Tips on How to Find Pet Friendly Rental Homes in India

Written by: Sumita Roy

Pet owning in any country has always been a matter of debate. There are many people who want to or already own pets, but cannot find properties on lease which allow them to have their pets live with them. 

It is mainly the danger of property damage that instigates this kind of distrust and disinclination, on the part of the home owner. 

If you are one of those tenants who want a pet friendly and secure neighborhood for yourself and your pet, you will have to strike a compromise.  And you should be prepared to look for more properties to rent than in general.

How should you go about renting a property?

These are the steps that suggest you how you should go about renting a home with an intention to keeping pets in them. 

Go ahead and ask

There are many tenants who do not disclose the fact of owning/ would own a pet. 

The problem with such a setup is the landlord gets upset when he finds out. He may even evict the tenant- if he is utterly discontent. 

A less problematic way is to mention the fact in the very first stage of searching for a property. 

You will be able to comprehend the extent of your landlord’s aversion towards pets. If he is strongly averted towards them, then do not go ahead with the deal. But if he is lenient enough and you find a little bit compromise will settle the deal then go ahead with it.

Offer more than asked

The best and easiest way is offering more rent than asked. 

When a person gets a bit more than he asked for, and does not mind a pet living in his property, he will surely be gladder to accept his tenants. 

A greater return on investment is always appreciated and shown in more than one way- which will be beneficial you and your furry flat mate.

And it is a small price to pay considering the benefits you will receive. it is a win-win situation for both you and your landlord. 

Pet references

A pet reference is a way to ensure your landlord about the least possibility of your pet creating a mess- running around without your information, messing up other tenant's things etc. 

You should provide him with important and necessary facts like the medical checkup your pet undergoes regularly, his age, temperament, training, vaccinations etc. 

This will issue more confidence on you and your partner. You can also make your present landlord speak with your previous one, who can assure your landlord of you and your pet’s performance.

Keep an updated record

With an updated medical record of your pet you can convince the landlord that it will create least problems. 

For that you need to retain all the certificates of vaccination, vet receipts and paperwork related to the treatment of your mate. 

Sharing this with the property manager/ landlord will give them a peace of mind about your pets health. 

It will also provide an additional advantage on your side. It will portray you as a caring pet owner and a responsible tenant.

Pet’s accommodation

Living with your pet does not constrict itself to you and your landlord’s convenience. It also extends to the convenience of your pet as well. 

Think about it, if you are living in a studio apartment and you have a Saint Bernard to accommodate, then will this limited space suffice? Of course not. 

Even a house with no adjoining parks or lawns would not be good for them.  Therefore, though you would like to live within the city, a better place for them would be near the country- with less traffic, less pollution, less noise and more space to run around.

Offering trial period

For property manager and landlord who are very skeptic about a pet’s presence- you can offer them a trial period. 

Ask them to try you and your pet out as tenants for a specific time period- like a year. If they think it is too much for them, then they will not have to renew the rental agreement at the end of the mentioned period. 

But give it a shot only when you are sure about the property. 

If it is good enough for both your lifestyle and accommodating for your furry friend then only talk about such a compromise, otherwise don’t.

Get written agreements

Whatever kind of compromise you reach, you should have everything written down in an agreement duly signed by yourself, your landlord and a witness. 

If you are paying extra, or will be under trial period for a while etc. everything should be there in writing. 

Another thing you can do is create a pet agreement and sign it. In it you will put down your responsibilities, and all terms and conditions of your stay with them. It should also mention the damage repairs, in case your pet create them. 

Clean living

Pets are trained to keep their nature’s call on check and go to the washroom when necessary. 

Training your pets is important to live a peaceful, civic and clean life in society. They are your companions and you know them perfectly. but they should also be friendly or at least non-violent with outsiders. 

If they are, then you need to leash them whenever you have company. 

An effective management can only ensure a good companionship and hassle-free living. 

Cleaning your carpets and keeping your house stench and germs free is something you will have to do. It is essential to a healthy lifestyle for personal living and communal harmony.

Choosing your pets

Suppose you already are a tenant in a particular property, and now you want to keep a pet. Just look around and analyze the area and the pet you can fit in the space. Choosing carefully is very important. Your area will give you an idea of the pet you can afford to keep, because sometimes it is not just money that decides. It is your family’s health, convenience and the pet’s way of living. Perhaps a pair of Lovebirds or Small Conures would be better than a German Shepherd.

Choosing is all the more essential for people living in the city and cannot afford to stay in the outskirts. City living usually inculcates limited spacious living which means your choice of pets gets categorized to smaller ones. For those I have chosen a selected kind of pets that you can easily keep in your downsized accommodation.

Dogs

The most favorite and popular of all pets is dog. Due to their friendliness, honesty and most of all- loyalty, they are the most preferred pets. 

Smaller sized pet would mean comfortable living for both you and your pets. 

Breeds like Maltese, Boston terrier, Pugs, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, Miniature Schnauzer, Shih Tzu, Miniature poodles, Papillion and Pekingese are some of the options you have, if you are living in a studio or 1 BHK apartment. 

It is not that you cannot have a Great Dane- if you wish to. But it will be problematic for both you and your pet to adjust in a small space.

Cats

All kinds of kittens and cats work wonders in small space. Just make sure they have climbing spaces, toys, scratching posts, and hiding and sleeping posts. 

Purchasing two or three cats at a time can be also a very good idea. They can use each others company and live peacefully, even when you are not at home. 

Cats love to keep themselves clean. This is an additional advantage of having them as pets. through you need to clean them often, but not as frequently as with the others. 

Guinea pigs and rabbits

Guinea pigs and rabbits are a good choice for small spaces. 

They are also highly social but need to have regular access to the outdoors- especially grassed areas, lawns etc. 

Guinea pigs are best kept in pairs. But be careful so as not to mix genders. You might end up having unwanted babies within the household. Same sexed companionship would be better for you and them. 

Fishes

They are the most perfect partners for small spaces. They do not need training. 

They are beautiful as they are. A school consisting of 5 to 10 in a small bowl will present an exquisite picture for your house. 

But they are delicate in nature therefore, you need to have proper filtration, aeration, water quality and temperature control to make their living easy.

Living in with a pet is always cozy. When you are living alone, they form a constant companion. But maintaining them and finding a perfect property to live in is essential for both of you. I think by following the above mentioned ways you can get hold of a good property on lease and have a good live with it with minimal chance of trouble from the landlord/ property manager. 

Most Commonly Used Sales Pitches by Developers to Lure New Home Buyers

Written By: Sumita Roy

Most of us know that home sellers/ builders offer a number of plans and schemes to attract home buyers, especially now when the prices of properties have peaked. And it is not that all their promises are pretentious and misleading. There are many people who can confirm that they have indeed benefited from these schemes. 

But how do you know that you can get a good deal from one beforehand, or should you take it as a matter of luck? Well, luck indeed has to do a lot with it. But that does not mean that you do not get to say or do anything about it.

With rise in trend that young people are trying to purchase property early in their life, getting to know the pros and cons of any scheme has become a must in today’s world. In fact their knowledge and understanding of the people can be estimated by the market statistics in Diwali. In spite of numerous scheme launches, discounts and freebies, home buyers were not very keen on purchasing properties due to their already escalated price this festive season.

However, for those who are not aware of the pitches developers quote to engage more and more buyers, here is a list of most commonly used ones.

Price of this property will go even higher than this

One of the first things that a home seller is going to tell you is that property prices are not likely to come down, ever. To be more precise, STOP thinking about the price, go ahead and buy the property. 

However, it is always better to seek advice before making a final decision. Ask the elders and people who have bought property earlier. 

You can also go through the research based articles where property trends are highlighted. Real estate sector, like any other asset classes, have its crests and troughs. The only difference between the two is that these are not as volatile as the stock markets or gold investment, but this is indeed susceptible to slow down and downward trend. In fact in the last two years some of the markets, especially in certain metro cities, have remained stagnant and even have evidenced price dip.

Do not fall in the trap of high rental projections

Most experienced investors have learnt it the hard way, but they have learnt a good lesson, though at a loss of a good amount of money. 

But if you are a new investor, and are willing to purchase a property to rent it out, then you are most likely to come across brokers who will pitch this to you- an assurance of high rental.

With a down trend looming large on the Indian real estate arena, purchasing high rental fetching property requires a lot of insight.

The best way is to consult many brokers and also take assistance from an investor in the same area. It is not likely that people will readily help you out with everything, however, you need to keep trying to extract as much knowledge as possible from them. You can also wait till the market bottoms up.

Correction of price, not in this area

In the recent news we have come across reports that speak of correction of prices. 

But if you mention the same to a broker or any property seller he may ward off the issue saying that this particular area has not evidenced any such correction.

The main reason for such a reply is that though the property in the same area is undergoing correction, but that does not mean that the seller has brought down the price. He can very well quote a higher price to extract as much from the deal as possible. Do not give an answer directly. 

If you know the percentage of correction, calculate the same on your leisure time, quote the price and strike a bargain. You can at least be sure that you have not over paid for the property or have been cheated.

This is the best priced project in the city

Many a time you come across advertisements on newspapers’ first page saying that a project is offering 2 BHK apartments at 25 percent lesser amount than the going price. Don’t you feel like going for the same? 

It would be intelligent to go through the sizes offered, if quoted on the papers. If you get hold of an e-brochure with sizes mentioned in it, you will find that the area of this 2 BHK is far lesser than the general 2 BHK units.

In a report by Jones Lang LaSalle, a property consultant, it mentioned that the average size of apartments is decreasing in metro cities. For example in Mumbai, in the last five years average area of units has shrunk by 31 percent.

Therefore, before going for a property, estimate the area your family needs to live comfortably.

Penalty for delay in delivery

The most problematic of all problems is the delay in construction. It is most unpleasant because it is occurring in almost every under-construction/ pre launch project, and as close to 98 percent of the home buyers are facing the issue.

This is a commonly used strategy to delude buyers in investing in property. By looking at penalty clauses, a buyer feels himself to have a superior hand over the builder in terms of project construction. And indeed, some builders do compensate for delay in delivery, but it is not something you can fully trust.

First, the amount offered as compensation will not be as much as the EMI you are paying. This is for the simple reason that the EMI you are paying is on the total cost of the property and the compensation offered is just on the base price. It will not include ECD, IDC, parking, club membership etc. charges.  And this is for builders who do take pains in offering compensation.

Many builders slip in clauses which prevents them from any claims of property compensation. It is imperative that you go through the agreement and its clauses thoroughly. You should not take their commitment on face value. A compensation of the same should be written down, duly signed by the buyer and the seller.

Property rates revision is soon to occur

Another common trick used by builders to gull buyers into fast purchase of property. It is true that certain areas have undergone revision of rates (like Delhi). However, that does not mean every city will undergo the same process. 

But people with partial knowledge tend to believe when the developers pitch warnings that this is the last time you will get to purchase on the older property rate. From next time the property rates will get revised and you will have to buy at a higher rate.

One thing you need to believe that in today’s market developers are more desperate than the buyers. Overheated markets, rising interest rates and diminishing stock prices have made them vulnerable. Therefore do not hurry on any decision which requires time. And if whatever they say, cross check it in the newspapers or in the internet. 

We offer you your dream homes

‘What you see is what you get’ concept is a charming truce to entice buyer. Builders engage good interior decorators to make a unit ready for display for the clients. They visit the sample flat like it for its internal arrangement which they will not get at the time of delivery.

These sample flats are arranged in such a good way that you start liking the idea of purchasing a unit in the same project more and more, forgetting the truth that you will not get it at the time of delivery. Also sometimes the flats presented on display are more spacious than the one you will have if you purchase one.

Therefore, if the builder asks you to visit a sample flat- first, don’t be overwhelmed with the interior designing; and second, take a measuring tape with you to exactly comprehend the things that your property can fit in, if you purchase it. Also thoroughly check out the walls, doors, fixtures and shelves- are they of good quality and will be able to suit your requirements or not.

Freebies ‘absolutely free’ with property

Purchase a property and get a car with it absolutely ‘Free, Free, Free’. This is the new mantra by chanted by developers in order to bring buyers to the market. 

However, a word of warning: The builder is not offering anything for free. The price of the gift will unalterably be added on with the price of the property.

If you practice a little understanding and intelligence, you will get hold of the current rate of the property in the region. You can also ask in the neighboring colonies about the extra charges- maintenance, EDC, IDC, etc. You are sure to find them lesser than the property rate that is being charged from you. This extra goes into the freebie account.

The logic goes as follows: whether it is freebies, any kind of discounts, or attractive offers, the builder will compensate the deducted amount in one way or the other. They introduce these offers in order to attract buyers in this cash starved market. Sometimes, you will also find that some of these projects are not even approved by authorities.

We have tie ups with banks who will offer loan without any hassle

Tying up with banks is a commonly occurring phenomenon. Yes, builders do have tie ups with bank, but that does not mean you will be offered the best kind of loans through the same. 

It simply means that this particular bank is more likely to approve loan for this project than the others. And neither is it a way to endorse home buying. However, builders use it to get to the common people, who are, otherwise, fretting about their home loans getting approved.

A best rate is something every customer has to negotiate on his own, depending on his capability. Relying on a site person, who may not be even directly connected to the bank, is not the best way to get it done. Also you might be said that the interest rates are about to come down soon- therefore it is the right time to invest property. However, the main decision depends on you.

You can either believe these goons (who may, or may not be right) or can take the pain and go through the financial news of the country. After all, it is your hard-earned money and your dream that will be bought through it. A wise purchase is always suggested, although it may take some time.