Excessively low cost housing deals: potential trap to a sub-standard home!
As a prospective home buyer In Hyderabad, the charm of striking an unbelievable bargain for a low cost housing deal can sometimes turn risky! You will find many builders who have no problem going sub-standard on specifications and build quality to somehow force-fit their price into your low budget. They could even go all out to use sub-standard and low-priced construction materials to bring down their costs! No wonder, they are able to beat the competition pricing purely on cost with no commitment to quality or sturdiness!
Why do they do so? Well, a builder like this knows that people begin by seeing the residential unit, and eventually the deal-maker or breaker is the low-price factor! Plus, these builders who compromise on specifications and quality want to sell their flats somehow, and realize their profits without having to explain too much! The best way to do this is to give a low price, and not worry overmuch about the specifications of the residential unit!!
The question is: do you really want a sub-standard home or do you really care about decent specifications and build quality? If you do want the best possible home, then you must out-grow the obsession with low cost housing deals!
This does not mean that the budget does not matter! You simply need to be realistic about whether or not your budget works in a certain locality as per your expectations.
Let’s understand ‘being realistic’ with an example-
Let us assume that your budget is Rs 80 lacs for a 3 BHK flat in Hyderabad or Secunderabad. Now, with an eighty lac rupee budget can you get a 1700 sft 3BHK in Nallagandla? The answer is NO. In Nallagandla (adjoining Western IT corridor of Hyderabad) the prices could vary between 7000 to Rs 9000 per sft for a gated community complex (depending on specifications and amenities) as of September/October 2022, and that translates to over Rs 1.2 crore. Going with this price range, any builder in Nallagandla who offers a property for much less than the above range is most likely not meeting the specifications on the quality and durability of the overall apartment!
On the other, the same 1700 sft apartment in a standalone building in Sainikpuri or Yapral would cost around Rs 4500 to Rs 5500 per sft (depending on specifications), which is well within your budget of Rs 80 lacs. Going by the same logic, even in Sainikpuri or Yapral, if a builder is offering too sweetened a deal to give you a discount of Rs 5 lacs or 10 lacs on Rs 80 lacs, then there is a good reason for you to raise your eyebrows, and to check for quality and specifications.
The logic of ‘being realistic’ is simple- Quality costs! There’s nothing called cheap AND best! Anything that’s cheap can simply not be the best!
This means that you must NOT make the ‘best deal’ on price your sole consideration for booking an apartment. It’s not prudent to say, “I booked my flat with XYZ builder because they were nice to me, and gave me a huge discount of Rs 10 lacs.”
You may assume that such a builder is more understanding, adjusting, or customer-friendly! The reality may be quite the contrary!
On the other hand, a builder who does NOT offer ridiculously high discounts ranging over Rs 5 lacs is considered anti-customer and egoistic! Instead of thinking this way, we need to explore why a higher price is being quoted? Why isn’t the builder not reduce the price beyond a certain level? This builder could actually be the right one for us!
To explain this better, a builder quoting at Rs 4500 per sft may come down marginally. The builder won’t go down to Rs 4200 per sft as a special favour to you. This kind of discount and flexibility simply doesn’t exist!
Ways to identify and avoid a ‘low cost housing deal’ trap!
To begin with, abandon the low cost housing deal being our only criteria in buying our 3 BHK flat in Hyderabad. The other things that should follow are-
- Ask questions when the pricing deal by a builder turns excessively sweetened compared with other builders in the same locality who claim to offer similar specifications. A LOW-PRICED deal is a warning sign! Check the specifications of the home, and see what’s missing!
- Not get derailed by a false sense of pride over your bargaining capabilities! The sub-standard, low-priced builder will let you win the hard-bargain. A LOW-PRICED deal is a means to make you buy a POOR QUALITY home!!
- Think of the safety and long term expectations of your family while buying your apartment. Your family needs better quality of specifications, be it electrical, plumbing, walls, tiles, flooring, accessories, the lifts, and the structure itself!
- Setting aside family needs due to an obsession with a low-price deal isn’t worth it! Your family deserves well-built, beautiful, and well-designed home that’s a complete package! Get around to paying more for a better quality of life!
- Always think return on investment in monetary terms! A low-priced deal for a sub-standard home is akin to blocking your money. A poor and run-down building will eventually NOT find buyers even if you want to sell your property at a later point!
By being over-obsessed with pricing while buying your dream home in Hyderabad can be counter-productive! You can end up buying a low-quality home, sub-standard home which turns into a regret-of-a-life-time!
So, keep your priorities right, and look for builders who offer you a home you’ll be proud to own! QUALITY COSTS and PAYING FOR QUALITY sure are worthwhile in the long run!
‘Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.’
– Henry Ford
To know more about “Tips on evaluating QUALITY vs. PRICE- a ‘wise approach’ before booking your 3 BHK flat in Hyderabad”. Click here!
