Other Charges When Buying a House

When you start your property search, you will be amazed by the extra charges involved in buying a house or investing in property. There are two options: buying a ready-to-move-in property or an under-construction property. However, most people prefer to buy a ready-to-move-in property because it is less risky than an under-construction one. So, let’s assume that a property is coated at Rs. 3000 per square feet—this is its basic rate—but there are also other charges on top of that which people often fail to consider and which can be more than 40% to 50%. Let’s discuss all the additional charges so that you can make an informed decision about the total price of any given property before agreeing to purchase it.

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Let’s look at an example:

Suppose a property’s basic price rate is Rs. 45 lakhs. When we make the final payment for this property, it will be around Rs. 58 – 67.5 lakhs—which includes the basic price of the property and the extra other charges when you buying a house. We will discuss all these charges in detail below:

First comes the basic charge. It is the charge excluding all the extra charges. Before RERA Act came into force, properties used to be sold on the super built-up areas; after the enactment of the RERA Act, properties are supposed to be sold based on the carpet area. For example, if the property has a carpet area of 1500 square feet and the rate per square feet is Rs. 3000, then its total basic cost would be Rs. 45 lakh. And this is just the basic cost; you will also have to pay multiple charges on it, as mentioned below.

PLC (PREFERENTIAL LOCATION CHARGES) –

Property taxes are charged according to the property’s location. Like; a corner flat, park-facing, sea-facing, lower floors, or higher floors. For example, sea-facing view residences have higher PLC charges than non-sea-facing. Therefore, if you own any such property there is a PLC charge coated. Generally, PLC charges are Rs 150-200 per square feet.


PARKING CHARGES –

When you purchase a property, you will pay a parking fee of 5-7% of the base price of the flat. For example, if you purchase a property for Rs. 45 lakhs, you will be charged Rs. 2 to 2.5 lakhs for the parking facility.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CHARGES (IDC) –

An infrastructure charge usually consists of complete internal infrastructure within a complex. For example, water and electricity supply, as well as sewage treatment plants may be charged separately. Developers usually charge these services together because it costs less to do so. However, if we add them together in one place according to IDC’s input-demand curve, there will be an IDC charge added at around 6% of the base price of the flat or house.

EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENT CHARGES (EDC) –

In some cities, there is also an external development charge. For example, in Gurgaon and Faridabad. This charge goes to the government and includes the infrastructure of a complex—for instance; road facilities, sewage, water, and electricity. The EDC charges are applied to all these expenses so it is approx. 5% of the base price of a flat. The total cost of IDC and EDC ranges from Rs. 300 to 400 per square foot.

CORPUS FUND/ IFMS –

Builders collect corpus funds, also called IFMS. It is interest-free maintenance security, similar to an emergency fund, and not like regular monthly maintenance. To purchase a property costing Rs. 45 lakhs, builders can collect from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000.

POWER BACK-UP –

The power backup charge is provided on an kWh-basis for each flat in the complex. Backup is available from 3KVA to 5KVA, ranging from 1 lakh to 1.5 lakhs.

AMENITIES AND CLUB CHARGE –

These charges apply to luxury flats with a clubhouse, swimming pool, and gym. The developer will charge you for these amenities at a lump sum of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1.5 lakhs.

STAMP DUTY AND REGISTRATION CHARGES –

In this case, stamp duty varies from state to state. So you must pay the stamp duty according to the state. Therefore, stamp duty and registration charges are 5-10% of the property value.

GST –

In an under-constructed property, both stamp duty and GST are levied where GST is 18% on ⅔ of the property cost. Therefore, the effective GST rate is 12%. It is the payable tax and added as a extra other charges before buying a house.


BROKERAGE –

Most resale property or ready-to-move-in property transactions are closed through a real estate agent or broker, who typically charges 1% to 2% of the property’s final value as a fee.

New Parking Lot Policy

MUMBAI: An amended BMC parking lots policy submitted for state government approval, could earn it several hundred crores a year from builders. The developers , who build parking lots free in return for incentive construction rights, will now have to share 40% of their profits with the BMC. “Each new parking lot could get us Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore. Municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar overtake the original policy a few weeks ago because it was delayed in accusation of favoritism and corruption.

In March, CM ordered the BMC to review it after criticism that the scheme only helped builders enjoy unusually high profits under the appearence of executing a public scheme. Developers used this scheme which is very well known Parking FSI to build 50-60 storey-high luxury skyscrapers, mainly in central Mumbai.

Critics said developers spend hardly Rs 1,500 a sq ft to build parking lots, but the incentive as additional FSI from the government was worth Rs 20,000 –  Rs 25,000 per sq ft.

The amended policy will constrain the height of the parking lots to ground plus 04 storeys and two basements. The original scheme sanctioned parking towers of 10-15 storeys high. The BMC committee wants the traffic police department to evaluate peak level actual parking on all roads over 60 feet wide and 250 m in length as well as on station and public assembly areas.

The BMC issued starting certificates to 11 public parking towers, eight in the Parel-Dadar belt and three in Goregaon for 15,845 vehicles. Only these projects are given go ahead.