Advantages of buying a ‘standalone building apartment’: a perspective for home buyers in Hyderabad

Finding large land parcels in well-established, low-density colonies in Hyderabad is not that easy! Home buyers in Hyderabad look for both gated communities and standalone buildings while exploring options for their dream home. There is no denying that amenities are far more in large gated communities with high rise apartments. Yet, the humble standalone building apartments have their own unique appeal to the home buyers in Hyderabad.

Gated community high-rise buildings are built upon sprawling areas, whereas standalone buildings are built on much smaller plots in well-connected and well-established localities in Hyderabad.

In this article we shall discuss:

‘Standalone building apartment’ vs. ‘Gated community high-rise apartment’

It is a known fact that home buyers in Hyderabad are happy to opt for smaller standalone buildings for the instant and dominating advantages they offer despite not being high on amenities which you get with high-rise gated-communities. Obviously, a gated community offer more amenities, but they also cost more! The cost of these additional amenities is added into the price of the apartment in these gated community apartments. After all, nothing comes free or cheap!

Both are good in their own way. Both have their pros and cons. Here, we shall delve upon some reasons why a standalone building might just be the right choice for you. The intent is only to give a perspective, and to let you decide on your own.

One distinct disadvantage with a gated community, especially in Hyderabad, is that they are located in uninhabited areas with very less population. These high-rise apartments are usually far away from the central employment and shopping hubs of that locality. Consequently, the social infrastructure in and around high-rise gated communities is not well developed.

Having said that, if the gated community are located in very well developed areas like Madhapur, they apartments are usually quite expensive.

On the contrary, standalone buildings are not only much more affordable regardless of where they are located. They allow much greater all-round flexibility to home buyers seeking multiple advantages, comfort and conveniences.

Let us understand these better! time

Time to possession advantage

With standalone buildings, the possession happens within a year, plus or minus 3-4 months. The good and efficient builders can actually give possession well within one year. The reason why we get this advantage with standalone buildings is because:

• Most builders making standalone buildings in Hyderabad are usually given permission for a 5 storey building that are usually quicker to construct
• Number of flats are normally anything between 5 to 40 on smaller plots of land
• The cash flow requirements of builders get fulfilled easily because they do not have additional amenities to cater for. The large gated complex have many other things to address while making high-rise apartments
• Built on smaller plots and established colonies, for a standalone building, the speed of work gets faster, especially while getting sewage, water and electrical connections.

Supervision advantages

With smaller builders in standalone building apartments, you get to know the builders well. You get to know them personally by name, and all the people like structural engineers, and supervisors related to the project are available on site. They are usually very open to speak with you, and treat you with respect.

• You can easily judge if the building is being constructed as per schedule
• Any delays or problems being faced are under you scanner, and you can question the builder in person
• You can visit smaller sites with ease. You can even check if the builder is providing you with all the amenities and specifications as promised
• The progress on finishing is very critical as it consists of plumbing, sanitary fittings, UPVS windows, doors, flooring, kitchen and bathroom fittings & fixtures, external and internal painting etc.
• You have total control over the quality and grade of materials being used
• Any special request can also be accommodated that is unique to your own needs
• Such flexibilities do NOT exist with large gated projects, where you do not have free access to supervise
• In fact, in large gated communities, you cannot be speaking with the owners, workers, supervisors, and other professionals. They are not answerable to you
• Unlike the big gated projects, you get much more attention by builders in a standalone building
• The arrangement and interaction with big builders in large gated communities tends to be more professional, and this makes it more impersonal as well. location

Location advantage

Location advantage is the biggest plus point with standalone buildings in Hyderabad. Since, standalone buildings usually come up in well-established localities, you are closer to all the important shops, groceries, educational institutions, shopping hubs, medical facilities, public transport, good connectivity and all other civic amenities.

• The social infrastructure makes life easy because everything is just a stone throw away in standalone buildings
• The commute becomes easy ‘to’ and ‘from’ these localities because these are well established colonies
• The location of standalone buildings makes it easy for virtually all the family members to seek out what each one wants
• A good location caters to people of all age groups right from infants to elderly people in the house
• A good location well surrounded by all your life’s needs makes it a safe and secure place to live
• During any kind of emergency, a standalone building gives you an unparalleled advantage
• The disadvantages with gated communities is that these are normally located in far flung areas. During any kind of emergency, getting help become difficult
• The standalone buildings usually have the advantage of having things of interest being in a ‘walkable’ distance
• It is easier for guests to visit or stay with you in your standalone building apartment
• Location also brings you better rental prospects as well as appreciation of the property. green

Advantages of peaceful, serene, green and safe environments

Yet another advantage of a standalone building is that these are usually located in colonies in Hyderabad that have existing residential homes. This makes the area low density in terms of population. The entire colony never turns into a concrete jungle. The amount of green cover is reasonable healthy, and living is peaceful as well as safe because of being less populated.

• A standalone building needs at least 500+ square yards of plot for a building to come-up. In an existing colony, builders normally combine 2 or 3 plots to create space for a standalone building
• This helps keep the colony remain less populated, because it is not easy to find such small land parcels
• Owners of existing plots also give their land to builders on development basis, and this is also not something that happens for all the houses of the locality
• The advantage is that those living in a standalone apartment are able to live with their building rising above the others. This means a good view of the skyline of the colony where you live
• This also means more access to more greenery, since GHMC is also committed to have trees planted around all residential colonies in Hyderabad
• The localities being taken up by builders for making standalone apartments are usually very safe places to live-in. So, safety comes automatically as a by-product of living in a standalone apartment, especially in Hyderabad. sooner

See what you get

This is a big advantage with standalone buildings in Hyderabad. Besides supervision, you also do not get any surprises, and have a clear view of what you are going to buy. You can visit the apartment building at an early stage. In no time, the building gets ready, and moving-in becomes that much easier and faster.

• Not everybody booking a standalone apartment buys it basis what’s given on the website. Lot of bookings happen when the structure is shaping up, or is almost on the verge of completion
• Since the structure of a standalone comes up much faster, you can actually stand under the roof of the apartment you are about to purchase
• You can actually see out of the windows, feel the sunlight, and get an actual feel of how you house is going to be
• This is again something that’s not possible with large gated communities. If someone buys a 20^th floor in a gated apartment, it may actually take more than a year just to reach that level of height
• So, when you book an apartment in a gated community high-rise apartment, you don’t get to see what you will get
• In a standalone apartment, you can actually stand inside the apartment you are going to buy if you choose to book it a 5 or 6 months after the project is launched.

Home purchase tax benefits accrue much sooner with standalone building apartments

This is something that’s a big win for those buying a standalone building apartment in Hyderabad. You end up getting benefit on both ‘interest’ as well as ‘principal’ amount as soon as you get possession. Claiming tax deductions is not easy for an ‘under construction’ property. Let’s understand this better:

• We need to know that the principal you pay as part of your loan is deducted from your income under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act to the extent of INR 1 lakh
• Plus, the interest element you pay on your home loan of (first home only) is eligible for a deduction of up to INR 1.5 lakh under Section 24(b) of I-T Act
• Both these deductions are allowed only for properties that are ‘ready to move in’
• If you buy an ‘under construction’ property, you are not eligible for the INR 1 lakh deduction for principal payments
• The interest that you pay when the property is still under construction can, however, be deducted in five equal instalments
• The catch here is that the construction must be fully completed within a span of three years of the financial year-end
• The advantage with standalone buildings is the time factor. You get possession much sooner
• A standalone building gets handed over to within a year. So, you become eligible for both ‘principal’ as well as ‘interest’ element getting deducted from your taxable income
• In a nutshell, you save a huge amount of tax on your home loan with a standalone building simply because you get possession early
• On the other hand, a large high-rise multiple tower gated community complex usually takes over 3 to 4 years to complete
• Added to that, you have the woes of delays with large gated communities. This results in a further drain on your precious resources despite paying a higher price for a gated community
• Even if you get possession of a gated community apartment within 3 years, the advantage of pre-construction interest is not lucrative. This is because when the loan amount is big, the current year’s interest and principal payments itself is enough to wipe out the advantages of a tax deduction limit
• With project delays for large gated communities being a norm, you will not be eligible for INR 1.5 lakh tax deduction on interest payments
• Standalone apartments score big on this front, simply because possession happens much quicker. Benefits start accruing much faster.

Conclusion

Standalone buildings are mushrooming all over Hyderabad because there is a sure shot demand for them. The advantages of lower pricing, superior location, better social infrastructure, immediate income tax benefits etc. are all very hard to ignore by the home buyer in Hyderabad.

So, while considering gated community options, you must not ignore the unmatched benefits that a standalone building apartment offers.

End of the day, the decision is yours to make. With a clearer perspective, you can choose what works best for you!!

Choose wisely, stay delighted!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To know more about what makes standalone buildings particularly popular in areas like Sainikpuri & Yapral click here…