Useful Tips for Room Hunting in Bangalore... A Few Points out of my Experience

Very recently shifted to a 1BHK paying a monthly rent of 2500Rs. Initially the owner was very sweet and did promise the “heavens on earth” in his building. The room was pretty decent with vitrified tiled floor, clean walls and in a pretty decent locality (decent doesn’t mean clean and good, nor safe). And the room was hardly 20-30 minutes from office and a ten minute decent walk from the bus stop. Moreover the owner when asked about water had quoted “Whenever you want water, you tell this man (referred to a neighbor who had the keys to the water pump) he will pump it for you” this were it exact word and I remember them well as I just had a recent spat with this guy and he did repeat his dialogue all over again.

From my experience and also speaking to a few veterans who stay in rented apartments in Bangalore outskirts have derived the following steps. I may be wrong and if I am do correct me.

1. Don’t go on the Ad’s posted on the net. Half of the places I checked where priced exorbitantly and wasn’t a penny’s worth. It was just that they were in some good areas like BTM, Koramangala but not in the heart of them. One place which was put up as 10mins walk from the bus stop was at least 3Kms away from the nearest bus stop.
2. On the day you check the place check if there is water flowing in the taps and do verify the quality of the water. As a few places get water via water tankers which mine water from some lakes and they tend to be highly polluted. See if the water is crystal clear, a little brownish or muddish means the water aint good.
3. If the owner says he pumps water 2 times a day, check the capacity of the tank and how many people share the tank. As where I stayed had two 1000 liters tank capacity shared among 12 flats. And if there are any families then the usage of water will be pretty high.
4. If the owner asks you to store water and keep so that in any case the tanks gets empty you have water for emergency purpose implies that the water will be pumped only once in two days or in such huge intervals.
5. Check the surroundings; it’s pretty difficult to find decent places with good surroundings’ in Bangalore. Yet there are a few exceptions.
6. Ask the notice period which the owner needs and how much of a deposit will be deducted if you want to quit the place before completing the period mentioned in the agreement. As most of the agreements are made for 11 months, and you want to quit the place in between, not just the owner will throw tantrums but also tend to gulp down a major portion of your deposit amount. The only way out later will b e get yourself kicked out and that takes a lot of effort and knack.  If you need any idea on this mail me, have experience on doing it with one owner.
7. Have a bigger budget then you can search for rooms in societies or in apartments and share the same among a few people. Had checked a 3BHK in one uptown society. The total rent plus maintenance came to 13500.00, but as 3 people were sharing it would be divided equally among the three. Didn’t go there owing to some personal reasons.
8. If you have friends who are staying in somewhere in rented apartments or flats it’s good to ask them and go in the same building if your budget and convenience permits.

Well a few tips for you. This aint a bible, moreover these are just a few tips. You can add more or feel free to criticize the above tips. Can have a discussion any time.