Sobha Sentosa

Sobha Sentosa opens onto Balagere, towards the Varthur end of Panathur Road, in the east of the city. Balagere and Panathur are both residential pockets, so the streets around you are lined with homes rather than factories or warehouses. The developer has not published distances to offices, schools or stations, so none are given here.

For most residents the daily question is the drive to work. If you work along the Outer Ring Road, your route runs up Panathur Road to reach it. If your office is in Whitefield, you head the other way and go through Varthur. Both routes carry heavy traffic at peak hours, so drive each one at the time you would really leave home before you decide.

Schools, hospitals and shops are found in the localities around Balagere rather than on the doorstep, so a car or a cab will be part of most errands. Walk the approach road in the evening as well as the morning. Check how easily you can turn in and out of the gate, and ask how many car parks come with the home-office plan.

Sobha Sentosa was built in three layouts, all quoted as built-up area. The one-bedroom home is about 680 sq ft and the standard three-bedroom home about 1,507 sq ft; both are sold out with the developer. The three-bedroom home with a home office is about 1,804 sq ft, and it is the only plan Sobha still offers. Carpet areas have not been published, so ask for them.

The home-office plan starts at Rs. 2.53 Crore, which is about Rs. 14,000 per sq ft. The extra room is the reason to pick this plan over a standard three-bedroom flat, so check its size and window on the drawing. Make sure it can take a desk, a chair and a shelf without feeling cramped.

What you pay on top depends on the status of your block. A home with an occupancy certificate carries no GST; a home still awaiting one carries GST on the construction part of the price. Stamp duty and registration are payable on every purchase. Ask for a cost sheet that lists:

• Base price and the area it is charged on
• Floor-rise and facing charges, if any
• Car parking and the number of bays
• Clubhouse fee, maintenance deposit and advance maintenance
• GST as its own line, if it applies
• Stamp duty and registration

Sobha Sentosa shows no published RERA registration number. Ask Sobha Limited for it and check it on the Karnataka RERA portal at rera.karnataka.gov.in. The entry will show the approved plans and whether completion has been filed for each block.

Because construction is finished, you are buying a completed home, and the paperwork should reflect that. Ask for:

• The occupancy certificate for your block
• The sanctioned building plan, with your unit marked
• Title documents and an encumbrance certificate for the land
• The khata and a recent property tax receipt for the project
• A draft sale deed, since a finished home is registered on a sale deed

If your block has not yet received its occupancy certificate, treat the purchase as an under-construction one. In that case ask for an agreement for sale that states the handover date and the payment schedule, plus a written date for the certificate. At handover, register the sale deed in your name and apply for the khata transfer. Keep copies of every receipt, since you will need them for your home loan and your tax returns.

Sobha Sentosa has 7 blocks of 17 floors on 7.5 acres, with 533 households sharing one clubhouse and one set of gardens. The developer has not published the share of the land kept open, so ask for the site plan and look at how the blocks, the courts and the green areas divide the ground. Any images you are shown are renders as planned by the developer unless the sales team confirms the space is built.

A weekday here could begin with a run on the jogging track or a class in the yoga and aerobics studio, and then a session in the gym. If you work from home, the co-working space gives you a desk away from the flat, which matters even if you buy the plan with its own office. Children have a play area, a skating rink and several sports courts once school is over.

The pool and the games room fill the weekends. Birthdays and small gatherings can move to the party terrace, and the amphitheatre suits larger community events. The landscaped gardens include a farm plot, a rare touch for residents who want to grow a few vegetables. Since the project is complete, walk through each of these on your visit and see what condition they are in today.