Buying in Indiranagar: Resale Flats, Houses, Metro Access and Paperwork
Indiranagar is one of those Bangalore addresses where the land ran out decades ago. Sites were allotted in the 1970s, so what changes hands today is an older flat, a house or one floor of a small rebuilt block. The notes below cover the street plan, the Purple Line, the kinds of home on offer, the paperwork old property demands and the money involved.
Who should consider it
A buyer wanting a central, mature neighbourhood, with a metro station, big employers, schools and hospitals within reach, will find it here. So will someone who values land and is ready to demolish and rebuild. Supply is tight, and resale demand holds up as a result, which helps whoever sells later.
Large gated communities with pools and generous parking are scarce. With a fixed budget, newer eastern districts give more room, and investors who expect rent to pay most of the EMI ought to compare other places as well.
Reading the map
During the late 1970s the BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) formed the layout around wide arterial streets, cross roads numbered in sequence and plots of fixed sizes. 1st Stage and 2nd Stage make up the old core, while the HAL 2nd and 3rd Stages were added towards the south and east.
A north-to-south road called 100 Feet Road is the spine, lined with offices, shops and restaurants. Across it near the top runs CMH Road, named for the Chinmaya Mission Hospital, which supports the metro viaduct. Other busy streets are 12th Main and 80 Feet Road.
On the north, Old Madras Road marks the edge, with Old Airport Road on the south. West of the area are Ulsoor and, further south-west, Domlur, while CV Raman Nagar and New Thippasandra adjoin it eastwards. Lanes tucked away from the main roads, Defence Colony among them, remain residential and much calmer.
Metro and roads
Indiranagar was an early beneficiary of Namma Metro. In October 2011 the first section opened between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli, following CMH Road. It has since been absorbed into the Purple Line, which links Whitefield (Kadugodi) with Challaghatta, and four stations matter here:
- Baiyappanahalli, one stop beyond the area to the east
- Swami Vivekananda Road, handy on the eastern side towards Old Madras Road
- Indiranagar, on CMH Road, the closest for the 1st Stage and the upper part of 100 Feet Road
- Halasuru, covering the western edge by Ulsoor
Direct trains from these stations serve Whitefield's offices, MG Road and Majestic. Majestic gives a change to the Green Line. Electronic City is reached by the Yellow Line, one more change away at Rashtreeya Vidyalaya Road. The airport-bound Blue Line is under construction.
Old Airport Road carries traffic to the Outer Ring Road via Marathahalli, while 100 Feet Road drops to the Inner Ring Road at Domlur and onward to Koramangala. Some HAL 2nd Stage addresses are far from any station, so time the walk for each.
Work, school and care
Big employers nearby keep demand firm, among them Bagmane Tech Park at CV Raman Nagar, the Embassy Golf Links tech campus at Domlur and the offices along MG Road and Ulsoor, a short train ride off. Facilities were built long ago and are already in place:
- Care: Chinmaya Mission Hospital, plus Manipal Hospital found along Old Airport Road
- Learning: several long-standing schools, among them the HAL 2nd Stage campus of National Public School
- Eating out and shopping: cafes and stores along 12th Main, CMH Road, 80 Feet Road and 100 Feet Road
- Open space: Ulsoor Lake, plus small parks scattered through each stage
Activity has a downside, which is traffic and scarce parking. Streets around 12th Main and the busier stretch of 100 Feet Road remain crowded well into the night, especially at weekends. See a lane on a Friday evening and a weekday morning to understand it properly.
Four kinds of property
With no vacant land to speak of, big new apartment projects hardly appear. Most houses, and the apartments for sale in Indiranagar as well, belong to one of four types, and each needs its own kind of care.
Ageing apartment blocks
Many date from the 1990s or early 2000s. Entry prices are the lowest for this address, and rooms are often larger than in new flats. Lifts, pipes, wiring and exterior walls can need attention, and covered parking is frequently one slot.
Rebuilt blocks, floor by floor
Compact buildings, with either one big flat per floor or four to eight flats in all, keep replacing old houses. Parking and fittings are more recent, and every flat comes with an undivided portion of land. Only a few owners share the cost of repairs, water and the lift, so the maintenance fund tends to be small.
Independent houses
Buying a house on a plot allotted by the BDA means owning all of its land, and the land is where most of the value rests. The structure could be three or four decades old and ripe for rebuilding. Houses on wide roads are priced as if commercial use were possible, which lifts them far above houses in quiet lanes.
New projects
Now and then a bigger plot, usually toward Old Madras Road or Old Airport Road, yields a new apartment project from an established developer. Only such projects offer RERA registration, basement parking and a clubhouse in one package. Since supply is limited, anyone after a new gated community may also browse East Bangalore.
Documents for a resale purchase
Resale property arrives with its whole past, and in Indiranagar that past can be 40 years long. Have a property lawyer read each paper before any advance changes hands. Collect these:
- For apartment buildings, the occupancy certificate, together with the plan that was sanctioned.
- Property tax receipts through the current year.
- The first allottee's absolute sale deed, with the BDA allotment letter and possession certificate.
- Khata and e-khata issued by the city corporation, held by the seller.
- Every subsequent deed (sale, gift, partition, release) and any will, in date order.
- An Encumbrance Certificate going back 30 years or longer.
- The owners' association's no-dues letter, plus a written parking allotment.
In a rebuilt block, compare what exists on site with the sanctioned plan. A floor that was never approved, or a flat created from the parking level, causes problems with khata, loans and resale. If part of the home serves as a shop or office, confirm that this use is allowed on that particular road.
RERA exempts land of up to 500 sq m, and also buildings with no more than eight apartments, so many small rebuilt blocks fall outside it. Those buyers rely on the agreement and their own diligence. Get the undivided share written into the deed, stated in square feet.
The cost of buying
Indiranagar counts among the dearer residential districts, and asking prices usually exceed the government guidance value by a wide margin. The width of the road, the stage, the age of the building and the walk to the metro all move the number. Rent looks modest against the price, so owner-occupiers are better served than yield seekers.
Taxes work out as follows. The slab above Rs. 45 Lakhs attracts stamp duty of 5%, and cess plus surcharge make it 5.6%, with registration at 2%. A Rs. 2 Crore purchase thus costs Rs. 15.2 Lakhs in duties, calculated on the higher of the sale price and the guidance value.
Old flats bring extra outlay that new ones avoid, from lawyers' fees to khata transfer, the transfer fee the association charges and renovation. Budget for them, and use the EMI calculator to estimate the instalment. A bank will lend against old property only after its own legal and technical scrutiny.
