Tuesday, January 19, 2016

ඉඩමක් මිලට ගැනීමේදී ඔබ මේ ගැනත් සිතනවාද?

තමන්ගේම කියා නිවසක් ඉදිකරගැනීමට සිහින දකින බොහෝ දෙනෙක් මුලින්ම සිදු කරන්නේ ඒ සඳහා ඉඩමක් මිලදී ගැනීමයි. ඉඩම් මිලදී ගැනීමේදී මේ කරුණු ගැන ඔබ කොතරම් සැළකිළිමත් වෙනවාද?

මෙම ඉඩමේ යම් කිසි ඉදිකිරීමක් සිදු කළ හැකිද?
 
ඔබ මිලදී ගන්නා ඉඩම සංවර්ධනය කර විකුණන ඉඩමක්ද? නැතිනම් සංවර්ධනය නොකරන ලද හිස් ඉඩමක්ද? එම ඉඩමේ ඔබ බලාපොරොත්තු වන ආකාරයට ඉදිකිරීමක් සිදු කළ හැකිද? මේ කරුණු ගැන ඉඩම මිලදී ගැනීමට පෙර ඔබ සැළකිලිමත් විය යුතුයි.

ඉඩමේ මායිම් නිවැරදිව සටහන්ව ඇත් ද?
ඔබ මිලදී ගන්නා ඉඩමේ මායිම නිවැරදිව, ක්‍රමානුකූලව සටහන් කර තිබෙනවාද? එය ඉඩමේ පමණක් නොව ඉඩමට අදාළ ඔප්පු තිරප්පුවලද නිවැරදිව සටහන්ව තිබෙනවාද යන්න පිළිබඳව ඔබ සැළකිළිමත් විය යුතුමය. එසේ නොමෑතිව නිරවුල් නොවූ ඔප්පුවලින් යුත් ඉඩමක් ඔබ මිලදී ගත්තේ නම්, තවත් විශාල ධනයක්, ශ්‍රමයක් සහ කාලයක් කැපකරමින් එම ඉඩම් නිරවුල් කරගැනීම සඳහා අධිකරණය හමුවේ පෙනීසිටීමට ඔබට සිදුවනු ඇත.


ඉඩමේ සිට ආසන්නතම මහා මාර්ගයට සම්බන්ධ වීමට නීත්‍යානුකූල ප්‍රවේශ මාර්ගයන් තිබේද? එම ප්‍රවේශමාර්ගයන්හි අයිතිය සහ නඩත්තුව සිදු කරන්නේ කවුරුන් විසින්ද? 

නිවසක් හෝ වෙන යම් කුමනාකාරයේ ඉදිකිරීමක් සිදු කිරීමට ගියත්, ඉදිකිරීම් සඳහා අවශ්‍ය වන සැපයුම් (ගල්, වැලි, සිමෙන්ති, යකඩ, ගඩොල්) ද්‍රව්‍ය එම ඉඩමට ප්‍රවාහනය කරගත යුතුවේ. මේ සඳහා ප්‍රමානවත් මාර්ගයක් තිබේද යන්න පිළිබඳව සැලකිළිමත් විය යුතුය. නිවස ඉදිකිරීමෙන් පසුව ඔබ එම නිවසේ ජීවත් වන නිසා ආසන්න ප්‍රධාන මාර්ගයට සම්බන්ධ වන මාර්ග නීත්‍යානුකූල මාර්ගද නැතිනම් තාවකාලික මාර්ගද යන කරුණ නියමාකාරයෙන් විසඳාගත යුතුය. එමෙන්ම අදාළ ප්‍රවේශ මාර්ගයන්හි අයිතිය සහ නඩත්තුව සිදුකරන්නේ කුමන පාර්ෂවයන්ද යන වගද පැහැදිලිව තේරුම් කරගත යුතුය. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ බොහෝ මාර්ගයන් අදාල ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවන්, නගර සභාවන් හෝ පළාත් සභාවන් වැනි රාජ්‍ය ආයතන ඔස්සේ පාලනය සහ නඩත්තු කෙරේ. නමුත් එසේ නොවන මාර්ගයන් අදාළ ඉඩමේ හිමිකරුවන් විසින් කඩත්තු කරගත යුතුවේ.

කොතරම් වටිනා ඉඩමක් වුවද නියමා කාරයෙන් ප්‍රවේශ මාර්ගයන් නොමැති වූ විට කිසිදු වටිනාකමක් නොමැති හිස් බිම් කැබලි බවට පත්වේ.


Thursday, January 7, 2016

Best Tips to Buying a Land

If you’re planning to build a new home, selecting your site is as vital to the completed project as the design of the structure. For most of us, the appeal of a home comes not only from the building itself, but also from the surrounding environment and how the home is situated on the plot. A satisfying design always considers the aesthetics of the land and integrates with the environment in an organic way.



But the problem with a development is that you rarely have a green light in terms of what and how to build. You can expect to have to comply with restrictive covenants that will dictate many of your aesthetic choices, and there likely will be an architectural review committee in place that will limit your vision. Moreover, you’ll simply have less control in choosing your natural environment.

Choosing to build on land allows you to find a site that appeals to you in terms of its views and scenery, and gives you infinitely more leeway to make aesthetic choices in your design. The trade off is that with every freedom afforded by the land, you’re faced with potential challenges. Building on raw land is not simply a matter of picking a spot with a lovely view and plunking your home down on it. The good news, though, is that you can build on just about any spot, no matter how physically or logistically challenging — assuming your budget can meet these challenges.

The First Step

Many individuals searching for land for sale use a variety of methods to find available property, including scanning local newspapers and researching bank foreclosures, tax sales or evictions.
For most people, a real estate agent is the best source for identifying sites, especially when your search covers an area far away from your current residence. No matter how you look for an appropriate site, once you’ve identified some candidates, your primary allies are due diligence and common sense. You wouldn’t buy a car without actually seeing it or taking it for a test drive, and the same is true with the land. Plan to visit and walk over any property under consideration.
You should also plan to investigate adjoining properties. Imagine buying a plot of land without realizing you’re downwind from a commercial farm or landfill! In my own experience, an uncle owned one of the most beautiful and historic homes in the county — within hearing distance of an airport.

Agents and Attorneys



Aside from showing you what’s on the market, it’s the real estate agent’s responsibility to inform you of material facts, such as easements or highway improvements. An easement grants the right of someone other than the property owner to use a tract of land.

Another key ally in buying raw land is a real estate attorney. Legally speaking, you can do title searches yourself, but land records, overseen by the Registrar of Deeds in the county seat, can be extremely confusing. A real estate attorney is equipped to search and interpret titles, and many local attorneys actually have the transactions in their community memorized.

Moreover, attorneys will also have connections with title insurance companies, which insure you in the event of a defect or hindrance with your purchase.
An attorney is also vital, of course, in drawing up a contract. While there are standard forms dealing with the purchase of residential properties, an attorney will need to draft any contingencies that might be attached to the form. Examples of contingencies include the stipulation that a normal drain field for a sewer septic system is build-able on the land, or that road access to your property is feasible. If these contingencies are not met, you have a way out of your offer to buy.

Sewer and Water Issues

 

Before you can build a home, a health inspector will visit your site to conduct a perc test that will establish the land’s rate of drainage for purposes of a septic system. This will dictate where you can place your primary and repair drainage fields, or determine if you have to install a custom system, which can raise sewer septic costs by up to five times.

Without hiring someone to evaluate your property, you can do some things on your own to get a sense of the type of system the property can accommodate. It is by no means an immutable law, but it is a general rule that what your neighbour has, you’ll have. Ask neighbours about their sewer and water issues. Check to see what their living conditions are like in terms of the water table and flooding, and find out how deep they had to dig for their well.

Electricity


Electrical connection is generally more expensive than septic and water considerations. You might be able to connect to lines on an adjoining property, but your neighbour has the sole right to grant or deny an easement. Fortunately, utility companies will send an engineer to a property to calculate the installation expense based on distance and number of poles. It’s also worth asking the power company what expansion is planned and if they are willing to help subsidize installation in order to inspire future development. 

Road Access


Aside from having the title analyzed to be sure your property is not land-locked, you’ll need to do some research in terms of road access. Will a special road need to be built to bring in the equipment to dig a well? Will a forklift need to be brought in to lift the heavy? If so, you’ll need to factor in the cost of building one-time access, which might run into five figures.

You’ll also want to investigate potential expansion of public roads on or around your desired site. The state department of transportation’s engineering department can answer your questions about future development, since proposals are docketed years in advance.

Environmental Issues

 

Environmental regulation is another potential hindrance to where or how you can build. While beyond the scope of this article, be sure to ask your agent, attorney, neighbours, and regulatory government agencies about these concerns.


Happy Buying!

Monday, January 4, 2016

Top Best Secrets for Buying a Home

Get the most out of your money with these handy home buying tips. 

 

9.  Keep Your Money Where It Is


It’s not wise to make any huge purchases or move your money around three to six months before buying a new home. You don’t want to take any big chances with your credit profile. Lenders need to see that you’re reliable and they want a complete paper trail so that they can get you the best loan possible. If you open new credit cards, amass too much debt or buy a lot of big-ticket items, you’re going to have a hard time getting a loan.

8. Avoid a Border Dispute

It’s absolutely essential to get a survey done on your property so you know exactly what you’re buying. Knowing precisely where your property lines are may save you from a potential dispute with your neighbours. Also, your property tax is likely based on how much property you have, so it is best to have an accurate map drawn up.

7. Bigger Isn’t Always Better 

 

Everyone’s drawn to the biggest, most beautiful house on the block. But bigger is usually not better when it comes to houses. There’s an old adage in real estate that says don’t buy the biggest, best house on the block. The largest house only appeals to a very small audience and you never want to limit potential buyers when you go to re-sell. Your home is only going to go up in value as much as the other houses around you. If you pay 5.0 Million Lkr for a home and your neighbours pay 2.5 to 3.0 Million Lkr your appreciation is going to be limited. Sometimes it is best to is buy the worst house on the block, because the worst house per square foot always trades for more than the biggest house.

6. You’re Buying a House – Not Dating It

 

Buying a house based on emotions is just going to break your heart. If you fall in love with something, you might end up making some pretty bad financial decisions. There’s a big difference between your emotions and your instincts. Going with your instincts means that you recognize that you’re getting a great house for a good value. Going with your emotions is being obsessed with the paint colour or the backyard. It’s an investment, so always stay calm and be wise.

5. Get Pre-Approved for Your Home Loan

 

There’s a big difference between a buyer being pre-qualified and a buyer who has a pre-approved mortgage. Anybody can get pre-qualified for a loan. Getting pre-approved means a lender has looked at all of your financial information and they’ve let you know how much you can afford and how much they will lend you. Being pre-approved will save you a lot of time and energy so you are not running around looking at houses you can't afford. It also gives you the opportunity to shop around for the best deal and the best interest rates. 
Do your research: Learn about junk fees, processing fees or points and make sure there aren’t any hidden costs in the loan.

4. Don’t Try to Time the Market

 

Don’t obsess with trying to time the market and figure out when is the best time to buy. Trying to anticipate the housing market is impossible. The best time to buy is when you find your perfect house and you can afford it. Real estate is cyclical, it goes up and it goes down and it goes back up again. So, if you try to wait for the perfect time, you’re probably going to miss out.

3. Avoid Hidden Costs

The difference between renting and home ownership is the sleeper costs. Most people just focus on their mortgage payment, but they also need to be aware of the other expenses such as property taxes, utilities and other payments. New home owners also need to be prepared to pay for repairs, maintenance and potential property-tax increases. Make sure you budget for sleeper costs so you’ll be covered and won’t risk losing your house.

2. Give Your House a Physical


Would you buy a car without checking under the hood? Of course you wouldn’t. Hire a home inspector. It’ll cost about 10,000.00 Lkr, but could end up saving you thousands. A home inspector’s sole responsibility is to provide you with information so that you can make a decision as to whether or not to buy. It’s really the only way to get an unbiased third-party opinion. If the inspector does find any issues with the home, you can use it as a bargaining tool for lowering the price of the home. It’s better to spend the money up front on an inspector than to find out later you have to spend a fortune.

1. Stalk the Neighborhood

 

Before you buy, get the lay of the land – drop by morning noon and night. Many home buyers have become completely distraught because they thought they found the perfect home, only to find out the neighbourhood wasn’t for them. Drive by the house at all hours of the day to see what’s happening in the neighbourhood. Do your regular commute from the house to make sure it is something you can deal with on a daily basis. Find out how far it is to the nearest grocery store, railway station, bus stop and many other services. Even if you don’t have kids, research the schools because it affects the value of your home in a very big way. If you buy a house in a good school area and below par or bad school area even in the same town, the value can be affected as much as 20 percent.

Happy Buying.