Many flat purchasers are having doubts about area of the flat they are going to purchase. In order to help them, the following details are given:
Definitions:
Carpet area: As name suggests, it is the area where we can put carpet literally. So it is the area which we use on daily basis. If usable terrace( private terrace) is there within the flat, then the area of terrace is calculated and 50% of it is added to carpet area.
Built up area: ( (BUA) In addition to carpet area, we have to add up area of walls and ducts. Normally it is 10% more than the carpet area. This is also called plinth area and it includes external wall/internal wall within the rooms also.
Super-Built up area: (SBUA) This is actually saleable area which every builder quotes. It includes built up area plus common space area like stair cases, gymnasium, security room, motor room, walkways, lifts, terrace of the building etc. Usually it is normally 15% more than built up area.
In order to understand the concepts of all the above, one simple illustration is given below:
Room Dimension Carpet area in sqft
Living room 10 x 15 150
Master Bedroom 12 x 15 180
Bedroom -2 10 x 12 120
Dining room 8 x 10 80
Kitchen 12 x 10 120
Toilet -1 8 x 5 40
Toilet -2 10 x 7 70
Private Terrace 10 x 6 30 (within the flat premises)
Passages within flat 10 x 5 50
Since terraces are considered within carpet area by halving their actual area( 50% of 60 sqft). In this case, it is 30 sqft. So the total carpet area of 840 sqft. The builder may quote nearly 1050 sqft as saleable area to purchaser which includes carpet area plus walls plus common areas for the said flat which are allowed to be freely used by them. This does not include car parking for which separate rate is calculated and charged. Thus the thumb rule is to take 1.25 as the multiplying factor to calculate super built up area or saleable area. But this 1.25 differs from project to project based on common amenities.
Apart from this, there will be several extra charges like electricity backup charges, parking charges, maintenance charges for amenities, security charges etc. So we need to consider and compare all of these charges before thinking of choosing the right project to buy a property. We should give a hard thought to how many of the amenities we are actually going to use, and how much we are going to get charged for them. Whether it will be good thing to buy into a no-frills project and join a gymkhana club rather than paying maintenance charges for the swimming pool which we are not going to use. Also nowadays there is not much co-operation among the flat residents and hence lot of problems is faced in running common amenities which becomes dud in the long run and useless.
So when you go in for purchase of flats, just check up the carpet area and other things among various alternatives including importance of locality, floor number and travel facilities before deciding on any single flat. It is better to go in for first or second floor rather than ground and other floors as lot of problems are coming in times of crisis.
In this connection, we should know about FSI also. FSI means Floor Space index. This is the ratio between total plot area to the total built up area of the building. Every flat owner is having the right in the plot area and it is apportioned based on super-built up area or built up area as per the agreement.
Before purchasing the flat,
Check up whether the builder has the right to put up structure over the land as the owner or contractor. If so, check the title of land ownership with the help of good advocate.
Also we should check whether the builder is building without any violation and the construction of our flat is as per plan given to us.
Check whether the total floors are as per the building map.
We should ensure that the floor we are buying is approved one as nowadays many flats are sold without any approval and the purchasers faces the problem of demolition.
We should also check the reputation of builder and also we should obtain that NOC for urban land ceiling is obtained by the builder.
Obtain the electrical and water pipelines maps from the builder which will be helpful in getting help for any major repairs or alteration.
From India, Madras
Definitions:
Carpet area: As name suggests, it is the area where we can put carpet literally. So it is the area which we use on daily basis. If usable terrace( private terrace) is there within the flat, then the area of terrace is calculated and 50% of it is added to carpet area.
Built up area: ( (BUA) In addition to carpet area, we have to add up area of walls and ducts. Normally it is 10% more than the carpet area. This is also called plinth area and it includes external wall/internal wall within the rooms also.
Super-Built up area: (SBUA) This is actually saleable area which every builder quotes. It includes built up area plus common space area like stair cases, gymnasium, security room, motor room, walkways, lifts, terrace of the building etc. Usually it is normally 15% more than built up area.
In order to understand the concepts of all the above, one simple illustration is given below:
Room Dimension Carpet area in sqft
Living room 10 x 15 150
Master Bedroom 12 x 15 180
Bedroom -2 10 x 12 120
Dining room 8 x 10 80
Kitchen 12 x 10 120
Toilet -1 8 x 5 40
Toilet -2 10 x 7 70
Private Terrace 10 x 6 30 (within the flat premises)
Passages within flat 10 x 5 50
Since terraces are considered within carpet area by halving their actual area( 50% of 60 sqft). In this case, it is 30 sqft. So the total carpet area of 840 sqft. The builder may quote nearly 1050 sqft as saleable area to purchaser which includes carpet area plus walls plus common areas for the said flat which are allowed to be freely used by them. This does not include car parking for which separate rate is calculated and charged. Thus the thumb rule is to take 1.25 as the multiplying factor to calculate super built up area or saleable area. But this 1.25 differs from project to project based on common amenities.
Apart from this, there will be several extra charges like electricity backup charges, parking charges, maintenance charges for amenities, security charges etc. So we need to consider and compare all of these charges before thinking of choosing the right project to buy a property. We should give a hard thought to how many of the amenities we are actually going to use, and how much we are going to get charged for them. Whether it will be good thing to buy into a no-frills project and join a gymkhana club rather than paying maintenance charges for the swimming pool which we are not going to use. Also nowadays there is not much co-operation among the flat residents and hence lot of problems is faced in running common amenities which becomes dud in the long run and useless.
So when you go in for purchase of flats, just check up the carpet area and other things among various alternatives including importance of locality, floor number and travel facilities before deciding on any single flat. It is better to go in for first or second floor rather than ground and other floors as lot of problems are coming in times of crisis.
In this connection, we should know about FSI also. FSI means Floor Space index. This is the ratio between total plot area to the total built up area of the building. Every flat owner is having the right in the plot area and it is apportioned based on super-built up area or built up area as per the agreement.
Before purchasing the flat,
Check up whether the builder has the right to put up structure over the land as the owner or contractor. If so, check the title of land ownership with the help of good advocate.
Also we should check whether the builder is building without any violation and the construction of our flat is as per plan given to us.
Check whether the total floors are as per the building map.
We should ensure that the floor we are buying is approved one as nowadays many flats are sold without any approval and the purchasers faces the problem of demolition.
We should also check the reputation of builder and also we should obtain that NOC for urban land ceiling is obtained by the builder.
Obtain the electrical and water pipelines maps from the builder which will be helpful in getting help for any major repairs or alteration.
From India, Madras
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