Realty Bites

Here I come, unleashing the devil in me, vandalizing your life styles, dismantling your dreams, nudging you off from your career ladder. Here I come to spell dooms day for you, to make you swirl aimlessly in the eye of a financial storm.

Well don’t mistake me to be some kind of evil incarnation (Even though some people think I am), No I am just a stupid common man (heard this line some where? I wrote the dialogues for that movie). Yes I am just a stupid common man who is going to play a part in the Realty bubble burst (Indian Version). Yes I will be the one to trigger an another wave of the financial tsunami, battering the very foundation of the financial institutions, capsizing the so called Fortune 500 by making them to file chapter 11 over night, and forcing them to fire thousands of top earning wage workers…oops…I meant “Professionals” (includes me) . But why am I going to do this and how? Go on and read ahead as you have already wasted half of your idle time at office, so why to stop?
These days my Mom has a new problem with me (Apart from finding fault in her culinary skills, too many outings with friends etc). She wants me to settle down in the city by owning an independent house. Just a simple need of having a home, is actually made much simpler by a powerful financial tool called “Home Loan”. Apparently this has become her weapon to win over my every argument.

This is a sample of our every day conversation. When I start getting ready to office thinking that I am not going to get fired the same day, my Mom initiates the discussion
Mom: You know! I met one of my old student who is a real estate agent. She promised me a good site. Shall we go this weekend to see all the sites? She says handing over the cell phone and wallet.)
I: (Tying shoe laces) Mom I have to meet my friends. It’s been long time since I…. Mom: (Cutting my words) You have two days holiday, why don’t you try to spare some time out of these.
I: Mom it’s not just about sparing time, it’s about spending money. In this current (market) situation, it’s not good to go for a Home loan. If I loose the job how am I going it to repay? (Yeah I can lie to this extent to win the argument)
Mom: Shut up. You should not talk bad. God forbid. It will never happen to you. (She smears the sacred powder across my forehead and before it starts all over again, I run out saying “Time up” J ).

Yesterday I used the idea that Vijay gave me. When my Mom brought this subject again, I asked “Mom what was your age when u started earning?” “I was just 20 when I started earning” She expressed with a pride in her eyes. “OK” I said “and at what age did you start building the house?” She thought a sec and said “I was 47 when I started the home. I took lot of trouble to build that house”. “Fine” I said and got up “So you took solid 27 years from the first day of the job to build a house for 5 lakhs. While you want me take a home loan of 27 lakhs and start off living a life of stinginess right from my 27th year. How fair you think it is?” .She did not have an answer at that time but Moms never listen. She says that instead of spending 10-12K on rent, why don’t you build a home and pay the EMI of same amount or little more. She has her own good reasons for having an own house but I have only one reason not to go for it. It’s Money. I am sure I don’t want to be a home loan defaulter and pull down the entire economy with me.

I guess you might have understood, it’s not my sole intention to create another financial Tsunami, I am just a tool. In a city like Bangalore, to have a roof on your head will actually cost a fortune. This is the second stage of the realty bubble burst. The realtors have bought the lands at higher rate and want to sell it much higher to make the profits . But to buy one piece of land for a guy like me who is just pissing around the poverty line is a distinct reality. So to avoid being a home loan defaulter and drag down the market, I am left with no option except marrying a daughter of a Real estate agent or some lady recovery agent from ICICICICICIC (plz truncate few extra ICs for correction).