Buying land in Kerala for house construction

When you want to buy land in Kerala for the purpose of constructing a house, several aspects has to be considered and verified before you make a decision on land purchase
1. Technical aspects
First of all, try to buy original land without any filling during the last ten years. Construction cost especially foundation cost can go high with concrete piling even for two storied building if you buy filled up land which was originally marshy land with clay . When you buy land in Cochin most places of Cochin are filled up land without even a trace of sand for several meters depth
Plot should have free access to road with at least seven feet width and preferably not less than 10 feet width. If you buy land without road wide enough for easy passage of truck, transporting construction materials to site will become very costly
As per building rules you have to leave 3M from front road and from sides 1 or 1.2 M if the side of the plot does not have any road or even private passage. In the case of passages ending with dead end coming in sides, you will have to leave minimum 2 M in that side. Otherwise for a regular road on sides, you will have to again leave 3M on the sides also. Thus a plot having roads on all sides will have much less space for building when you have to comply with Kerala Building rules. In the case of a normal two storied building you will have to leave 1.5 M on the rear side also
Plot should preferably have larger length in the side where it faces road. Do not simply go by area of the land usually referred in Kerala as cents. One cent is an area of the land which is equal to 435 square feet. A plot with lesser dimension in the side facing road with larger depth will be inconvenient for construction of the house and due to lesser frontage your Architect will not be able to design a house with better front appearance for such a plot
A plot should preferably have not less than 12 M frontage for small plots. But for bigger plots frontage length of about 25 M will be better. Even though too much depth will not be of much use, for smaller plots again 12 to 15M depth is preferred when you have an almost equal or nearer frontage length. For bigger plots again depth of about 20 M is preferred
You have to check up with local authority whether the plot is included in any of the government schemes. If so you may not get building permit after buying the land for construction of house
As you may not be fully aware of all aspects it is better to get the plot inspected by a technically qualified person experienced in construction of houses before you decide to buy the plot
2. Vasthu aspects
As per Vasthu plot with road facing the following directions in that order is best suited for construction of house
1. East
2. North
3. West
4. South
However Vasthu stipulates ideal positions for rooms for houses facing each direction. Even for house s facing south, there is no problems expected if you follow instructions for South facing house as per Vasthu while preparing Plan of the house by properly placing each type of room of the house
You should avoid buying plot where a road or passage ends. This plot is expected to bring all sorts of problems and misery to those who live there
There are several other aspects to be considered as Per Vasthu before you buy a plot of land. Hence it is better to get the land inspected by a Vasthu consultant before you decide to buy the plot
3. Legal aspects
You have to get all documents related to the land verified by a lawyer experienced in civil cases. The following documents will have to be obtained in original before making payment for the land in addition to what additional documents a lawyer may call for after examining documents related to the land which you plan to buy
1. Original deed
2. Original previous deed if the property was not divided earlier and copy of previous deed if the property was divided prior to earlier transaction
3. Land tax receipt in the name of seller issued by concerned Village office
4. Possession certificate issued by concerned village Office in the name of seller
5. Location certificate issued by concerned Village office in the name of seller
6. Non encumbrance certificate for 14 years issued by concerned Registrar office
You will also have to get services of a reliable document writer for carrying out all formalities related to purchase of property. If you can get the services of a professional agency like ours who will arrange and coordinate all the above by various agencies together, it will be better and less troublesome for you as a buyer of land

Design and Construction of house

I keep getting mails from Keralites living in different parts of world saying that he/she intend to construct house in Kerala. Most of them simply ask me how much it will cost to construct a house without even bothering to tell even the place for construction. Most of them simply think that construction of a house is as simple as going and buying something from the market. It is definitely not that simple
1. Prepare a list of what you need in the house
Starting point for construction of a house is preparing a list of what all rooms, facilities you need in the house. Try to make this list after detailed discussions and obtaining inputs from all members of the family. Of course later while discussing with an Architect he may suggest changes and improvements on this wish list based on his knowledge and experience in designing and building houses for many
2. Site visit by Architect
Site visit by an Architect is essential for him to properly visualize your dream home. An experienced Architect can see in his mind how the house should look when completed. If the Architect is well versed in Vasthu, he can also decide on appropriate positions for each room as per Vasthu requirements. A well designed plan is the most important aspect of construction of a house. Even if you pay more for a good design by obtaining a better qualified and experienced Architect, you will save lakhs of rupees and can avoid inconveniences and wastage of space that can occur due to improper design
3. Finalising the Plan
Based on initial requirement details given by you, Architect will prepare a plan showing positions and dimensions of rooms, doors and windows. From the plan drawing you may not be able to understand properly features of the Plan. Hence it is better to get a detailed briefing from the Architect on features of the plan, advantages and disadvantages of the Plan. It will also be better if you obtain a second opinion on the plan from an equally qualified and experienced Architect and try to discuss points raised by second consultant with the first consultant so that you can be sure that the plan prepared is the best considering your site conditions, requirements and financial arrangements
4. Engineering Estimate
Before finalising on the plan try to get an Engineering estimate giving item wise costing at least for the structural part of the building as interior and finishing works can be estimated after completion of structural part of the building depending upon your financial condition at that stage. On the finishing work to be done you will get a clearer picture after the structural work as you can visualize better works required at that stage. If structural costing is not within your reach you can revise the plan at that drawing stage itself rather than waiting for changes after commencement of work
5. Selecting a contractor for the work
While a selecting someone to carry out the work you should try to get someone associated with a professional Architect who will follow procedures of work strictly as per quality standards of an Architect/Engineer with proper structural design for each steel and concrete parts of the building. You should not simply go for the lowest quotation as it can be costly for proper construction of your building in the long run
Like above points there are several matters to be carefully implemented during design and construction of house.
You can mail me for free consultation on any stage of construction of your building by writing to vhthomas@viruvelil.com
You will get a prompt reply from me