It’s raining? Go house-hunting now!

I stepped out househunting the day it began rainingrdquo says Dinesh Bajpai 62 a retired government employee who has been looking to buy a home in Ulwe for his daughter working in Mumbai for a few years ldquoIt is said that the true test of a home is when it weathers the first storm and Mumbai has no dearth of those Hence I came to the city just before the monsoons and will be short listing projects during the monsoon itselfrdquo he says adding that he will begin paperwork once he finds an apartment that matches his idea of ldquogood construction qualityrdquoBajpai may be on to something It is the real estate worldrsquos bestkept secret that househunting as challenging as it may be is an exercise best practiced during the monsoon Not only because it helps you choose the ideal project through the process of elimination but also because developers are more open to price negotiation during this seasonAs Arvind Goel member of Mumbai Chamber of Housing Indiarsquos Confederation of Real Estate Developersrsquo Associations of India CREDAI says ldquoDoing a recce during the monsoon would mean that you would know what is the quality of the construction as well as how the area would look like on the days when heavy rain comes calling It is vital for a buyer to do some basic checks of the flat he she is buying as well as observe if the area is prone to floodingmdashwhich depends on whether it has been built on an elevated land or is in a lowlying area Also it is an ideal time to negotiate on price with a builder because most Indians do not buy a home during this season The auspicious seasons start with Ganpati Visarjan by which you are already at the fagend of the rains but if you do it right you can get a decent discount of say Rs 1 lakh or sordquoArvind Goel Dinesh Bajpai Mohit Ramsinghani Mehzabin KhakhariawalaThe first marker of a good home during your monsoon recce is the approach road to a project explains Rohit Ramsinghani chief sales officer of the Runwal group ldquoLocation and approach road is one of the most important factors to be looked upon while selecting a home to stay One will get an actual understanding on the civic infrastructure of the area and the capability to cope with flooding and waterlogging and if onersquos daily commute will be affected by rainsrdquo While many projects might have fancy themes the monsoon reminds you what is important ldquoMany developments are built on the infrastructure theme of Western countries as homebuyers get attracted to that Monsoon in the European countries is not as severe as it is in India and if the design architecture of the building is too European and intricate it might lead to seepage and water leakage Visiting an underconstruction property in the monsoon will give clarity on these issuesrdquoOne of the few ways you can check on the quality of the construction and the extent of the seepage advises Mehzabin Khakhariawala architect and head designer from Spiro Spero is the power of the touch ldquoTouch the wallmdashif the water is transferred on to your fingers then that is a huge red flag The second marker is to go and look at the rooftop See if the terrace has been built with a slantmdashmost good developerrsquos build a terrace floor with a slant so that the water runs into the drains provided at the corners and sides of the terrace floor Lastly check the parking basement during the monsoon Since most developers now build the first floor at a height and have parking at the bottom see if water is collecting at the basement parking and if there is leakage from above when in the basementrdquo says KhakhariawalaIn 2005 Mumbai saw 940 mm rainfall during a period of 24 hours a record that still stands to this day It was after this that developers in Mumbai took away the ground floor housing concept in new projects as most homes on the ground floor were flooded due to the unprecedented rainfall