alaverdiguides.com

Life in India Without Illusions

Neighbourhoods, renting and buying a home — first-hand.

Open the notes
Collage of street photos, a hand-drawn neighbourhood map and field notes pinned with paper clips

Neighbourhood Breakdown

Look closer

Bandra West

Mumbai

  • Rent high
  • Transport local trains, buses
  • Noise lively till late
Narrow residential street with an auto rickshaw parked by old houses Look closer

Koramangala

Bengaluru

  • Rent upper-middle
  • Transport buses, cabs
  • Noise busy roads, calm lanes
Residential lane lined with low-rise buildings and parked scooters Look closer

Hauz Khas

New Delhi

  • Rent upper-middle
  • Transport metro within reach
  • Noise quiet mornings
Tree-lined street with scooters and older apartment blocks Look closer

Kalyani Nagar

Pune

  • Rent middle
  • Transport buses, autos
  • Noise mostly quiet
Quiet residential street with balconies and parked bikes Look closer

Renting Without Losses

Entrance of a residential building with a wooden door and potted plants
Rental agreement and a pen on a wooden desk
  1. 1

    Visit the flat at three different times of day before you sign anything.

  2. 2

    Read the lock-in period and the notice clause twice — that is where deposits get lost.

  3. 3

    Agree in writing who pays maintenance, society charges and repairs.

  4. 4

    Insist on a registered agreement and keep scanned copies of every page.

  5. 5

    Photograph each room on move-in day and share the album with the owner.

Check the agreement

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Buying With Your Eyes Open

  • Roof Check waterproofing and old leak stains on the top-floor ceiling.
  • Staircase Measure width and note a second exit for emergencies.
  • Plinth Look for damp marks and ask where rainwater drains.
Chalk-style cross-section of a two-storey house with marked inspection points
  • Attic Ventilation under the roof keeps upper rooms livable in summer.
  • Wiring Ask about the sanctioned load and the age of the cabling.
  • Windows Note which side gets the afternoon sun and street noise.
Hand-drawn sketch of a house section in a spiral notebook
Sketch every site visit: cracks, slopes and stains are easier to compare on paper.

Stages of a deal

  1. Title search Trace ownership back through earlier sale deeds.
  2. Encumbrance check Make sure there are no loans or claims on the property.
  3. Approved plan Compare the building with the sanctioned plan, floor by floor.
  4. Sale agreement Fix the price, payment schedule and handover date in writing.
  5. Registration Pay stamp duty and register the sale deed at the sub-registrar.
  6. Mutation Update municipal and tax records in your name.

Notebook of Observations

Busy residential street with shops and scooters
Morning queues show where people really shop
Street vendor carts lining a market road
Overhead wires hint at power cuts
Blank signboard on a pole beside a shuttered shop
Signboard fixed to a tree at a roadside corner
Brokers' boards: call twice, compare answers
Vegetable stalls and shoppers in a narrow market lane
Signboard beside a small shop with a blue door
Ask shopkeepers about water supply

“A good neighbourhood starts at the market.”