Thinking of buying a property. Whether you buy a plot or a flat, your are buying from a owner or from a builder, its a new property or a older one, be very careful on price aspects and various other expenses. These expense are other than the basic sale price however comes bundled in the overall cost of purchase. Let us see what are these charges
Stamp duty Is the value of stamping paid to respective state government for making an agreement. It ranges between 4% – 10% of the transaction value. You need to check for this amount for the state where the property is situated. In few states it is less for female buyers as compared with male buyers and more for non individual buyers or companies.
Registration The agreement needs to be registered with Registrar for which a fees needs to be paid to government. It varies from state to state. Few states are charging a fixed amount as Rs.10,000 while most are charging 1% of the transaction value. You need to check for this for the state where you are buying a property.
Agent commission Agent helps you in identifying a property and handhold you till the final registration. For this they charge a commission. This commission varies from place to place and remains in the range of 0.5% to 2% of the transaction value. It is a item of negotiation which reduces with the increase in property value. While in case of buying flat or house directly from a builder, you don’t have to pay any commission. Builders pay handsome incentive to these agents for selling their products which made a trend of not charging commission from buyer.
Transfer charges These are the charges which is to be paid to the respective development authority to update their record for the change of ownership. Usually the quantum of the charge depends upon the area of the property and the grading of the locality.
Society membership fee When you buy a flat in a society, you also need to become a member of that society for which society charges a fee. This fee varies in a very broad range say from few hundreds to few lacs and depends on the quality of decorum for that society.
Parking charge With more and more cars on the street, parking has become a major issue. Various societies has a mandatory clause to buy a parking slot with every flat however in other it is covered in overall value. The cost of parking ranges between few thousands to few lacs and is to be paid to builder of seller.
PLC PLC or Preferred location charge is the additional cost of property required to be paid due better location. Preferred location could be basis the floor, direction (east facing), front view, etc. This is to be paid to builder over and above the basic rate of the property. Even development authorities also take more charges for such preferred location like corner plot etc.
Cost of terrace rights/ balconies/garden area Any extra space bundled with property doesn’t come free now. You have to pay for it. The rate for balcony or garden is generally half or one third of the normal rate of the property. While in case of terrace rights for the owner of top floor depends on society. In few ones, it lies with occupants of top floor while in others, it is common for all owner. In some case builder sell these rights at a lumpsum cost.
Club house membership Generally good societies have clubs which facilitates indoor or outdoor games, party halls, swimming pool, Gym, etc. Their is cost in making these amenities and maintaining them. As such, a fee is charged towards membership of this club, mostly in few thousands, subsequent to which, the maintenance for these is recovered from overall maintenance charges.
File preparation charges It is a nominal charge, less than 5000 which is taken by document preparer. The document of sales includes preparing legal agreements, notorization, getting the stamping done etc. Ensure yourself to get complete documentation and adequate number of copies before completing the deal.
Charges for Electricity, Water, Sewer connections You cannot live in a home without necessary connection. Their are charges for these connections which will have two components i.e. Refundable deposits and installation fee. These are to be deposited with various agencies and accordingly they will provide with meters and connections. It is always better to clarify these item even before negotiating the price. As such, it leaves no scope for additional burden transfer from seller side to you later during the deal.
