Flat Buyer’s Guide - Chapter 2 Units & Measurements

Recent Belleza Blue case in Pune (2^nd Campa Cola like case in Maharashtra) where high court has asked the residents to vacate the illegally constructed 3 floors of the building, is quite a shock to all the flat buyers. 

I am working with one of the very few trust worthy real estate companies in India from past 6 years and thus thought of coming up with this guide for buyers of residential apartments.

I hope to cover all the necessary points / information so that technical or legal terms used in the real estate filed do not sound Greek to a lay flat buyer and he is not lost while speaking with the builder. **While doing so I have tried to furnish as accurate information as possible to best of my knowledge but e & oe (errors & omissions expected).

Index
Chapter	Synopsis
1. Basic concepts & definitions	Carpet, Built-up, Saleable etc areas & more
2. Units & Measurements	Sq. ft., Sq. Mtrs., Guntha, Acres, hectares etc & more
3. Legal Documents	Title & Search Report, NA, 7/12, PR, Blue Print, CC, Index – II, OC, POA etc
4. Material & Specifications	Tiles, Doors, Windows, Painting etc
5. Home Loan	Eligibility, EMI, Tenure, Loan Transfer etc
6. Government Duties & Taxes	Stamp Duty & registration, TDS, ST, VAT etc
7. Miscellaneous	RERA, Flat Inspection, Project Reviews etc

Chapter 2: Units & Measurements

Now let’s refresh commonly used ‘units’ for measurements in construction industry depending upon their popularity.

1.      Inches (”), Foot (Ft. / ’) & Meter (Mtr.): Plural of Foot is ‘Feet’

a.      Unit of length / breadth / height of a room.

b.      Here in Maharashtra we generally measure the length of the room in a combined unit of ‘Feet Inches’ and thus builder brochures mention the room dimensions in ‘Feet Inches’.

e.g. When a project brochure says, Breadth of a room is 15’3” then it is 15 Feet and 3 inches wide.

c.       Meters being a standard metric dimension, all the legal documents / blue prints etc mention this unit of measurement.

d.      Now it is mandatory to mention the dimensions in both ‘Feet Inches’ and Meters in the project brochures.

e.      Conversion factor:

1 mtr = 3.28 ft = 39.37 in

1 ft = 12 in

2.     Square Feet (Sq. Ft.) & Square Meter (Sq. Mtr.):

a.      Unit of an area of a room / home / plot etc

b.      Legal documents mention the area in Sq. Mtrs.

c.       Conversion Factor:

1 Sq. Mtrs. = 10.764 Sq. Ft.

3.     Guntha (गुंठा) / Acres (Acr.) / Hectare:

a.      Open plots / land area is generally measured in above units.

b.      Brochures generally mention the plot area in Acres.

c.       Guntha is typically used in Maharashtra & Gujarat.

d.      Conversion Factor:

1 Hectare = 2. 47 Acr. = 107.64 Guntha = 10000 Sq. Mtrs. = 107639 Sq. Ft.

1 Acr. = 43. 56 Guntha = 4046.86 Sq. Mtrs. = 43560 Sq. Ft.

1 Guntha = 101.17 Sq. Mtrs. = 1089 Sq. Ft.

Previous: Chapter 1 - Basic concepts & definitions            Next: Chapter 3 - Legal Documents