Birla Evara

Birla Evara fronts Sarjapur Main Road at Ambalipura in the Kaikondrahalli area, on the east side of Bengaluru. The developer lists the address under pincode 562125; check that on a map before your first visit, and ask the sales office for a landmark, since none has been published. No distances to offices, schools, hospitals or the metro have been published either, so we do not quote any.

Sarjapur Road is a working corridor as much as a residential one, and the daily question for most buyers is how long the drive to the office takes from this exact gate. Test it yourself at your normal departure time on a weekday, in both directions. On 30 acres, the walk from the gate to your tower can be long. Ask for the site plan with tower positions and measure the distance from the entrance to the tower you are considering, then to the clubhouse.

A tower at the front will hear the main road; one at the back will mean a longer walk to the exit. The creche, cafe and retail stores inside the site take some errands off the road entirely, which matters on a corridor where short trips can take a long time. Ask how many vehicle gates there are and which face the main road.

Birla Evara has six plans, all quoted as built-up area; carpet areas are unpublished, so ask. The 1 BHK is about 474 sq ft; the 2 BHK, about 857 sq ft. The three-bedroom homes step up from the Compact at about 1,127 sq ft to the Regular at about 1,275 sq ft and the maid's-room plan at about 1,427 sq ft. Largest is the maid's-room 4 BHK at about 1,733 sq ft.

Prices are quoted as bands. The 1 BHK runs Rs. 65 Lakhs to Rs. 70 Lakhs and the 2 BHK Rs. 1.29 Crore to Rs. 1.38 Crore. The 3 BHK Compact is Rs. 1.99 Crore to Rs. 2.14 Crore, the Regular Rs. 2.06 Crore to Rs. 2.24 Crore and the maid's-room plan Rs. 2.28 Crore to Rs. 2.45 Crore. The 4 BHK is Rs. 2.97 Crore to Rs. 3.15 Crore. On the starting figures, rates run from about Rs. 13,700 per sq ft for the 1 BHK to about Rs. 17,700 for the 3 BHK Compact.

GST applies to an under-construction home. Stamp duty and registration apply on the full value at registration. Ask for a cost sheet that lists:

• Base rate and the area it is charged on
• Floor-rise and facing premiums for your unit
• Car parking and the number of bays
• Clubhouse fee and maintenance deposit
• GST as its own line
• Stamp duty and registration

Birla Evara has no RERA registration number on record yet. Ask Birla Estates for it before you pay a booking amount and check the entry on the Karnataka RERA portal, rera.karnataka.gov.in. A project of this size is often registered in phases, so make sure the number you are given covers your tower and read the declared completion date for that phase.

This is an under-construction purchase, so you will sign an agreement for sale now and a sale deed at handover. Before you sign, ask for:

• The RERA certificate for your phase
• Title documents for the 30 acres and an encumbrance certificate
• The sanctioned building plan showing your unit and floor
• Planning and environmental approvals for the layout
• The draft agreement for sale with the milestone payment schedule and a written handover date
• The delay compensation clause

Once construction is complete, do not take keys until the occupancy certificate for your tower is issued. Then register the sale deed and have the khata put in your name. Keep the payment receipts together with the deed; the total in the deed should match what you have actually paid.

Birla Evara is outlined as thirteen towers of 23 floors on 30 acres, with 1,600 homes and the shared spaces spread between them. The developer has not published the open-space share, so ask for the master plan and see how much ground is left between towers once roads and parking are drawn in. Everything you are shown at this stage is a render, as planned by the developer.

Your morning could start on the jogging tracks or in the yoga and aerobics zone, then the gymnasium in the clubhouse. Parents of small children have a creche on site, and after school there are sports courts, an indoor games area and a play area. On a day you work from home, the cafe is a change of desk. Evenings bring the landscaped gardens, the spa and salon, and the mini theatre for a film without leaving the gate.

Festivals and large gatherings go to the amphitheatre; family functions to the multipurpose hall. Retail stores cover the milk and bread runs. The size of the community cuts both ways. Ask how many clubhouses and pools serve 1,600 homes, whether the amenities are built in phases, and which ones will be open when the first towers are handed over in 2030.