Sukanya Basu Mukherjee, a restaurateur in Chennai, has been in the city for seven long years. She and her family of four have recently shifted to a property worth Rs 1-2 crore. The dilemma of buying a property does not end with its acquisition. Like many home buyers, Mukherjee believed that paying off the total value of the property is the only priority! Sadly not.

Depending upon the make of your house – imported finishing, latest technologies and best interiors, the maintenance cost would vary from Rs 8-50 per sq ft! By this standard let’s assume that your house is spread over 2000 sq ft. The minimum you would have to spend on maintaining the look and feel of your luxury house is Rs 16,000 per month!

Essentially, luxury means that you have ample living space. Yash Joshi, managing director, RMZ Homes said, “It is not only the ticket price that defines luxury. There are only two types of properties – luxury and the rest. Luxury properties necessarily come with a host of other facilities, the ease of approach, technologically sound and ideally located. If your property qualifies these standards, surely it is luxury. However, if it doesn’t, it would be hard to consider it luxury despite the heavy ticket price.”

This does not mean that all your money would be spent on revamping the interiors. Aishlata Barnwal, agent at Homes Boutique says, “Revamping the interiors can neither disproportionately increase the value of your home nor add any extra bit of luxury to it.

“It is the quality of the brand of tiles and finishing that are used or the way technology, intelligent lighting, energy conservation is handled that governs what luxury is. Not only do you buy luxury but to preserve it from depreciation over the years, one would need to maintain it too”.

If you are a connoisseur of space, design and luxury, study how much extra you would need to maintain what you have bought! If possible hire professionals who can give you an approximate quotation for the same before you make a heavy investment.

Luxury housing supply in Chennai

Are you yet to buy a property? Now that you know the arenas which will pinch your pocket, let’s take a look at the supply of residential properties existing in the market.

We have taken various price brackets in the luxury segment and summed up the property types available, the most common configuration available and the size ranges of units:

Be equipped on all fronts while investing in a property. Being ready beforehand to deal with all kinds of financial arrangements will only make the process of buying a house easier. Pick a property that fits your budget and needs.