Home hunting is quite a complicated task and requires strong vigilance over a number of things. Area of the unit is one such factor that is the base of many complaints lodged against the builders on account of misrepresentation of facts. To stand on the right side, you must be aware of the important guidelines for buying your first home. One such guideline is related to the area of the unit you buy. Carpet area, built-up area and super built-up area are the three terms that will definitely come along your way. They are very different from each other but can make a huge difference in the price you pay for your dream home.
Let us discuss these three terms in some detail:
Carpet Area- In simple terms, it is the area of the house in which you can lay a carpet wall to wall. Hence, this is the distance between the inner walls of the house. It refers to the total usable area of your flat. It will also include the area of the staircase (if any) that is within the house as that also makes usable area.
Built-up Area- Built-up area is the carpet area of the flat plus the area covered by its walls. This means that the thickness of the walls is also included in built-up area. It is usually 10 percent more than the carpet area. In the form of an equation we can say that,
Built-up area = Carpet area + thickness of the walls + area of the ducts + ½ area of the terrace
Super Built-up Area- Super built-up area is the actual saleable area of the flat. It is equal to the built up area plus the proportionate area of the common amenities such as lobby, lift, clubhouse, corridor, pool, etc. It can be 25% more than the built-up area. However, super built-up area also depends on the builder’s judgement that how many extras does he want to include for the calculation of super built-up area. The total area of these amenities is calculated and is divided by the number of apartments.
While buying a flat, you should know what is basis of calculating the price of the flat. Ideally, the price should be calculated on the basis of super built-up area. However, the bifurcations should be shown in the agreement. For example, if you are buying a 1500 sq ft flat, this does not mean that the entire 1500 sq ft is for your use. It is the super built up area. The built-up area will be 25% lesser that is 1200 sq ft and the carpet area will be 10% lesser which will come around 1090 sq ft. So this is the actual usable area you will get. You must be aware of these jargons to save yourself from being fooled by the builder.
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