I’m starting the house hunt series with apartments in East Bangalore, primarily around the Whitefield, Hoodi, and Old Madras area. Let’s start with Casagrand Royce, a 277-apartment spread over 6 towers coming up off Hoodi. Name of the property: Casagrand Royce Builder: Casagrand Location: Off Hoodi Junction. Precisely, on Kodigehalli Main Road, KR Puram, Bangalore. Though the address comes under KR Puram, it is closer to Hoodi Junction. Total area: 4.05 acres Type of units: 1,2,3 and 4 BHK apartment in many variants. Each of these have an option with a private terrace. Total number of units: 277 Status: under construction Likely handover date: starting October 2018 Pricing (approx. all inclusive including GST + registration): You will have to inquire for the actual pricing for specific units. No. of floors: G+4 Parking: 2 level Basement parking Plan analysis of the model apartment: I visited the property yesterday. I liked the layout…
In this post, I analyse and review if you should consider buying a row house in Renaissance Nature Walk. Continuing with the House Hunt series, today I present to you one of our ah! moments. One where space is the king. One where light rules, and flows in unhindered. One where you can spread a chataai on the terrace and gaze at the stars without the exhaust smoke choking your lungs. One where you can indulge in a hobby. One where you can take a walk every evening without watching your step for stepping over trash. One where there is a hint of greenery from the living, dining, and the guest bed room. One where the windows are not dots on the wall; they are the prominent features. One where the living room opening up to the green patch gets a character with the double ceiling; it makes you feel the…
In this concluding part on the Apartment Hunt series, let’s take a look at some new completed and just-launched properties from a two-tier builders.
Renaissance Rainbow – Brookefields
Renaissance Rainbow is located opposite to the Gopalan property and adjacent to Knightsbridge apartments on the Brookefields main road. Renaissance builders have to their credit completed a dozen residential projects in Bangalore since 1998. Rainbow has a good floor plan. The attraction of the 3 BHK apartment I saw was its huge french window, a spacious balcony, and full-length windows in the master and kids bedroom that overlook the Knightsbridge property. The huge windows bring in a lot of light and air into the apartment resulting in a overall good feeling. With a thoughtfully placed utility accessible from the kitchen, it’s reasonably priced at Rs. 55 L.
The only downside was the amenities are far from done and there is little space for kids to play around as the car park is at ground level. The land comprising the entrance to the property is not owned by the builder. He seems to have an agreement with the other owner for the only access to Rainbow. People have already moved in but there are a few apartments (the landowners share) that are up for sale.
Jagriti was executed in two phases by Renaissance. Though the website says the apartment was completed in 2009, work is still going on. As I remember, the common amenities were not yet done. Phase 1 has a good occupancy level. I happened to look at a penthouse in phase I with interiors done but never lived in. It was tough to get a sense of how you would live in the duplex house. It appeared as if the architect was playing a jigsaw puzzle trying to fit in the rooms, kitchen, and living area together in the best possible way. A huge open terrace and a master bedroom the size of half a football field just added to the drama.
I came back impressed only with the skylight in the bathroom and above the stairs leading up to the first floor level. In Rs.77 Lakhs for a 2000+ sq. ft space, it’s worth a miss.This apartment, in fact, is a good example of how not to get swayed by model apartments.
Good Morning! Hope you had a lovely weekend. I had a wonderful one that took me to the interiors of Shivaji Nagar on Saturday and to the picturesque vineyards off Yelahanka on Sunday. I came back from Shivaji Nagar with stems of my favorite flower – the fragrant Rajnigandha and a huge basket of black grapes from Rajanakunte.
I’m kicking off this week with the second edition in the 3-part Apartment Hunt series. Today I’ll take you to Spectra Cypress, Veracious Landsdale and Gopalan Splendour.
Spectra Cypress on Varthur Road
This building under construction is hard to miss on the Varthur main road.Located on the main road next to Food Zone after you cross the Kundahalli signal on the left, it’s close to the school zone and other conveniences such as grocery, bus stop, libraries, malls and hospitals. I have to admit that this is the first property where I was floored by the model apartment. A well laid out floor plan with a cosy living room, a dining room that opens into a kitchen with an attached utility area and living quarters for your staff, spacious bed rooms, a detached guest bed room – there’s little to complain about. Ofcourse, except the price.
The 88 L + registration charges baffled me. Nearly 16 lakhs goes towards the extras, which I think is pretty steep. Launched in 2008, the project has taken its own sweet time to come to this stage. It’ll easily take 6 months to an year before all the amenities start functioning and the property is fully occupied.
The builder boasts of a vertical garden wall and rooftop garden among other standard modern amenities. The builder is not a prominent one and has completed just one project prior to this one in Bangalore. The project gets all brownie points for its location, but is a dampener on all other counts (delivery, execution, price).
Weekend is here. Yay! What are your plans? We have a few site visits lined up for Sunday.
Since March, we’ve clocked hundreds of miles, numerous nights on the laptop browsing through craigslist, Saturday mornings on the phone with brokers/builders and several hours on the road in our search to find the perfect apartment. A second home. As with any home buyer, three criterion have always stayed on top of the list: location, price, and plan, in no particular order. And, if we have rejected a project, it’s primarily because we couldn’t compromise on one of these. Our hunt has taken us as far as Anekal in South-east to Dodaballapur in North-west.
This series on Apartment Hunting is a slight deviation from the concept of this blog, which is interiors and dressing up one’s apartment or house. But, you know what, the marketing managers of every project we’ve visited till date have been super busy. With an overwhelming number of prospective buyers crowding the market, I believe there is a renewed interest in investing in a property. So, I feel, you as my readers, may benefit if you are planning to buy an apartment. I will list out all the new/resale apartments in this three part series that we’ve seen in no particular order.
A caveat before I dig deeper: I’m not a broker, not associated with any builder, and neither do I get any commission for this free advertising. If you have any queries regarding a project, please contact the builder/broker.
All the apartments are located in Bangalore East between Marathahalli and Whitefield. They are 3-BHKs priced between 55 Lakhs and 80 Lakhs. Come, join me on this virtual apartment hunt!
Let’s begin with Esperenza by UKN.
All the apartments have been sold by the builder. However, there are a few which are not yet registered and are available as is (without any interiors or wood work done). The downside is there is little scope for structural modifications now. The row house project is currently going on.
We did not see the model apartment, so it was easy to judge. Model apartments make the decision tough as the interiors hide the otherwise obvious flaw in a plan. It’s difficult to visualise your stuff in a done-up apartment. When you’ve purchased one, it’s a different story, as model apartments can give you ideas.
How have you all been doing? I had a fabulous, if only a busy, weekend driving to the outer parts of the city. Going away from civilization was rejuvenating in many ways. As we re-entered the Ring road, I could feel the CO2-high air dampening my spirit. On the brighter side, we came back with good memories and dozens of pictures.
The drive down the Varthur village road leading to Sarjapur village is a treat to one’s senses: a whiff of fresh air, greenery as far as the eyes can see, a variety of birds from kingfisher to wood pecker cooing around the trees, and vendors selling freshly picked Jackfruit by the roadside to appease your taste buds. And, it’s just a 15 minute drive from Marathahalli on a busy Saturday afternoon. What more can one ask for so close to a concrete jungle that Marathahalli-Brookefields-Whitefield section has become?
One thing that’s hard to miss on this stretch are the numerous nurseries of all sizes and colors dotting the narrow road leading to Sarjapur village. I stopped by a few to click pictures and picked a few more plants for my balcony. Some of them are so big that it’s overwhelming to choose just one or two plants (isn’t small beautiful?). I know the limitations I have: in a south-east balcony with very limited sunlight, it’s tough to tend to flowering plants. But, flowering plants are my eye-candy. I just can’t get over them. Ferns, Cacti, Palm, or Crotons don’t appeal as much as a herb, vegetable or Petunia and Glaxonia.
The picture below is of Madeena nursery. I recommend this place if you intend to buy in bulk. You will grow tired looking at the flowering plants, for it’s never ending. The Hibiscuses, in particular, are big, bright and beautiful. The guys are knowledgeable about the sun, shade, and semi-shade plants. There is very little room for bargaining. Most of their regular visitors are villa owners from the neighborhood. If you hear radical sentiments echoing on a radio, you’ve found the right place. I just bought a Tulsi(Basil) for Rs.15 from here.
