The best part about his house according to M R Jagannathan is that it is “huge”. Jagannathan bought this house about two years ago in the southern suburbs of Bangalore for Rs 26 lakh. “Today, the rate is still around the same level. It had gone down due to recession. But the rate is picking up now,” he said. “DLF’s Westend property is very close to my house. As their construction proceeds, the value of my house is bound to go up,” he said.

The 1,250 sq ft house is situated close to IIM Bangalore. The location is not great in terms of amenities because there are very few buses plying through the area. “When I moved in, the roads connecting my house were also kaccha. I see some improvement now. I also see a lot more buildings coming up near by,” he added.

Initially, Jagannathan had no idea of buying a house. “I used to live in Mumbai. I once came down to Bangalore for the house warming ceremony at my brother-in-law’s place. I was told the same builder was working on another project, which was better,” he said.

Jagannathan visited the project site and instantly wanted to buy a house. “I wish I had bought a house earlier in my life, I would have saved a lot more and planned my life better. As I was above 50 years, I found it difficult to get a home loan. Finally, when I managed to get it, the tenure was only 10 years,” he added. After getting po­ssession of the house, Jag­ann­athan and his family shifted to Bangalore.

Jagannathan invested around Rs 150,000 on interiors of the house. He broke the wall of the kitchen on one side to make it an open kitchen. “There was no pooja room in the original plan. I built a wall separating the bathroom from the place meant for washing machine and created a pooja room,” he added.

He likes the house for another reason. “We have a huge garden within the compound. We also have a swimming pool, convention hall and a gym. I would advice people to ch­eckout other amenities before buying a house. Ever since I moved into this house, I have celebrated many functions in the convention hall. Children of my nieces and nephews come to my place because they love playing in the pool,” he added.

“My sincere advice to home buyers is to buy one early in life. As you grow older, your responsibilities increase. It then becomes difficult to manage expenses,” he added.

(The writer is a freelance journalist)