Step 1 of 8: Check the basics
Basics of buying a new home
The words builders use, the areas you pay for, and what goes into the full price of a new flat.
This step covers the words and numbers you meet first when you look at a new flat. It starts with the terms on every brochure: BHK, unit, configuration and property. It then explains the three areas that builders quote, carpet area, built-up area and super built-up area, and why the RERA Act uses only carpet area. You learn how to work out the loading factor, which shows how much of the price pays for common areas. The cost sheet guide goes through each line of a builder's price, from the base rate to GST and registration. Other guides compare under-construction and ready-to-move flats, and apartments, villas and plotted developments. The step ends with the undivided share of land, the part of the project land that comes with your flat. A further guide covers buying a new flat as an NRI. Two more guides explain flat types such as studio, duplex and penthouse, and convert areas between square feet, square metres, guntas, cents and acres. Each guide gives the rule, the source and the checks to make. Read the guides in order, or open the one you need.
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12 guides
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- 1.1 Property, unit, configuration: the words builders use
What property, unit, configuration and BHK mean in a builder's brochure.
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- 1.2 Carpet, built-up, super built-up: what you pay for
The three area figures in a brochure, and which one RERA makes the builder quote.
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- 1.3 Loading %: compute it from a brochure
How to work out the loading factor from the carpet and super built-up areas.
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- 1.4 UDS (undivided share of land) and why it matters
What your share of the land is, where to find it, and why it matters later.
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- 1.5 Under construction vs ready to move (from the builder)
The trade-offs in price, risk, tax and timing between the two.
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- 1.6 Apartment vs villa vs plotted development
How the three product types differ in ownership, cost and upkeep.
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- 1.7 The full price sheet: base price, PLC, floor rise, parking, club, deposits
Every line on a builder's cost sheet, and which ones are negotiable.
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- 1.8 Buying a new flat in Bangalore as an NRI
FEMA rules, payment routes, NRI home loans and power of attorney for a new flat.
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- 1.9 Apartment types: studio, duplex, penthouse and builder floor
What each flat type means in a Bangalore project, and what to check before you pay extra for it.
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- 1.10 Area converter: sq ft, sq m, gunta, cent and acre
Convert any area between the units used in brochures, RERA filings and land records.
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- 1.11 BDA flats and sites: buying from the government authority
How BDA housing schemes allot flats and sites, who can apply, and what to check before you pay.
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- 1.12 PLC, FRC, IDC and other charges on a price sheet
What each short code on a builder's price sheet means, and which charges RERA lets the builder collect.
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