Beyond “buy a home” Bangalore has three types of residential opportunities – apartments for a city lifestyle; farms or villas for private stand-alone living within the city or its outskirts; and farm villas for a combination of land ownership and weekend retreat living. Every one has a very different lifestyle, cost structure and commitment for the long term. This article explains all three and how they fit different lifestyles.

Apartments

What They Are

Multi-unit residential buildings, usually within a gated community that has shared facilities such as security, parking, clubhouses and a gym, and sometimes a swimming pool.

Lifestyle Fit

• Best for buyers who want to be close to work, schools and city infrastructure.
• Designed for the individual who prefers a low maintenance lifestyle including building maintenance, security and common area maintenance; all these are provided by the association.
• Ideal for young professionals, small families, or first-time home buyers who need to be close to the action without sacrificing space.
• Great for frequent travelers and those who don’t want to be responsible for maintaining a property on their own.

Pros

• The cheapest option per unit, in general in existing or developing corridors.
• Security and common facilities built-in, burden-free to individual owner.
• Often the most liquid of the three – easy, quick and convenient to sell or rent out.
• In most cases, proximity to IT corridors, schools and city infrastructure.

Cons

• Lack of privacy and personal space – many aspects of life are regulated by shared walls, common areas, building rules (society bylaws).
• No land ownership – ownership of the unit not the land under it.
• A lack of flexibility in the way the structure can be adapted and/or extended. Lack of adaptability or extensibility of the structure.
• If you don’t use it, you still have to pay monthly maintenance fees. You pay monthly fees for maintenance without using it.

Villas (Outside City or Suburban Gated Communities)

What They Are

Stand alone or row houses, usually part of a gated community, that have a plot and building, but are not part of a controlled neighborhood.

Lifestyle Fit

• Best for buyers looking for extra space, privacy and sometimes a private garden or terrace, but not necessarily completely out of the city or suburbs.
• Ideal for families needing more space than an apartment and seeking access to schools, jobs and city amenities.
• For customers seeking a long-term family home where they can add more space or give the home a personal touch, a natural progression is a home that includes a bonus room.

Pros

• Much more privacy and space than apartments, with no sharing of walls and sometimes a private yard as well.
• The built structure, together with land ownership (in most villa community structures), having greater potential for long-term appreciation.
• More flexibility in personalization — interior and exterior arrangement changes, private outdoor area, sometimes even structural changes in the limits of community regulations.
• In most gated villa developments, benefits still exist from community security and shared amenities.

Cons

• More expensive than an apartment of a similar size in the same neighbourhood.
• More personal responsibility for maintenance of the private structure and plot, even within a managed community.
• Generally away from the central urban fabric from the same development as equivalent apartments, depending on the specific development.
• Community bylaws and fees remain in effect, as in an apartment setting.

Farm Villas

What They Are

A villa or farmhouse style building constructed on a larger agricultural or semi-agricultural plot, usually situated far from the city centre but in the same peri-urban corridors as managed agricultural or semi-agricultural land – sometimes with farming or plantation components, but often just a personal retreat, where land ownership is also part of the project.

Lifestyle Fit

• Suitable for those who want to buy a place to relax on the weekend or during the holidays rather than live in.
• Ideal for people who like the land, trees, and a more relaxed lifestyle than in the city, rather than in the countryside.
• Ideal for families or larger groups who are looking for a larger scale vacation home that can be returned to time and time again, instead of hotel or resort lodging.
• Specifics to buyers looking to own a legacy land asset for the long-term as well as for their personal use.

Pros

• A lot of land and space — more than any city villa or apartment would have for a similar price.
• An authentic escape from urban life: nature, serenity, and sometimes beauty.
• Availability of additional income from an additional part of the land where appropriate.
• High level of personalisation, such as creating a structure within zoning and lawful limits.
• Ownership of land that can be used for a long time and appreciates in value, like a managed farmland.

Cons

• Not recommended as a home location for most potential buyers because of distance from work, schools and city facilities.
• Needs an active management commitment or management plan to properly steward the land and structure.
• More complex legal due diligence than a standard apartment or villa purchase: Title verification/zoning/water access and eligibility of the buyer are all relevant.
• Leading farm villas are generally the slowest to sell of all three types of properties, with city apartments and villas being the quickest.
• Costs continue to be incurred while the property is not occupied (security costs, maintenance, and possibly management fees).

Side-by-Side Comparison

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Deciding

• Is this my home or just a second home? Considering distance and infrastructure, an apartment or a Villa is a far better choice than a farm Villa if it is where one will reside day-to-day.
• What is my level of comfort with privacy and space versus convenience? If convenience and low maintenance are most important, then apartments are the way to go. For those who prioritize space and privacy, but cannot escape the city, villas are the better choice.
• Is it a lifestyle asset, an investment, or both? Farm villas are more lifestyle-plus-land-legacy while apartments and city villas are more simple primary-residence-plus-landing plays.
• What’s the level of involvement I’m looking for? The apartments need the least, farm villas need the most unless professional management is used.
• What is the liquidity needs of me? In terms of the timeframe that you’re looking for, apartments are a bit more flexible as you may need to sell them relatively quickly, farm villas are a longer-term investment.

A Combined Approach

Some buyers in Bangalore don’t just purchase one, but they invest in an apartment or a city villa for day-to-day living purposes and another farm villa or a farm plot that is under their control for their longer stay in the future as well as for buying or holding the land. This can be a blended strategy, which can help you optimize for your day-to-day living while simultaneously investing for the long term to create a lifestyle or legacy asset, depending on what your budget allows.

Conclusion

While apartments, villas, and farm villas all have distinct uses in a Bangalore buyer’s Life, they are all fundamentally different in terms of their purpose in life. Though the concepts of apartments, villas and farm villas can be applied differently in a Bangalore buyer’s Life, each one of these has a different use in Life. The right one isn’t necessarily the best one in theory, but rather what you are planning to use it for: living there every day, expanding your family, or it’s a weekend getaway. The actual truth of that main use case – not just a marketing spin on any of those choices – is the simplest way to the transaction that actually works for the lifestyle.