Skylark Royaume

Skylark Royaume sits just off Hosa Road, with Sarjapur Main Road running alongside, in the south-east of the city. From this corner your working day can point in several directions, which is the main reason people buy here.

If your office is in Whitefield, plan for a drive of about 15 km. The Outer Ring Road, with its long line of tech parks, is about 16 km off, and Electronic City about 19 km. You can also drive to Koramangala or Marathahalli. None of these is a short hop, so the real question is which one you will drive to five days a week, and how long that takes at 9 am.

Because the neighbourhood is already built up, the daily basics are close. Shops, banks, hospitals and schools already operate in the area, so errands do not all need a long drive. The developer has not named specific schools or hospitals, so check the ones you care about yourself.

Do a trial run before you buy. Leave for your office at your usual time on a weekday, then come back in the evening peak. Look at the approach road as well, since the lane from Hosa Road decides how fast you get in and out.

Skylark Royaume has three home types, each in a range of sizes. One-bedroom flats measure about 615 to 985 sq ft with asking prices of Rs. 40 to 64.02 Lakhs. Two-bedroom homes of about 1,040 to 1,278 sq ft ask Rs. 67.60 to 83.07 Lakhs. For three bedrooms, about 1,301 to 1,800 sq ft, budget between Rs. 84.56 Lakhs and Rs. 1.17 Crore. The areas have not been labelled as carpet or built-up, so ask which one the price is charged on.

At the bottom of the range, Rs. 40 Lakhs for about 615 sq ft works out to about Rs. 6,500 per sq ft. A separate figure of Rs. 4,600 per sq ft also appears for the project, which does not match the listed prices, so ask for today's rate in writing.

The homes are complete, so GST does not apply. Stamp duty and registration are payable on every purchase. Ask for a cost sheet or seller's statement that covers:

• The agreed price and the area it is based on
• Car parking, and whether a bay is allotted
• Maintenance arrears, deposit and any sinking fund
• Association transfer fees
• Stamp duty and registration

Skylark Royaume is listed as having BBMP/BDA plan approval. No RERA number has been published. You can still search for the project on the Karnataka RERA website (rera.karnataka.gov.in), since a registration there would show the promoter and the completion details.

For a finished home the papers that matter are the ones that prove the building is legal and the seller owns the flat. Ask for:

• The occupancy certificate for the building
• The sanctioned plan, to confirm your flat matches it
• The mother deed and the chain of title for the land
• An encumbrance certificate covering at least 30 years
• The khata in the seller's name and recent tax receipts
• A no-dues letter from the residents' association

If you are buying directly from the developer, the sale deed is signed with Skylark Mansion. If it is a resale, the deed is with the current owner, and you should check that any home loan on the flat has been closed and the bank has released the original documents.

After registration, apply to move the khata and the electricity account into your name.

Skylark Royaume is spread over 7.5 acres, and because it is finished you can see the layout for yourself. Walk the grounds and check how the buildings, the clubhouse and the open areas relate to the flat you are considering. The developer has not published the tower count, so take a copy of the site plan on your visit.

A typical morning might start with a swim or a session in the gymnasium. Young parents can use the creche while they work, and children have a play area outdoors. Later, the library and the senior citizen corner give older residents a quiet place to read or meet friends.

For sport there are badminton and squash courts, with table tennis and billiards indoors. The garden is the place for an evening walk. Bigger gatherings move to the community hall or the amphitheatre, and the clubhouse ties it together as the social centre of the campus.

Since these facilities have been in use for years, look at their condition rather than the brochure. Ask the association which are fully working, how often the pool is cleaned and whether any upgrade levy is due.