Plots, Dream of Every Home Buyer...

 

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We all dream of a piece of land which will have our home on it but just a few are lucky to live that dream in reality...

 

Few days back a group of friends asked me specifically about buying a plot around Pune for making their bungalows (yeah still people think on these lines in Pune!), though I said it’s no more a viable proposal  but the thought lingered in my mind. And then one of my media friends also asked my views about buying a plot & making (read as building) own home on it. Then I decided to pen down my views about plotted layouts or say buying a bungalow plot or even buying a piece of land & making own flats on it by three or four person’s (friends) group; which surely is a much viable option in present times to have a good home at good location & at real good price! Indeed, with growing urbanization all around, owning a piece of land is getting tough by the day. And when it’s about a city or region like Pune, then the “own piece of land” dream gets even harder is a fact. Yet it’s not impossible, as all one has to do is think a little smart and be ready for the right opportunity is what I will say!!

Just go back a decade or two, plotting was the buzz word all around & in every suburb or outskirts of Pune and PCMC, and many people have benefitted by buying a small piece of land during that period. But while buying a plot one needs to take more precautions to be taken than a ready possession flat as not all of those who bought the plots during those times were really lucky, is also a fact. 

And the most important aspect one should look for when you are buying a piece of land i.e., a plot, is the legal title along with proper access and documentation.  Most plot buyers just get lured by the concept of buying their own land and location and ignore basic things like title i.e., legal ownership process as well legal documents like 7/12 extract & city survey demarcation. Outcome is, the piece of land shows your name but on record only, while that piece of land is missing in reality from the site when you think of starting to build your dream home on that land of yours!

Then comes the aspect of proper access road, that too right up to the plot as when you try to take your car to your plot you realize the road has been blocked by somebody else while your document is silent about this aspect! In recent times, I have come across many plot owners who have got the plot ownership on their name but the rights of the access road are still with the original landlord. And with the present scene of rise in land prices, no wonder the landlord or his successors are smart enough to take advantage (read as disadvantage or blackmail) of such lacunas in the agreement of the plot & create hurdles in development of your plot! At the same time getting it NA i.e., non agriculture use, in a legal way to get your plan sanctioned from PMC or PCMC is also another aspect which many people overlook while buying a plot and when they realize it’s too late!  Most of such plots (without proper roads etc) have been sold or purchased under “gunthewari” which means illegal layouts. In simpler language, whenever you make a plotted layout of land it has to be in a residential zone as well there are rules for leaving proper open space & road widths in the respective plotting scheme. But in the past (even today) many landlords who are owners of any land just because of ancestral rights, don't bother much about going into the sanction process of plotting as that needs many documents, time & money too, all of which they are not willing to fulfil! Easiest way is to prepare some drawings of the plots, show some road of 6 m width which is sufficient to pass one car & use as much land under the plots, mark the barbed wire fence on site & sell these plots, that’s all! Unfortunately, such plots also get sold because there still are plot buyers who are happy to have any piece of land under their ownership which fits in their budget & they can actually see their name’s board on a piece of land!

Ok, if you are fortunate that even after buying such a plot, you actually can retain it & get possession of the said plot then also don’t forget another important aspect & that is, having proper fencing i.e., a compound wall to your prized piece of land. Because, even after having all the legal aspects properly covered along with the documentation & having physical possession is not enough. Having your all plot boundaries as per demarcation on the site is very important especially when you go for the proper sanctioning process of your dream home. Here many plot buyers try to save on making a good, strong compound wall and pay heavily later for that small saving! Equally important is, keeping periodical check on the status of your plots legal as well use (purpose) i.e., zoning aspect, is also important. It’s because vacant plots even in residential zones can come under reservation such as road or any public use amenity while making or updating existing DP i.e., Development Plan of city or region & it may cause your dream home to vanish into thin air in no time!!

To avoid all such hurdles, it’s always advisable to buy a plot from a properly sanctioned layout from the competent authority (PMC, PMRDA,PCMC etc.) with physical infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water lines etc. in place & ownership documentations! Such legal plots are available but obviously at higher rate per sq. ft. than the raw or illegally plotted layouts but then mostly cheaper deals make you land in trouble in future, this logic is perfectly applicable when its land deals, is what my experience is!!

Indeed, in real estate you earn most when you have your own piece of land but only if it's been bought & protected with all above boxes ticked! So go ahead and, do buy a plot or a home or anything in real estate by using not just your Smart Phone but your own Smartness too...

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at You Tube link below..

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4xX7eopH5o&t=5s

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2021/09/choosing-right-home.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Take your issues to Hon PM at link below..

https://secure.mygov.in/

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com