One of the most beautiful trap laid down by the builder is SAMPLE FLAT. Human beings have 5 senses and all our decisions are dependent on 5 senses. While purchasing a under construction flat we completely rely on Sample Flat to decide. I would rather term Sample Flat as a Mirage or a beautiful deception.
I will never recommend to finalize a under construction property based on deceptive Sample flat. Trust me you will never get a flat even 60% of Sample flat becoz of following reasons
1. Highly Customized Interiors: The interiors of sample flat are 100% customized and done by professionals. The specialization of these professionals is to deliver very beautiful but non-usable & non-lasting interiors. If you notice very closely then you will never prefer this kind of work for your home as it will not serve any purpose but they only look very beautiful at 1st glance. You will look for more reliable and long lasting interiors.
2. Illusion of being Spacious: Its a technique and art. You will never find any doors in sample flat & you will find lot of Glass work in sample flat. All this give illusion of large space as u might have observed in small restaurants also. In reality, it will not help and u will get much less space as projected in sample flat.
3. Customized Super Premium Furniture & Fixtures: The furniture and fixtures used in sample flat are aspirational and to be very practical, pls keep in mind that you are not going to get all this in your flat. The fixtures used in actual flat are very ordinary stuff.
4. Most Beautiful Walls: If you have noticed closely then most beautiful part of sample flat is its walls. Reason they are either made of gypsum board or covered with beautiful wall paper. Unfortunately in your flat you will get brick wall. Also the walls are very thin therefore give a feel of more space.
5. Specification of Sample Flat: There is a concept of Super Built up area, Built up area and carpet area. Though you buy flat as per Super Built up area but actually you get carpet area (Which is actually usable area). Carpet area is normally 70%-75% of Super Built up area. Many builders build the sample flat based on super built up area so that it look more spacious. At the time of possession, if u dispute then they will say that its a common industry practice.
6. Height of Side Walls: In normal flats the height of side walls is between 9-10 feet but in sample flat you will find side walls of upto 13-15 feet which again give a look of being more spacious.
In short, Sample flat is more aspirational & deceptive in nature but you are buying your own home sweet home. Now you must be wondering what to do in this case. Answer is very simple, pls ask detailed layout of flat with dimensions. There are lot of software available on internet which can give you a virtual 3D look and feel of your flat based on specifications entered by you (provided by builder). Also with the help of measurement tape, you can estimate the space that will be available in your house. Its better to plot an estimated 3D layout in your mind before signing below the dotted line. Please ensure that layout shared by builder is part of agreement between you and builder & also mention carpet area in the agreement. This is the only legal document which can save you from being cheated & you will get the space being promised to you by the builder.
Copyright © 2011-2013 Nitin Bhatia. All Rights Reserved.
@Nitiin:disqus , very true now a days people are getting fooled by showing the sample flatbut i have never seen flat with out doors, they do exist rest i agree on all points
Hi Nitin,
Good post. You have mentioned about Super built up area and Carpet area in this post.
I recently purchased a 2BHK flat in Bangalore. The Super built-up area that is mentioned on the floor plan is 1093 sq. ft. I measured the total carpet area of the flat as per the dimensions in the floor plan and it comes to 780 sq. ft.
The builder is not willing to disclose the exact area that went for Carpet area, built up area and super built-up area. But he says an approximate (maximum) estimate for wall thickness (15%) and an approximate estimate for proportionate share in common area (12%).
Considering this, I tried to calculate the super built up area as below.
Built up area = 780 * 1.15 = 897 sq. ft
Super built-up area = 897 * 1.12 = 1005 sq. ft
Even with the above conservative estimates, I get an SBA of only 1005 sq. ft. There is a difference of atleast 88 sq. ft (1093 – 1005).
When I ask the builder regarding this, he is not willing to disclose the method he used to calculate the SBA.
Kindly let me know what should I do in this case. This difference (88 sq. ft) translates to more than 3 lakhs in the basic cost of the flat. I really want the builder to adjust this difference against the cost of the flat. Kindly advise.
Also, you said there are some 3D tools available in this regard. Could you please let me know a tool that you have personally used?
Thanks a lot,
Praveen Jayachandran.
Hi,
Calculation is other way round i.e. you have to reduce loading from Super Built up area.
Super Built up = 1093 sq. ft
Wall Thickness + Common Area = 15% + 12% = 27%
Carpet Area = 73% of Super Built up area = 798 Sq. ft
You received = 780 Sq. ft
Approx loss of 18 sq ft. If it is mentioned in your agreement builder that loading will be 27% than you may claim compensation on 18 sq. ft but in absence of any legal clause, you can;t do much.
Also with approx 28% loading, i am assuming your project has all the facilities like swimming pool, gym, club house etc otherwise its too high loading.
Just check Sweet Home 3D software. I have old version and there are lot many available online.
Thanks for your reply Nitin.
The project has a small clubhouse and a small swimming pool. Apart from these, they don’t provide any other amenities. I’ll discuss with them regarding the high loading.
I still have a question regarding the super built-up area calculation. Intitially, when they designed the floor plan, the only value they would have known (based on the dimensions in the floor plan) is the carpet area right? And from the carpet area, they would have calculated the built-up area and then the super built-up area from the built-up area.
So the super built-up area is a derived value. It was unknown initially. Then how can they calculate and tell us the carpet area by adjusting the super built-up area by the loading factor?
Can’t they be transparent and give us the super built up area calculation from the carpet area as below?
built-up area = carpet + estimate for wall thickness
super built-up area = built-up area + estimate for proportinate share in common area.
Please share your opinion.
Thanks,
Praveen Jayachandran.
The builder has Super Built up area in original master plan than depending on amenities provided and open space they arrive at built up area/Carpet Area i.e. how they would like to utilize the available space.
1st master plan is made for entire project than floor plan is derived. Normal loading is 25%-30% for projects with amenities like club house, swimming pool & Gym etc. You may check the builder’s master plan to cross verify the same.
Hi nitin,
Recently i have purchased a 2 bhk flat at kamothe navi mumbai. The agreement has not been done as its a underconstruction project. As per builder the possession of flat wil b ready by end of this year. My flat is 2000 sq ft super built up area. With natural terrace on 1st floor. But as per builder we only hav to pay for 1525 sq ft.
My question is
1. Is it mandatory for the builder to mention super built up area on the sales agreement? They have told me that 50-60% will be loading ( clubhouse, lobby, garden etc). The builder says the carpet area will be only 600 sq ft.
2. will i face any issue during resale of my flat in future. What are the possible issues that i should worry about?
1. Normally the loading is 25% to 30%. For carpet area, the terrace is considered as half the actual area. For a 2000 sq ft Super Built Up Area, the carpet area of 600 sq ft sounds quite unusual to me. You may check the approved layout plan for more clarity.
2. If the construction is as per approved layout plan then you may not face any problem. As i have not seen all the documents therefore cannot comment with 100% conviction. You may hire a local property lawyer who can help in this regard.
Hi Nitin,
Needless to say I gained a lot more confidence by following your posts to take a dive to find my first dream home!
I had almost finalized one property in Bhoomi Acres, Thane, Mumbai. However, there is a little issue or not sure if it’s an issue. Therefore, your opinion.
The builder has got OC & the flat is ready to move in. The saleable (built-up) area is 995 sqft. However, the carpet area that will be mentioned in the agreement will be only for 582 (loading 42%). While I was looking at the building I could see the rooms are spacious than they claimed. E.g. The living room as per the layout shared in the brochure is 10×16, however actually it was ~10×20. While I asked for the actual plan, the sales guy said we can’t share that with you because the flower bed in the plan is part of the carpet. The extention of the window is just replica of the flower bed. As we can’t sell anything that’s outside the wall boundary, we are not considering that in the calculation.
Including the dry area & the flower bed (which is not in the plan but physically part of carpet in each room) the usable area becomes 680 (loading 32%). My questions are:
1. Why would they do like this? Declaring less carpet area than actually usable? Is there any legal issue?
2. In future, if I resale this flat, will the carpet area 582 sqft that will be mentioned in the agreement impact my sale value?
Regards,
Rajib
1. Bhoomi Acres is reputed project. I would suggest you to ask for approved plan from builder. If the layout is as per approved plan than i don’t foresee any issue. Minor deviation is acceptable but any major deviation may cause legal issue in future. Declaring less carpet than actual usable area is not an issue provided its being done intelligently & how it is being done. Also check approved FSI of the project and actual FSI..If FSI utilized is within approved limits than there is no issue on this front.
2. The rate is fixed based on Super Built up area and i am assuming there is no deviation in Super built up area. Moreover when you will sell, you can also show to your buyer that though the carpet area mentioned in the agreement is less but actual usable area is more.
Thanks a lot Nitin for your reply. Based on your suggestions, I’ve two more querries.
1. While I can check the approved FSI, how to measure the actual?
2. If the buyer (when I resale) has to take loan, will the lending bank keep this carpet area into consideration for valuation of the property?
Sorry, my first property so very nervous!
Regards,
Rajib
1. You may check with builder only or take it in writing if builder is willing to provide
2. Property is valued on Super Built up area though buyer consider carpet area to check usable area. Higher loading is not good for property and may impact valuation.
Thank you Nitin.
Another Query.
How to identify suitable advocate to check the documents of the property? I tried googling with no success :(
Regards,
Rajib
Ideally you should finalize through reference only. You may check with your friends and office colleagues.
HI nitin i have purchased villa in vatika infotech city jaipur with built up area of 1090 sq feet as per agreement but now at the time of possession they are asking payment of 1260 sq feet, extra money for 170 sq feet. how this is possible? pl giude further.
Seems deviation in the project. You check approved layout plan and pay accordingly.
Hi Nitin, I have purchased an apartment (yet to be delivered) in which the builder is only giving 50% carpet area. There was no sample flat. The builder had shared the layout of the flat on paper, but i didn’t realize that it is too less as this was my first property purchase (i know this is not an excuse in legal disputes). While i found out later that 50% is too less even from market standards, I am really feeling cheated. Is there any law on the basis of which i can contend with builder to return an appropriate amount?
You may check your agreement with the builder. If the carpet area mentioned in agreement is same as actual carpet area then nothing much can be done in this case.
Thanks for your reply. There is no specific carpet area mentioned in the contract. It only says that common area will also be part of the total area, but how much will be common area and how much will be carpet area I not mentioned in the contract. However, the layout of the apartment which is not part of contract was shared by the builder separately in brochure. So, will the absence of the carpet area specifically in contract make any difference in this case?
Yes. You may check carpet area and it should be mentioned in the agreement.
Carpet area is not mentioned in the agreement. Can I do something about it?
It should be mentioned. You should insist on same.