Buying A Home? Look For The Hidden Tag Too Price

Rera has made property buying more transparent, yet other costs can raise the actual price by 10-20 per cent. Buyers should not assume the price on the brochure is final. The true cost of homeownership is far higher

- Sanjeev Sinha

For The Hidden Price Tag Too For most Indians, buying a home is achieving the ultimate financial milestone. It's usually a tedious and long-drawn process, where multiple factors have to come together—you should like the house, the area, and it should fit into your budget. But the mistake that a lot of people do is to believe that the price quoted on a builder's brochure is the final cost. But that's not true. The real cost of ownership often goes far beyond.

Property consultants say hidden or non-explicit costs vary by project type and budget segment, that is luxury, mid-income and affordable.

"On a ₹1 crore home, that could be another ₹10-₹15 lakh," says Santhosh Kumar, vice chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants.

Varying state-level levies, goods and services tax (GST) implications, and new maintenance fund structures make the house pricier, making it difficult for buyers to estimate their total cost of ownership before signing on the dotted line.

Experts say greater transparency has emerged post the establishment of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, or Rera, but the fine print still hides plenty of surprises. So, what really goes into owning a home today?

One-Time Costs

Amid stamp duty, registration fees, GST on under-construction units, parking and floor-rise premiums, maintenance deposits, legal documentation, interiors, and brokerage, the true price of homeownership can easily balloon by an additional 10-20 per cent.