• Budget
• Location
• Quality vs. Price analysis
• Construction Program (Dividing the total Sq. Ft. into smaller numbers allocated to different rooms required in the house)
• Styling and Designing Quotient
• Architect Selection
• Construction Documentation

Also Read: Checkout latest Apartment reviews

Areas Requiring Special Attention
For erecting a beautiful dwelling, equipped with all the essential requirements and spick and span features, it is essential to shift your focus towards some special areas.

• The Monetary Budget: The task involves having a word with a professional architect and knowing the estimates of the entire home building project. Planning a budget for the new house also requires figuring out the funds you have and the amount you need in the form of a loan to accumulate the total sum required for construction.

• Location: Remodels, redecoration and reconstruction can fix any minor/major deformities, but the location cannot be changed. Therefore, you need to collect every bit of information available about the location and get the best deal for your dream house.

• Question of Style and Design: You can choose a term from among futuristic, minimalistic, fresh, simple, rustic, organic, urban, traditional, modern and classical that speaks for your budget and personal preferences.

What are the Most Critical Aspects?
Besides the special constructional aspects, there are some other critical things that you need to concentrate on when building your dream home.

• Foundation: It is the main factor that determines the stability as well as the sturdiness of the home. Only if the foundation is made using high-quality robust materials, the home will turn out to be a resilient and valuable investment.

• Spatial needs: Rooms like living room, kitchen and bedroom require more space as compared to the other rooms. Therefore, it is essential to make these rooms spacious to accommodate everything required.

• Number of people: The construction blueprints also mentions the number of people that the new house will accommodate in order to achieve accurate results. Making a list of the required rooms according to the number of family members, functions and dividing their space accordingly would be a wise move.

How estimates go up and how to be prepared?
While constructing a home, going beyond the postulated budget is a common instance. Whether it is in terms of purchasing more land, investing more in luxury items or an increase in the rates of construction material or labour, the estimates tend to go beyond the prescribed limit.

It is wise to be on the conservative side if your income is bound to increase at a slower pace as compared to the interest rates and current family expenses. Moreover, you need to explore the market, get some estimates and talk with industry professionals to gather complete knowledge about the financial aspect of construction.

How to Save Maximum Possible?
When the budget surpasses the predefined limits, there are some unpretentious suggestions that can confine you within your economical boundaries:

• Hiring a well trained, professional and reputed architect would be useful in building a home within the budget, while keeping proper material management and resource utilisation in mind.

• Simplicity is the key to saving money when constructing a new home. Hip designs and urbane styles may give warmth to the eyes, but can burn a big hole in your pocket. So, sticking to simple designs and shapes would make things easy on the pocket.

• Utilising existing furnishings, fittings and fixtures in a tasteful manner will give an elegant and classy look to the home without surpassing the budget.

Quality Checks
The materials that are required for constructing a new home should be chosen carefully. Superior quality materials are hard-wearing and provide better adeptness than the lower quality products. Purchasing high quality materials may be expensive, but it is worth the quality that you will get over the years.

Constructing your dream home is a tricky task. However, making a point to follow the instructions of the architect and property consultants would help in keeping a track of the overall construction work and exploitation of resources as per the industry standards.

So, we at “http://www.flatgradings.com” took this opportunity to speak with few random landlords and tenants, with a vision to somehow find out the solution for this issue. Our idea was to find a common ground for both landlords & tenants so that they never end up with fights during move out. 

"Never burn the bridges because you may need to cross them again".

First we spoke to few Tenants – A Student, IT Professional and a Professor.

• Manju – A student from Hyderabad pursuing his BE in CMRIT college, says paying 10 month security deposit upfront for an house in Marathahalli was not at all easy for him. He had to ask his father - A florist, to help him pay the deposit. With lots of difficulties they were able to pay the deposit. Manju mentioned that his father had to do extra hours at his shop & lend money from his relative to arrange the money. He also mentioned that “10 months deposit doesn't prevail in his home town” and it's not at all Practical for a student to pay such huge amount upfront. He just prays landlord returns his security deposit in one piece.

• Biplav – An IT professional hails from Kolkata had paid 10 months security deposit which was whopping 2.5 lacs for his previous residence in Koramangala. He mentioned arranging 2.5 lacs was an herculean task since his owner did not compromise on the 10 month security deposit. At that time he thought the money is kind of refundable amount when he decides to move out. When he actually decided to move out, the owner started acting very smart and cut almost 3 months rent which was Rs. 75,000 in the name of painting and other maintenance. He mentioned that there was no need for any painting since he had maintained the house like his own, No nails on the wall except for few airline cracks which happen due to climatic changes. Also, during his stay, the rent was revised every year without any kind of logic behind it.

• Mahesh – Professor by profession stays in A Narayapura. He mentions that he had the best landlord because they had settled for 5 months deposit and a very reasonable rent. But everything changed when he decided to move out of the house. Landlord cut 2 months of rent as maintenance and he got just 50% of the remaining deposit even when he had given the landlord a one month notice as per agreement. Mahesh had to run behind the landlord for almost 6 months to get his remaining money.

1. Paying 10 month security deposit upfront.There should be strict law to govern this.
2. Exploiting tenants by cutting huge chunk of security deposit as part of maintenance & painting charges while moving out.
3. Setting unrealistic rent.
4. Hiking rent every year without any prior notice.

Till now it was just one side of the story. Next we spoke with few owners and everyone's answers were pretty much on similar lines:

The housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry has readied the draft of the Model Tenancy Bill, 2015, doing away with some archaic rules that govern this sector. The draft will soon go to the cabinet for its approval.

"Currently, almost all states have their own rent laws. But many of them have become archaic and failed to serve their purpose. The opaqueness has not only made renting out properties a tricky affair for landlords but taking a house on rent has become a nightmarish experience too. Many tenants are forced to cough up arbitrary rent hikes or face eviction," said an official.

Draft Model Tenancy Act, 2015, if accepted, could unlock the doors of huge number of properties that are lying vacant currently, thus providing a solution for India's housing problem. But it is easier said than done.

The Draft proposes several reforms to the earlier Rent Control Act, 1948, which was seen as outdated and partial to tenants.

The new Draft seeks to balance the needs of both tenants and landlords. For instance, as per the provisions of the Rent Control Act, rents of properties were capped and landlords could not raise rents despite the jump in property rates. Thus, many tenants ended up paying a paltry rent of about Rs 100 despite living in prime locations.

The Draft proposes reforms that will enable landlords to charge market rates and make it easier for landlords to evict tenants who default on rent without getting into long drawn out legal proceedings.

This move is expected to give a boost to the rental housing market. "Earlier, property owners avoided giving their property on rent out of the fear that tenant will never vacate their property. With the proposed changes, house owners can relax and a huge number of properties lying vacant can be used to not only generate additional income for them, but also solve the housing problem of millions,'' says Ashwinder Raj Singh, CEO - Residential Services, JLL India.

"There was a need to unlock the greater potential of the housing sector,'' says Ashwinder. Speaking on the impact on property prices, he feels that the move will not bring down property prices. "The landlord can now give the property on rent. He will earn an income on his investment, so there will be an incentive to invest in property,'' he adds.

The Draft also has provisions to protect the interests of the tenants. Currently, the security deposit paid by tenants is an ad-hoc amount. As per the draft, the security deposit cannot exceed three times the monthly rent. Besides, tenants can claim a reduction in rent if the quality of services deteriorates. "It's a win-win situation for both house owners and tenants if they play by the rule book,'' says Ashwinder.

While the Draft permits landlords to raise the rent, the tenants need not fear arbitrary hikes. This is because the Draft has proposed a ceiling on the rent that is to be fixed in consultation with the state government. Besides, landlords cannot evict tenants as per their whims and fancies, but have to follow the terms of a written agreement.

Also, tenants below a certain threshold are protected in that the terms of the Draft are not applicable to these select categories. "Senior citizens who are actual residents, widows and single women, persons released or retired from the armed forces, are among the special categories of persons,'' - as per The Draft Model Tenancy Act 2015.

Among the many reforms included in the Draft is the proposal for an independent authority for registration of all tenancy agreements and a separate court for rent related disputes and litigation cases. The rent agreements need to be registered with the Rent Authority. Further, the Draft has proposed that all disputes will be heard at the Rent Courts set up by the states. The Civil Courts will no longer hear rent related cases.

As land is a state subject, it is up to each state government to decide if they wish to adopt the proposals of the Draft Model Tenancy Act. However, given the resistance of the tenants to any changes in the rent laws and due to vote bank politics, it is unlikely that the proposed Draft will replace the old Rent Control Act in a hurry.

We at FlatGradings.com have started petition on change.org to Regularize Security Deposit. This petition will give a push for the State Government to implement The Draft Model Tenancy Act 2015. Please sign if you support the cause.

Also, please share your experiences living in an apartment on our platform http://www.flatgradings.com/write-review-form and help others make an informed decision before moving into new apartment !