Provident Freedom

Provident Freedom stands on Dr. Abdul Kalam Road, in Pudupakkam Village on the southern edge of Chennai. The address itself names the Siruseri IT park as the nearby reference point. For anyone whose office is in that park, that is the main reason to live here, and the daily commute could be short.

The developer has not published distances to named offices, stations, schools, hospitals or shops, so we do not quote any. Build your own picture instead. Drive from the gate to your workplace at your normal hour, then make the evening return, when traffic around IT parks tends to peak.

If you have children, time the school run as well. Find the nearest hospital, pharmacy and grocery store, and see whether buses or shared autos pass close to the gate. Village addresses on the edge of the city can be quiet and green, but they can also mean longer trips for everyday errands. Since the project is finished, talk to a few residents at the gate about how they get to work and what they wish were closer.

Provident Freedom had 3 BHK apartments, and all of them have been sold by the developer. Unit sizes were not published, so each resale flat needs its own measurements. Ask the seller for the built-up area and the carpet area as they appear on the sale deed. Then check the rooms against a floor plan on your visit.

Resale prices are set by each owner and by the local market. Compare the asking figure per sq ft with recent sales of similar three-bedroom flats in the project and nearby. A finished flat with its completion certificate carries no GST. You pay stamp duty and registration on the value at which the sale is registered.

Before you agree a price, ask the seller for:

• Built-up and carpet area on the sale deed
• The floor, facing and allotted parking bay
• A no-dues letter from the residents' association
• Latest property tax receipt and electricity bill
• Details of any work done inside the flat
• Loan closure letter, if the flat is mortgaged

Budget separately for stamp duty, registration and any repairs the flat needs.

Provident Freedom has no RERA registration number published for it yet. Ask the seller or Provident Housing for one, and check any number you get on the Tamil Nadu RERA (TNRERA) portal. On a finished flat bought from an owner, the completion papers and the title chain are the documents that protect you.

Ask to see these before you pay an advance:

• The completion or occupancy certificate for the block
• The sanctioned building plan showing the flat
• The seller's registered sale deed and the earlier deed chain
• An encumbrance certificate running up to this month
• Property tax receipts and the latest electricity bill
• A no-dues letter from the residents' association

If a bank holds the seller's original documents against a loan, agree in writing how the loan will be closed and the papers released at registration. Have a lawyer read the title before you sign. Once the sale deed is registered, move the property tax and power connection into your name.

Provident Freedom spreads over 31 acres, which is a large piece of land for an apartment community. The developer has not published the number of towers or homes, the share of land kept open, or a site plan. Ask the seller or the residents' association for the layout, and find the block you are buying in on it.

Because the community is finished and lived in, you can judge daily life directly rather than from a brochure. Walk the grounds in the morning and again in the evening. Note where children play, where people walk, and how the gardens, paths and lighting have been kept. Look at the lifts, the parking and the entrance lobby in the block you are considering.

No itemised amenity list has been published, so ask the residents' association what shared facilities exist and which of them are running. Check the monthly maintenance charge and what it covers, and whether any facility carries a separate fee. Ask how water supply and power backup work day to day. On an older site of this size, the upkeep of the common areas says a lot about how the community is run.