I get many queries from customers looking for independent villas or kothis in Chandigarh, Zirakpur and Mohali.
One thing I find interesting is that a majority of these people also want to look at apartments while they are searching for a house.
This is only natural because people want to explore all their options before making an important purchase such as a house.
In this blog post, I will list the complete set of advantages and disadvantages that an independent house purchase comes with.
Definition of a Villa in the local context
A villa by definition is a country estate of a rich person with a large yard or a garden space.
A villa is a quite misleading but widely used term by builders and buyers here in Zirakpur and Mohali.
Builders here call an independent house of 100 square yards villas to make their products sound nice and give a larger than life appeal.
A Kothi or an independent house is a much better and relevant term. I will be talking about independent houses in the rest of the blog.
What Attracts Buyers to Independent Houses?
One needs to understand that a lot of people from Punjab, Himachal and Haryana buy houses in Zirakpur and Mohali.
These states are semi-urban/ Rural states where the concept of apartments does not exist barring a few exceptions.
So when people from these states look to buy a house in Zirakpur or Mohali, many prefer their APNI CHAT just like back home.
Some people do not like staying in apartments and prefer independent dwellings mainly because they do not like heights.
Or some people think that an independent house offers better privacy than apartments.
Let us take a look at some factors that one needs to keep in mind when deciding between an independent house and an apartment complex:
You cannot cover 100% of the plot
One cannot construct a building on 100% of the plot. The map only gets approved when a sufficient area is left in the front and the back of a house by the owner.
So if you are thinking of buying a plot you need to also consider if, in the price of the plot plus house, you can buy a bigger apartment?
Time
Constructing a house requires a lot of time and patience. If you are dependent on the contractor quality might suffer.
If you have the time it is much better to supervise the construction process yourself.
A house can easily take anywhere between 1 to 2 years to construct.
The Neighbourhood
Generally, independent houses that you will get in Zirakpur especially are not situated in the best of the neighbourhoods.
Parking issues, traffic problems, narrow lanes etc. are some of the major concerns here.
In Mohali as well an independent house in a good location is quite expensive and is mostly available on resale.
Security
Independent houses do not offer great security to the residents.
A new emerging trend in the Tricity real estate market is people selling their houses in Chandigarh and Panchkula and moving to Mohali/Zirakpur apartments.
Security and a sense of community are some of the main factors for elderly people.
If you have an independent house you will either have to employ a security guard who is poorly trained in most such cases or will have to always have someone in the house to avoid burglaries.
Amenities
One will have to sacrifice amenities such as a park, a swimming pool, a clubhouse and power back up etc if he or she is looking for an independent house.
Also, if you do want to avail such facilities you will need to spend a fortune on private clubs, and generators etc.
Inventory
It is very difficult to find good independent houses in Mohali or Zirakpur. Mostly you will get resale properties in independent houses.
There are many shady operators who deal in resale properties. One needs to be very careful while dealing with resale units.
Price
Good built up Independent houses in a good location will cost you a fortune. If you have the budget then you are better off buying a plot and constructing your own house with your own design provided you have the time.
I hope this blog has given you some oints to ponder about.
One piece of advice that I would like to give is that anyone who is going to treat Chandigarh and surrounding areas as their second home should definitely be only thinking about apartments and not independent houses.
