Top 10 Critical Factors to evaluate how well a property will appreciate

Buying a property does give you sleepless nights doesn’t it? Especially if it’s for investment purposes there seems to be so many things that are not in your hands.Here is a quick list of the Top 10 most important factors that you can keep in mind while deciding which property will be more profitable to invest in.

1. Keep location as your top priority

A very well known saying goes that the 3 things that matter most while selecting property is ‘location, location and location’.Why is it so important?Does it solve problems?How?A good location means that all the basic amenities are close at hand, it is easily accessible and hence it attracts further growth and development.  You will be cutting down on unnecessary traveling, save time, energy and money. Further with parallel growth and development its value will also appreciate many times.

2. Make a quick infrastructural check

Imagine you are residing in a property you have bought. The facilities you would be looking for are

• Roads, highways, flyovers that make it well connected
• Reliable water connection
• Good sewerage system
• Sufficient electricity
• Efficient waste disposal system
• Hospitals for quality treatment
• Schools for good education
• Shopping centers for all your necessities and luxuries

These infrastructural facilities will also trigger future development around your property. More the development, better the property valuation.

3. Check for the proximity of nearby amenities

This is tricky because while the closeness to one thing is beneficial to someone, it is not that important to someone else. So here you need to use your personal judgment or simply put play safe. Try to buy a property which is more or less near to all important facilities. Though it is not always possible, it's worth a try.

4. Know what amenities really matter

There are two types of amenities that an apartment/villa will be providing you:

• For luxury like a swimming pool
• For necessity like a solar water heater

Having a swimming pool will increase the value of the property because of the snob value attached to it. But installing solar water heaters will bring your cost down in the long term. So choose your amenities carefully.

5. Is the Metro coming in the neighbourhood?

Or at least one is proposed in the next phase of metro rail link?Likewise is there an elevated highway coming up or planned in the area, dramatically shortening commuting distances?Examples of areas which have seen significant price increase are:

• Nelamangala (10 km elevated highway, bringing Nelamangala within 20 mnts driving distance  from Malleswaram)
• Peenya ( proposed metro station)  in our namma Bengaluru or
• Dwarka in NCR.

All the three locations have seen significant increase in land prices since the connectivity is announced or came into effect.

6. Calculate the maintenance

I had a friend who was one of the lucky few to book a property in an exclusive gated community. The villa was superb, the amenities amazing and the layout perfect. But the blow came with the maintenance; each month it almost equaled the rent I was paying for my apartment!It is always a good idea to know what your maintenance will be amounting to before buying a property. Also try to figure out if the corpus amount suggested will be enough for future maintenance.

7. Make improvements to your home

If you can add new structures to your home or restore something which has been damaged, it will enhance the value of your property. You could build an additional room, install a chimney in the kitchen or repair the plumbing line. These are called capital improvements and it goes a long way in increasing a property price.

8. Is the local population increasing?

Local population increase will also increase the demand for housing in your area. Why is that so?The land available is a constant and it can have only a limited number of houses/buildings. But due to the steady population increase demand for housing increases. Thus the number of people wanting houses becomes more than the number of houses available. So automatically the person who can pay more gets the house, thereby increasing the value of it.

9. Should you opt for a branded home?

What is a branded house? A property with a name tag on it?Of course not, it’s much more than that it is the promise from the builder of

• Property titles free of legal issues
• Good Quality of construction
• Smooth property transaction
• Approvals from Banks & Govt bodies

The thought of buying a property can be a stressful one because it involves so many uncertainties. But buying it from a renowned builder makes it a pleasant, hassle-free experience.

10. Check well for the quality of construction

It is hard to find fault with a new construction. But you will know the true value of a property only after a few years have passed. If a house has been constructed with care, using quality materials and good planning, it will retain its quality even after many years.A final idea before I sign off, get to know the resell option and rental option before you commit. Whether you are buying it to stay, to give for rent or simply as an investment it’s always best to keep your options open.Hope these ideas will help you to decide where to invest. Do share with us if you have any other ones in mind.