This is the concluding part of the House Hunt series I started last year when we were in the market to look for new apartments/villas in East Bangalore. I reviewed a few homes we visited; it sparked a lot of enthusiasm among readers. But, it was taking forever for me to review one by one. So, I figured the easiest way would be to condense the over 30+ houses we must have seen in a single post with my comments. This should give a fair idea of the houses in the market.
Before you read any further, here is a brief snapshot of the criteria for our shortlist:
- Location: East Bangalore covering these areas: Sarjapur Road, Gunjur, Varthur Road, Outer Ring Road from Sarjapur to Hebbal, Marathahalli, Whitefield, Hoodi, ITPL Road, KR Puram, AECS Layout, Thubarahalli, Old Madras Road.
- Budget: 1.0 cr to 1.6 cr.
- Type: 3 BHK apartment or villa over 2,000 sq. ft with a large balcony or terrace area.
- Accessibility: close proximity to schools in Varthur road, outer ring road or Whitefield.
- Plan: plan had to appeal to us before we visited any place. Look at how to critique a house plan or the vaastu aspects I’m particular about.
If you are living in any of the properties mentioned below, please don’t take any offense. It is an objective view as anyone in the market would analyse. The intent is not to encourage/dissuade you from buying. It is more from an information point of view, collating months of our effort. The criteria for buying a home is very personal. Some prefer living in an apartment for security reasons, while some love the independence of an independent house. To each his own.
| Name of the property | Type | Location | Comments |
| UKN Esperanza – Phase II | Apartment | Off Varthur road | Not as attractive in terms of plan as phase 1. The state of the road leading from Varthur road to the property is a dampener. Liked plans fo phase 1. Look out for resale properties and be sure to check for litigation of any kind. |
| Gopalan Urban Woods | Row house | A maze I had reviewed earlier. | |
| 77 East | Apartment | Yemlur, off OldAirport Road | Among the first we saw. Location ad efinite advanatge. Away from the hustle bustle of Martahalli, yet near. Early mover advanatge I terms of price who had booked earlier. The overall property would be great. |
| Habitat Crest | Villament | ITPL Main Road | Price. Proximity of backside ones to railway track. |
| Zonasha Paradiso | Row house | off Marathahalli Outer Ring Road. | One of the best we liked apart from the price of course. ~3.1 cr. A well-designed one with perhaps the only one with a pooja room, skylights, neatly designed terrace area, and high surrounding walls for a row house. The only dampener is the size of the kitchen. |
| Assetz East Point | Apartment | Off Sarjapur-Marathahalli Outer Ring Road | Plan ok. Location not so much. Within budget. Units perhaps released in phases. Availability limited. |
| Hebron | Villa | Old Madras Road | Plan. Price. Location. |
| Skylark Arcadia | Villa | Plan a dampener. Location not great. Too big a property. | |
| Krishvi Gavakshi | Row house | Off Marathahalli-Sarjapur Outer Ring Road. Close to New Horizon School | |
| Skylark Esta | Apartment | Close to Hoodi Junction on Brookefiled Main Road | The large balcony, is a winner, but plan a dampener. Handed over I think. There were concerns about Metro coming up in the area, and the inconveniences it may cause during the construction phase. The narrow pathway for cars leading to the basement parking, and compact play area/walking area are something to think about. |
| Water’s Edge | Apartment | Closer to Hebbal. Outer Ring Road | Good construction quality. One of the best we saw. Location is a plus. Bit pricey: valuation considering these plus points of construction quality, location is an individual exercise. |
| Mahaveer Horizon | Villa | off Hoodi Junction | Overhead transmission lines |
| Renaissance Nature Walk | Row house | off Hoodi Junction – Devasandra Main Road | Public transportation and location not very accessible relative to outer ring road. Good plan with lot of natural light. A LEED project. |
| GR Sun Villas | Villa | Old Madras Road | 2 Kms inside from Old Madras road |
| Pruksa Sylvana | Row house | Living/dining too small | |
| Empyrean | Villa | Whitefield Main Road | Location |
| Living Walls Another Sky | Apartment | Horamavu/Outer ring Road Junction | Common space, on the ring road |
| KRK Urban Ville | Villa | off Gunjur Road | Location did not work for us. But, may be good for some for schools, work. |
| ND Around the Mangoes | Villa | off Gunjur Road | Price did not work for us ~ 3 crores. Nice property overall with mango trees retained as part of the plan and villas built around them. Location may be a plus for some as it is closer to the school zone. |
| Prestige Silver Oak | Villa | off ITPL road. Close to GR Tech Park | Did not like the plan of the units we saw. But, the general layout and spacing between villas is good. The overall development of the community is good. Location is a plus for those working around ITPL and if your kids go to Varthur schools or Deen’s. |
| Rohan Avriti | Apartment | Close to Decathalon on ITPL Whitefield Road | Non-availability of units with the plans we liked.Too many different plans. |
| Godrej United | Apartment | Brookefields | Quick price hike. Too many different plans. |
| MIMS Ardendale | Row House | Kadugodi | Location did not work for us. Too far from main road, stations etc. |
I have a feeling I have missed out on many that we saw for I cannot simply recall the name of the property. After this hunt, we finally zeroed in on one and are yet to move. I know there are obvious misfits given our criteria in the list above such as Zonasha Paradiso, Hebron or ND Around the Mangoes. But, it makes you appreciate that good plans can come at a lower price, too, and you just have to keep looking. It is a patience game that requires a great deal of time commitment. You will know the one when you see it. Good luck in your house hunt.
As a natural progression, in the next series, I will be talking about how we zeroed in on an interior designer, the factors we looked for, sources, the overall experience, the tools I have been using to design interiors, and more. If there is anything in particular you would like to know, please leave a comment.
9 Comments
Thank you Laksh! Your blog is such a big help for people looking out for homes. Appreciate your dedication towards this. Out of your list my husband and i really liked the water;s edge and assetz east point. Hopefully we’ll finalize it soon :-)
Glad that you found the list helpful, Toshna. All the best for finalizing your home soon.
Laksh,
Your articles have always been very useful to me……We are in the process of finalizing on the interior designers…..really looking forward to your next article on that…..
Thank you for your kind words, Vandana. The next series is ready with the first one published today. Is there something you would like to know in particular?
Laksh,
I’ve sent you an email regarding that.
Thanks a ton for offering to help :-)
Thanks Laksh,
You blog is very informative.
We really liked KRK Urbane Ville, Hope to finalize soon . Can’t wait for your next article.
Glad to be of help, Shreyas. Happy to know you liked something :) good luck with the deal.
Hi Lakshmi,
I am not your regular blog reader but today I was searching reviews for some projects and came across your blogs … nice to read all home hunting blogs.
Did you finalize your dream home ? Exactly I have hunted most of the houses you listed here and our rules and comments are same as yours. Looking for properties near to deens academy ECC road is extra constraint for me.
Hi Khushbu,
It’s been a year since we moved into the new home. There are a few coming up near where you have mentioned such as Vaswani but nothing that would be ready for occupation in the near future except Habitat Crest. Then of course there are resale ones in PSN.