It’s raining? Go house-hunting now!

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I stepped out house-hunting the day it began raining," 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. "It 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 itself," he says, adding that he will begin paperwork once he finds an apartment that matches his idea of "good construction quality".

Bajpai may be on to something. It is the real estate world's best-kept secret that house-hunting, 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 season.

As Arvind Goel, member of Mumbai Chamber of Housing India's, Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), says, "Doing 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 flooding - which depends on whether it has been built on an elevated land or is in a low-lying 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 fag-end of the rains, but if you do it right, you can get a decent discount of say Rs 1 lakh or so."

Arvind Goel, Dinesh Bajpai, Mohit Ramsinghani, Mehzabin Khakhariawala

The 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. "Location 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 water-logging, and if one's daily commute will be affected by rains." While many projects might have fancy themes, the monsoon reminds you what is important. "Many 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 under-construction property in the monsoon will give clarity on these issues."

One 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. "Touch the wall - if 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 slant - most good developer's 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 basement," says Khakhariawala.

In 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.