In our transactions with thousands of customers, a common demand was for clarity in total price of a property. For most buyers, a major let down with home hunting occurs in the realm of price. This is especially true of online realty portals as the price of property as shown on websites is ultimately further off from the final quote given by the builder. As per our research, we found the gap to be sometimes as high as 30% from the base price quoted. This is quite frustrating for the buyer as he/she would have based their entire financial planning on the base price and when the final price is so high, it can put additional stress on a household. Not to mention that the buyer would have also lost confidence and trust in the realty portal as well as the builder. roofandfloor.com, part of The Hindu group, stands for transparency and trust. We conceptualized the TruePrice™ solution to establish better trust and relationship with our users, by addressing this problem at its core.
What is TruePrice™?
We conceptualized TruePrice™ as an intelligent and sophisticated system that can analyse and compute potential charges that the buyer might incur while purchasing the property. The TruePrice™ design displays price details within an easy to comprehend framework. To put it simply, TruePrice™ is the all-inclusive price of a property. The TruePrice™ solution analyses pricing sheets shared by the builders and promoters and structures it into three broad categories:
- Base Price – The price used in most advertisements based on the super built up area of the property and price per square foot.
- Builder Charges – On top of the base price, builder charges other premium costs such as Floor rise, Car Park, Amenity related charges, Water, Sewage and Electricity Connection etc.
- Statutory and Legal Charges – These are payable to the statutory authorities and include primarily Registration, Stamp duty, Value added Tax (VAT) and Service Tax.
Detailed Price Quote
One can also download the detailed price quote which gives the exact breakup of each component. Here is one of the examples of a 2BHK studio apartment in Bangalore.
Here is a detailed definition for each of the charges levied apart from the base price in the purchase of a property
- Car Parking Charges – This is part of the total price and depends on number of car parks availed. One needs to understand that car park cannot be sold as stand-alone units and it is part of overall property purchase.
- Floor Rise Charges – The general thumb rule is that floor rise charges are applicable for 5th floor and beyond. Most builders charge on a per floor basis beyond the minimum threshold. The rationale is that cost of construction goes higher as the number of floors increase. However, depending on market and builder, this charge can be waived off post negotiation with the builder.
- Water, Sewage and EB Connection Charges – It is a charge incurred for services provided by the corporation / municipality and is referred with different names in different cities. For ex: KEB / BESCOM / BWSSB in Bangalore and TNEB / CMWSSB for Chennai.
- Registration and Stamp Duty Charges – For all properties, property buyer has to pay Registration and Stamp Duty charges at the time of registration. This is based on the guideline value for the locality where the property is based and the super built up area and UDS of the property. The charges vary from state to state.
- Value Added Tax and Service Tax – This is applicable for projects for which the builder has not obtained completion certification from the concerned authority. VAT is applicable for material cost involved in the construction of the property and Service Tax is involved for the labour and service charges involved. The land cost does not draw either of the two charges. However, if the property is completed and the builder has obtained the completion certification, both are not applicable as the property is immovable and no further service is rendered by the builder to the buyer post completion of building the property.
- Amenities and Other Miscellaneous Charges – Apart from the above, builder charges additional prices depending on the amenities offered. For ex; Club House charge, 6 Months maintenance as advance, etc. These are also potential charges that gets included in the final price of the property.
How do I use this feature?
On all property detail page (aka PDP), you can find a widget on Price section. Select the bedroom size and unit of preference, register and get the detailed quote.
Here is a simple animation.
As a future enhancement, the trends will be arrived at a much detailed level based on project amenities and locality to improve the estimate further. It can vary by +/- 6%.
For more fine details, please do check out our FAQ and Terms and Conditions related to TruePrice™
To share your experience, ideas, suggestions or report an issue feel free to reach us at feedback@roofandfloor.com
RoofandFloor Product Team