Buying a House
Instead of building from scratch, Rahul and Priya decide to buy a ready-built house and visit one with a real estate agent.
Key words and phrases
Useful sentences
- Ask How many parking spaces does this house have?
- Answer It has two covered parking spaces.
- Ask How much would we need for the down payment?
- Answer Around twenty percent of the total price.
- Ask What amenities does this society offer?
- Answer There's a park, a gym, and a community hall.
- Ask When can we get possession of the house?
- Answer You can move in by next month.
- Ask Is the home loan approved yet?
- Answer Yes, we got the approval yesterday.
- Ask How much is the stamp duty for this property?
- Answer It's about six percent of the property value.
- Ask What is the carpet area of this flat?
- Answer It's nine hundred square feet.
- Ask Is this a gated community?
- Answer Yes, with round-the-clock security at the gate.
- Ask How much is the monthly maintenance charge?
- Answer It's around two thousand rupees a month.
- Ask Can we negotiate the price a little?
- Answer Let's ask the seller for a small discount.
Dialogue
Real estate agentThis ready-built house has three bedrooms and two parking spaces.
PriyaIt looks lovely. What amenities does the society have?
Real estate agentThere's a park, a gym, and twenty-four-hour security.
RahulThis feels like our dream home. What about the down payment?
Real estate agentAround twenty percent, and the rest through a home loan.
PriyaPerfect. Let's proceed with the sale deed.
Real estate agentDon't forget, you'll also need to pay stamp duty during registration.
RahulIs the monthly maintenance charge included in the price?
Real estate agentNo, that's separate. It covers security and cleaning for the gated community.
PriyaThat sounds fair. Can we negotiate a little on the total price?
Common mistakes
- Saying "We are buying flat" instead of "We are buying a flat" or "We are buying a house" (don't drop the article "a").
- Saying "We got house" instead of "We took possession of the house" (use "take possession," the standard real estate term).
- Saying "Home loan is pass" instead of "The home loan is approved" (use the correct past participle "approved").
- Saying "pay the stamp duty tax" instead of "pay the stamp duty" (stamp duty is already a tax, don't add "tax" again).
- Saying "carpet area of flat" instead of "the carpet area of the flat" (don't drop the articles "the").
- Saying "discuss the price" when asking for a lower price — use "negotiate the price" instead.
Quick quiz
1. What do you call the initial amount paid before taking a loan?
2. Complete: "They will get ___ next month."
3. What is a legal document confirming the sale of a property called?
4. What is a tax paid to the government when registering a property called?
5. What is the usable floor area within the walls of a flat called?
6. What do you call a fixed monthly payment made to repay a loan?
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