What if you made a bad real estate investment?

If you realized that you threw some/ all of your money away, be thankful. 90% folks will go through life without this knowledge!

You bought yourself a brand new 3 BHK apartment after hunting, budgeting, saving and waiting for 4 years. When you finally drove over to take possession of your property, you found;

1. That the city has decided to grow in the other direction and your apartment complex's photo, when shot with a wide angle lens looks uncannily close to that picture of Leh- Ladakh your friend posted on social media last week, or

2. The wide road they had shown on that map in the brochure didn't materialize. Darn. Yes there was an asterix on that brochure but like all such things..... or

3. The 2 level villas you and 49 of your colleagues bought in that gated development are far from finished because of statutory approvals/ legal violations/ litigation/ no water supply/ floods/ no electricity etc, or

4. You paid say, 100 bucks a Square Foot for that property a year back; then the 'micro market' crashed and now your property is valued at 80 bucks a Square Foot. (Many Indian cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad did not see property price appreciation in the last 7 Years) Of course that is temporary and pretty soon its going to be touching 150 bucks per Sq ft, easy, or

5. You bought a very pretty 4th floor apartment knowing that another floor would come up above yours but unfortunately, it didn't, and now you are the proud owner of a top floor house on a sunny, June afternoon, or

6. You paid a bomb for that Exclusive Address. Just that it was not really that exclusive when you moved in along with 1500 other families to find out that the swanky mall and office complex that were to be built in the project got scrapped midway. Good news is that the change of plans can now accommodate another 1200 families, or

7. Your mom in law thinks that you bought yourself a lemon and hung it on your main door,

You should know that that was the sound of your real estate investment dying. you have made a bad real estate investment.

Two roads will now diverge in a yellow wood.

#1. Ignorance is bliss and this is home

90% of you would tell yourself that this is reality and this is the best that you could do in the given circumstances. Your real estate investment ceases to be an investment then and becomes your home. Like other long term things you signed up for before realizing you were essentially buying one way tickets, you are going to live your life praising, boasting and self appreciating your asset while taking short breaks to gulp saliva and drink water.

#2. I need to get out of here

10% folks would stand up, discuss within the family and decide to get rid of the property and invest elsewhere. This would mean pricing it below market rates, making a neat appearance to would be buyers when they come checking and telling the prospective buyer that you want to move elsewhere or upgrade to a bigger house after the recent salary hike. A happy reason for selling your property is the best tool to sell faster and maybe, for a little more than you had thought.

Remember, you can't walk both. ;)

If you have a specific question, experience or a dire straits situation which you would like to tell us about, feel free to write in to support[at]pillarsconsultancy.com

Cheers!