When they met for the first time five months ago after their parents got in touch with each other through a newspaper advertisement, Priyanka Das, 25 and Arpan Maiti, 27, had decided on one thing—they would not talk about marriage. They would meet as friends, share a few evenings over coffee and see how things pan out.

Their parents had left the decision of marriage entirely on them. It was only after 4-5 meetings did they decide to take things forward. “He is very quiet, while I speak a lot. We realised that we get along quite well together,” says Priyanka, the bride-to-be. She has a job in media relations and Arpan is a software engineer. Their jobs are very different, so are their work timings.

Days when Arpan is on night shifts, he gets done past midnight and that is very late for Priyanka, who has to be up early for office the next day. “So we make it a point to meet up on weekends. I try and stay up till he is home so that we get to talk for some time. There are days when I have met him first thing in the morning, had breakfast, and then rushed to office,” she says.

Arpan’s ancestral home is in Tamluk, 84 km from Kolkata. He has been brought up in different cities and Kolkata is quite new to him. With his office in Sector V, Kolkata’s IT destination, and hers in the central business district, they needed to figure out where they would live after their wedding.

The singleroom rented flat where Arpan stays now will not be enough for the two. It was back in early September that they began the house hunt. Time was short and there was so much to be done. Initially they thought of taking a house on rent. In the first month, they divided the task between themselves. They spent hours searching for properties online and the next day they would split their search and inquire at some of the places. At the end of the day, they compared notes.

It was then they realised that they would have to pay around `12,000 a month to rent a two bedroom apartment in their desired locality. For an apartment inside a complex, it would be as high as `15,000. Did it make sense to buy an apartment instead? It did. A 2 bedroom-hall-kitchen (BHK) apartment in the locality of their choice would cost them around `30-35 lakh. Arpan could get a loan for half the amount against his present salary and his father would pitch in for the rest.

This would leave them with a manageable equated monthly instalments (EMI) that would be only slightly higher than the rent. Soon enough, they focused their entire effort in searching for an apartment. But both being new to house hunting and with no prior experience, it didn't prove easy. Arpan spoke to a few people he knew who had either bought an apartment or were planning to buy one. They also spoke to lawyers for advice.

The Internet was another resource they relied on heavily. An under-construction property would be cheaper by around `1.5 lakh, but it made more sense to go for a ready-to-move-in flat. After all, they won’t have to pay rent for the first 2-3 years. But zeroing in on a property was a time-consuming affair. Where the location was good, the cost proved prohibitive, and where it was within their budget, it lacked facilities, such as a garage, or, had a narrow entrance.

“Builders often tried to push us into buying a certain flat. If they showed us four flats, they would show us three bad options and one good option. So, we often fell for the good flat after comparing it with the other three,” says Priyanka. There was also the bit about paying an advance for the builder to show them his papers. That was arranged from savings. After looking at around 10-odd apartments, they have now finalised a 950 sq. ft home in an apartment complex. The purchase is in the final stage. Says Arpan, “Since I might have to go on long business tours, it will be safer for us to stay inside an apartment complex where the security is more.”

So, what did they learn from their house-hunting experience? “Keep a buffer of at least `5 lakh. You will always end up exceeding your budget! There are expenses like service tax and lawyer fees to be paid,” says Arpan. They do not want to spend too much on furnishing now. “We will do it bit-by-bit and just get the necessities first. I want to do up the interiors my own way,” says Priyanka, who paints as a hobby. Apart from this, Priyanka has to fit in shopping into her already hectic schedule. She is also involved in the wedding preparations.

The couple has put a bit of thought on their post-wedding finances, especially because they will have a home loan to pay, manage their expenses and also save. Arpan has stopped his investments temporarily, but wants to restart his long-term investments as soon as possible. “My salary is enough to meet our expenses, including the EMI and for some savings, so she can use her income as she chooses,” he adds. Priyanka, on her part, has been saving up since she first started earning. She would be using up some of her savings on her wedding, but also plans to save as much of her income as she can going forward.

The couple has made a bold and the right start as far as planning their financial future is concerned. As Arpan sums up, “We need to be cautious as we are handling things entirely on our own.” We wish them the very best of luck.

anaghpal@outlookindia.com