THE REAL ESTATE MONITOR -2 ... Why I envy birds?

 

Ramesh Kumar from Greater Noida

Home buying is a unique experience. Particularly for the middle class. Owning a house is a status symbol. There is a proverb in my mother tongue, Tamil: Try constructing a house and or prepare your daughter's Kanya Dhan. Simply put, both these tasks are truly Herculean or Himalayan! One goes broke

. 

In the pre-home loan financing era when there was no HDFC or no bank extending housing loan (the 1960s and early 1970s), you buy a plot of land wherever you can afford and then build as per your wishes keeping the budget in mind. Sell off family jewels mostly and raise personal loans from in-laws(!) and from those who believe in your repaying capacity. The last category is almost non-existent. 

Then comes the daunting task of getting the blueprint ready, followed by the requisite government approvals, and finally procuring a contractor to perform the ultimate job of building your dream house. Barring the erstwhile Mumbai, the rest of India - including the big cities (now we call them Metros) have no concept of housing societies for very long. So those dreaming of owning a house have to construct one or buy an existing property. 

The progress of house building depends on several factors: budget primarily and the character of the contractor in that order. Being a middle-class member, you have weekends to rush to the remotest location where one's house is coming up because you cannot afford to take a day off to oversee the pace of building. Contractor pilferage is inevitable. So the original budget is inadequate. One runs helter-skelter to bridge the gap which adds to the tension. 

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READ ...... The Ghost Town of Greater Noida!

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Colleagues at the office and neighbors where you reside invariably poke fun at you either out of jealousy or sheer vicarious pleasure of making your life miserable! Some share their experience of challenges they were exposed to. Comforting? Not at all. One begins to wonder: why the hell I am getting into building my house? Is it not better to live in rented accommodation. 

Funnily, those who cannot afford to build one sarcastically remark: "there is just one house for the 

owners but those not owning a house, there are plenty!" If you are tempted to kick their butt, it is the appropriate reaction! 

At some point in time - much after the deadline set when planned - your dream house is ready. But you cannot move in. Why? We Indians believe in stars and astrology. Not to be forgotten the vaastu. Pundits fix the date and time for the griha pravesh based on the planetary positions. Honestly, you and I don't understand. Yet, we obey their diktat. Why take a risk? A few days or weeks delay should not matter much. 

Life after one moves into one's own nest is another story. 

I envy the birds. They don't buy land. They don't buy bricks, cement, paint, wood for doors, and iron grills for windows, ceiling fans, and air conditioners if the purse permits and not to be forgotten is the Godrej door lock for security... And no property tax. No electricity bill. No water connection. How can I forget the toilets and the septic tank? 

Birds nurse no such worries. Everything is free for them everywhere. I wish I am a bird. Bird brained, they say, for a stupid person. Not at all. They are smart. Environmental friendly.