r2i forum

r2i2008;36190We were planning to R2I next year for the past two years. Unfortunately we couldn't get a property in Chennai for us to live in - we got a land, but we would need to build a house if we plan to move. With the current real estate boom, we are worried whether we would be able to get a decent property - for 70/80 lakhs with single income in India. Building costs have gone up too. Also, the cost of living has gone up and the kids education fees have gone up - This questions our affordability in India and we wonder whether it would make sense to move at all. Ofcourse there are issues still to deal with like - aging parents, sense of belonging, etc. Anybody on the same boat as us. Could you please share your thoughts?

Thanks,
R2I2008[/quote]

If you have land you can build a decent house with half the amount you specified. But is that land in a location where you want to live? Or can live?

Ravi;36379sriks: Thank you

"If you could rent for a reasonable rent in a good locality for 1-2 years "

Yes this is one the plans we do have, to rent for some time and then do an exhaustive leg work to find where would be the best place for us.

There are couple of things though:
1. The rent itself seems exhorbitant, though I have not personally inquired, I keep hearing rents like Rs20k or 30k. This does not seem reasonable.
2. Next is the 'fear' that is driving all the NRI's to jump in the RE bandwagon is upward price. Today an apt is being quoted anywhere from 50L to 80L in OMR. Going by the current trend (and no other factors affecting the current growth) lets even say it goes up by another 20L or 30L in the next two years. Then we would have to shell more money, if we keep waiting longer. The $ depriciating against rupee, then we might not be able to afford an apt in OMR, but probably look somewhere else like say Mahabalipuram :emsad: .

Anyway for now I am taking the stand of wait and watch, whether it is good or bad for me, I dont know, but I am not convinced of the prices being quoted in OMR.[/quote]

Ravi, Why OMR...

Have you not considered Manapakkam, Nandambakkam, Guindy , ramapuram Mt Poonamalle Road areas.. The ongoing prices there for apartments are around 3500 plus.. I somehow feel this is more residential and closer to city and less congested and less hyped than OMR .. Its well connected to Adayar, Guindy, velachery, Porur, sriperumbudur..

Just my thoughts..

Ravi;36508hellome:

The reason for OMR was, I am from IT background and as you know all the IT companies are lined up in OMR. So that way I dont have to spend lot if time in travel. Since that thought was preset, we also collected information on some of the schools that are in the vicinity of OMR.

So if we get a living place in OMR, then it would be easier for travel for both me and my kids.

The areas that you have mentioned, seriously we have not considered them yet. Maybe we would be focusing on those too now that you have given some idea.

The major factor is Schooling. I am not ready to send kids for long travels. So I want to see where the kids get admission to a decent school, and get a residential place near to it.

When hearing the admission procedure to PSBB, DAV etc I seems it will be a himalayan task. Comparing them to Gateway, Vales etc where they are welcoming NRI (though it may be expensive) we will at least get admission. That is one of the reasons to focus on OMR.

Are there any good schools in the areas that you have mentioned., and how much is the travelling time from these areas to OMR during peak hours.

Thanks for your suggestion.[/quote]

Ravi

Many people with complete IT background (including us) are going in for the above areas that I mentioned. The biggest IT park , DLF IT park is nearing completion at Mount Poonamalle Road. Very BIG IT companies like IBM are setting up operations there . I had visited this place during my last visit to Chennai and have been thoroughly convinced. See this http://www.dlf.in/offices/itpark_chennai/overview.asp . This is the largest infotech hub of Chennai located in the main Mount Poonamalle Road well connected to Adayar, Velachery, Guindy, Porur, etc. Read this and you will get a better idea. http://www.dlf.in/offices/chennai_brochure.pdf

The vishranti IT park is in Nandambakkam.. Kathipara junction is close by. PSBB millenium school (http://www.psbbmillenniumschool.org/) is close by.
Le meridien 5 star hotel, airport everything is so easily accessible.

For more details about the postives of this location , read this

http://www.xsreal.com/location_map_chester.htm click on location info there and you will see a wealth of information there.

Jains Avantika, Xsreal CasaXS, Tejas apartments, Xsreal Chesterfields, macromarvel Countys, etc are some of the known residential apartment complexes there. Now ETA is coming up with some luxury apartments in Mount Poonamallee Road.

In my opinion, this is definitely a better location (LESS HYPED and more realistic prices) considering all aspects and is well connected to the city and is much more residential (even for IT employees). Purely my thoughts though!