive amount considering he and his family owned 1/3 of all the apartments in that complex. Since then, i havent had a landlord who refused to accept a bank transfer for the rent. It's a different thing some of them had this transfer into their wives bank accounts.

My current tenant pays rent which is inclusive of maintenance, and i don't see the maintenance component come down, which basically means i take the hit when the association revises the maintenance amount every quarter.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

My current tenant pays rent which is inclusive of maintenance, and i don't see the maintenance component come down, which basically means i take the hit when the association revises the maintenance amount every quarter.

Revising maintenance every quarter isn't that common. Usually it's every few years. Also maintenance charges will not come down because of demonetization. I don't see any correlation here. Maintenance charges are there basically to take care of regular expenses and other one-off expenses from time to time, which is a function of how much these things cost.

[Dry Ice]

Guys, how is "Legacy Group" w.r.t project completions? I am told it is quite a reputed brand down south. Any personal experiences of transacting with them? I know each project is different and will do my due diligence, just want to get a general opinion about the group.

[subraiyr]

Hi all

I am in the process of buying a property in bangalore after having lived in rented acco for more than 17 years. Having children does change your mindset of uprooting yourself every few years and move to different localities

One of the properties i have shortlisted is Vaishnavi Terraces in Dollars Colony, J.P.Nagar. As far as the property is concerned, it looks very good, efficiency is around 76% or so and has the usual shebangs of swimming pool, club house, tennis courts etc. I need help on a few things

1. The earliest available floor is 14th floor. What are the challenges of living in such high rise floors. The place has a huge balcony spanning 2 bedrooms and the living room. The balcony has a proper wall which is about 5ft high and there is plan to make it into a garden to ensure no access to climbing the wall. However, what are the other issues one can face ? Are there any of you who have lived in high floors and how does it feel

2. Quality of construction for Vaishnavi builders ? I have heard of them and the reviews seem positive. But are there anyone with first hand experiences. These guys have contracted L&T for the construction. Any reviews are welcome

3. There is a storm water drain that goes around the property - outside the property and these guys have got all the legal papers signed up. I checked on the rajakaluve encroachments on BBMP website and i did not find any issues raised. However, in 2013 when construction started, the Dollars colony association filed a case against the builder, BBMP, Water and Sewage board and BESCOM for violating the storm water drain norms. The court ruled in favour of the defendants and they said that there has not been any violation. Attaching the court pleadings for review as well. Should i be worried about this ? If so, what actions should i do to vet this. I have a real estate lawyer who is helping me with all legal papers. But is there anything else that i need to do

Thanks ahead for all the help you guys can give

[rajakumar]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

2. Quality of construction for Vaishnavi builders ? I have heard of them and the reviews seem positive. But are there anyone with first hand experiences. These guys have contracted L&T for the construction. Any reviews are welcome

I live around that area. I knew that L&T undertook the construction and used mivan technology to build the 25 floors. In terms of structural quality, there should not be any concern. However, you need to check the quality of furnishing. I am not sure whether it was contracted to L&T or done by somebody else.

Originally Posted by subraiyr

3. There is a storm water drain that goes around the property - outside the property and these guys have got all the legal papers signed up. I checked on the rajakaluve encroachments on BBMP website and i did not find any issues raised.

The storm water drain in that area is very narrow (check it from BG Road side) and usually clogs up on heavy rain. Typically the bilekahalli signal gets affected because of this. Probably it is worth to ask your lawyer to check on the storm water drain alignment and its impact.

I am sharing this with the knowledge that I obtained as I stay close by. Do take it on the face value and double check the facts.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

has the usual shebangs of swimming pool, club house, tennis courts etc.

This should never be the consideration when buying a house.

Originally Posted by subraiyr

The earliest available floor is 14th floor. What are the challenges of living in such high rise floors.

Fire safety should be the biggest concern, besides the project density, how many apartments on each floor etc.

[subraiyr]

Originally Posted by fine69

Fire safety should be the biggest concern, besides the project density, how many apartments on each floor etc.

There are 4 apartments in each floor and a total of 250 apartments across 4 towers.

[sgiitk]

Let me add how many of us are first time buyers. Not many I guess, so the resale of your old property will also take a hit. You were looking at x% up market, it will still be the same.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

There are 4 apartments in each floor and a total of 250 apartments across 4 towers.

Density is generally area available per apartment. No. of lifts available vs no. of apartments would give you a fair idea of how much time you'd spend waiting for the lift.

Take a nail and hammer to test the construction quality. For a newly constructed apartment there's no other way of testing it better.

I personally prefer low-rises for the simple reason that during fire (which is the single biggest risk of high-rises) evacuation is easy. Do note that most fire trucks in India do not have ladders that go beyond single digit floors generally. For fighting fire they then rely on the fire system installed within the building. How competent that system is, is anybody's guess. There are high rises in NCR which have iron pipes that have rusted beyond repair and the fire fighting system is now a joke.

Are you buying a newly constructed apartment or is it a resale? How's the seepage issue across all apartments. It can become a big headache later.

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

Hi all

The earliest available floor is 14th floor. What are the challenges of living in such high rise floors.

I assume this is the top floor. If so I wouldn't take it because you will bake during the summer months even if you have the ceiling height to go ahead and put in some sort of false ceiling for insulation, but I doubt it. Also more chances of leakage from the terrace above.

Fire safety is a concern, but a well known builder like Vaishnavi wont scrimp on fire safety on an ultra-luxury project. Being Ultra-Luxury, you should have two elevators per tower which is the norm for the height of the building, along with 2 fire stair-wells. Please, never use a lift/elevator in case of a fire

Anyone buying in Bangalore needs to get a really good property lawyer first and foremost before even thinking of investing.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

Hi all

1. The earliest available floor is 14th floor. What are the challenges of living in such high rise floors.

2. These guys have contracted L&T for the construction. Any reviews are welcome

I stay in L&T South City, in Arekere Mico Layout. Construction quality from L&T has been very good. The tower I reside in is about 8 years old, some of the other towers are close to 2 decades old .There have generally been no complaints on the quality of construction. There are the usual minor seepage issues and the lifts do show their age.

I stay on the 16th floor, and there are a total of 19 floors . Some residents of the topmost floor complain about water seepage during rains. I've faced no problems in living on the 16th floor. In fact , the lower floors can be noisier due to kids playing around and running vehicles . I would prefer the higher floors barring the topmost one.

The tower I stay in has 3 lifts but some of the other towers have just 2 and the wait time can be quite frustrating during peak hours , this is the only disadvantage I can think of living on the higher floors.

[vinay kamath]

While at Mangalore this weekend, I learnt that new 3BHK apartments earlier in 2016 costing Rs 65 lacs , now just got sold at Rs 48 lacs.

[vinay kamath]

Subraiyr, please recheck how safe are the builder's rights and land titles.A few years ago, buyers of homes in Vaishnavi's luxury apartment towers in RMV 2nd stage, found themselves in an irretrievable legal soup, in a high court case, as they were held as not original senior genuine members of a cooperative society that owned the land. Each apartment costed above Rs 3 crores. They lost badly. The builder can again clarify to you about this case' history. All that glitters is not gold.

[subraiyr]

Dear all

Thanks all for your views. I will be getting all legal documents from the builder and then getting it verified with a real estate lawyer as first step before taking further course of action