It’s now seven years that I have known Omkar. Together we
had been awarded our Engineering Degrees from a College which was not called
the IIT. Going a step further, Omkar even managed to complete His Management
Studies.
Thanks to Our Alma Mater, today, we are earning our ROTI,
wearing Branded KAPADA but whenever it comes to MAKAAN (the Third Basic
necessity of Man) we have three questions that we always ask ourselves: KAB? KAHA? And
most importantly KAISE??? But, hang on, MAKAAN, KOTHI or BUNGALOW is not the category of homes which we
are eyeing at, rather we are not eligible to apply for this category of Homes
(Even after earning double the salary when compared to that of mine, Omkar too
feels the same). In fact this category is really a rare find these days and
what we get to see today are FLATS! 1RK, 1BHK, 2BHK Flats which are sold on
Square Foot Basis. And if you want to know the rates, then below mentioned
values are well enough to open your eyes…(In fact these are responsible for the
sleepless nights of many)
Thane: 6000-8000 Rs.
Mumbai: Well.. JIS GALI JAANA NAHI USKA PATA KYU
POOCHNA (For your information, the Proverb SKY IS THE LIMIT suits best
when it comes to Mumbai)
So,
One fine evening, taking time out of our busy schedules (I
don’t know if we are really busy but we do get out of our respective Homes by
6.30 a.m. and come back by 9 p.m.) we were discussing our present lifestyles,
work cultures, bla bla bla…
Suddenly our discussion changed gears and it halted on the
station called ‘Homes’.
This is how the discussion went:
Me: Yo Man, Omkar! now that you have earned your MBA degree
and have got a much coveted job in a Public Sector Bank, nothing much remains
for you to quest for. So now is the time for you to “Get Married and Settle
Down”…
Omkar: :) (Blushing)
Me: I am serious. And as a first step in this pursuit, you
should now think of buying a new Home in Thane, may be you can think of buying ‘few
more’ of your adjacent flats and make your existing Flat a REAL BIG ONE!
Omkar: Stop kidding Nachiket! With my existing salary, I
think.. I can only buy a ‘Square Foot’ of these flats. Buying a BIG Flat remains
a BIG DREAM: a distant reality.
Me: What a novel idea.
Start buying one square foot every month and one day you will realize that you
have bought a BIG HOUSE…….
Well this is how the discussion went on for some more time
but this discussion indeed flashed a sudden spark in my mind and my Think Tank got ignited-
Today, I only hear that the bubble of Property Rates is to burst
soon and these hiked prices will come down in the coming days, but this hardly seems to be a
reality as I have never heard of any property price coming down in the recent
past. So, with the Bubble of Property rates ever growing, that day is not far
when markets will see SYSTEMATIC INVESTMENT PLANS (SIP) of Property being introduced.
Well, few years back, who had imagined of Paper Gold. But with Gold rates touching
skies, GOLD ETF is today’s reality. So we never know if this imagination of
mine of investing in ONE SQUARE FOOT of land every month comes into a reality.
And if such a scheme has already been born to life then please treat
this as my ignorance… May be I am so much sunk in my dream of buying ‘MY FIRST HOME’ (which is actually the universal dream of my generation today) that I am
just building castles in air totally oblivious of the contemporary markets!!!
