Sri Balaji Urban Retreat Villas

Sri Balaji Urban Retreat Villas sits at Buragunte, on the Sarjapura Road side of south-east Bangalore, pincode 562125. The plot carries Survey No. 80 and its sub-divisions. The developer has not published distances to offices, schools, hospitals or stations, so we do not quote any here.

Because the community is finished, you can test the daily routine before you buy rather than guess at it. Drive from the gate to your workplace on a weekday morning and time the trip. Make the return journey in the evening peak, when this corridor is at its slowest. If you have children, time the school run the same way.

Inside a gated villa layout, most errands start with a car. Note where the nearest grocery, pharmacy and clinic are, and whether the retail spaces planned inside the project are open and trading. Ask residents how cab and delivery access works at the gate, and whether water and power supply have been steady. A weekend visit also shows you how quiet the lanes are when everyone is home, which matters as much as the commute.

Sri Balaji Urban Retreat Villas has one home type: a four-bedroom villa of about 2,975 sq ft, measured as built-up area. The published price starts at Rs. 2.69 Crore, which is about Rs. 9,000 per sq ft on that area. Carpet area and plot size have not been published, so ask for both in writing. The plot size tells you how much land you are really buying.

Since the villa is finished, the price you negotiate is for a real house you can inspect. Villas on corner plots or facing the gardens may be priced above the starting figure. Get the quote for the exact unit, not the project's lowest number.

A completed home with an occupancy certificate carries no GST. Stamp duty and registration apply in every case, and a villa's sale deed includes the land, so these charges are higher than on a flat at the same price. Ask for a cost sheet that lists:

• Base price for your villa and the area it is quoted on
• Plot area and any premium for corner or garden-facing plots
• Clubhouse membership and maintenance deposit
• Advance maintenance and its period
• Stamp duty and registration on the full value

Sri Balaji Urban Retreat Villas has no RERA registration number published yet. Ask Sri Balaji Builders for it and look it up on the Karnataka RERA portal, rera.karnataka.gov.in. The entry shows the declared completion date and any complaints filed, which is useful even for a finished project.

A completed villa is sold on a sale deed, and the land comes with the house. Your lawyer should read these papers before you pay an advance:

• Occupancy certificate for the villa
• Approved building plan and the sanctioned layout plan
• Title documents for the survey numbers at Buragunte
• Encumbrance certificate covering at least the last 13 years
• Khata in the seller's name and the latest property tax receipt
• Draft sale deed showing the plot area and the villa

Match the villa you inspect against the approved plan. Any room or floor added after approval can cause trouble when you resell or take a loan. After registration, apply to move the khata into your name and keep the tax receipts that follow.

Sri Balaji Urban Retreat Villas has 96 villas on 6.9 acres, giving each family a house of its own and keeping the shared spaces within a short walk. Villas that share one floor plan can still differ a lot, because each plot faces a different way and lies at a different distance from the clubhouse. Pick your plot as carefully as the plan.

An ordinary day could begin on the jogging track or the yoga lawn, with a swim or a session in the gymnasium after. Children have a play area, and there is a creche for younger ones while parents work. After school, the sports courts and the indoor games room take over, and the pet park gives dog owners a place for the evening walk.

The clubhouse and the multipurpose hall handle birthdays and residents' meetings, and the landscaped gardens run between the homes. A few retail spaces are set aside inside the gates for daily needs. Since everything is already built, ask to see these spaces rather than a brochure. Check how they are maintained, what they cost each month and which of them are fully running today.