Vinit Parmar
Parmar Constructions and Properties
We have been in the Real Estate and Construction business for over four decades, having built residential and commercial projects. Since childhood, I wished to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and become a successful Chartered Accountant (CA). But, as I went deeper into the CA Course and was just a step away from becoming one, I had an intuition and a feeling that I am more of an outdoor person. My father was into Real Estate and Construction, and this field started fascinating me a lot. Being the extrovert, adventurous, dynamic and passionate person I am, I knew I would be happier doing this kind of business. So, I joined my father in his business and started going for on-site visits to buy and sell land and other properties. It is how my journey in this industry began.
The turning point in my career came when I started visiting properties in Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. We have our farmhouse and villa in Mahabaleshwar, so we would travel there for a holiday often since childhood. I have a very close affinity with this place. Having started visiting there for business, I started enjoying and loving the work even more. By then, I had my calling – trading in lands best suited for holidays, weekend homes, resorts, and hotels. It has been more than 15 years since we mainly trade into such properties. Over this period, we have acquired properties at almost every location with a river, dam, lake or other water body. It is now my USP – water touch and water view properties. We own lands in Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, Mulshi, Varasgaon, Panshet, Khadakwasla, Lavale, and other locations.
The pandemic has made people realize the importance of living a quality life. Indians love to holiday, no doubt, but somehow our holidays end up being stressful instead of relieving us from the stress. So shorter and more frequent holidays are the new norm and each day we are seeing a surge in demand for lands within three hours of driving distance. Hence, post-pandemic people are all the more on the lookout for peaceful, calm and serene locations to own a farmhouse or a private villa. It helps to take shorter and more frequent holidays to stay happier and live a better quality of life.
Buying land is not as easy as buying an apartment. It involves a lot of legalities, title searches, permissions, and feasibility which need to be taken care of in detail before buying any land. So, it is critical to check the ownership title of the land before going ahead. Hiring a good lawyer to do this on your behalf is a necessity. Never compromise on hiring a well-reputed lawyer for a detailed title search of the land before buying it.
The important factor, other than ownership title, in any real estate, whether it be land, apartment or villa, is the location. If the location of the property is correct, sooner or later, it will fetch good returns, without a doubt. Having said this, a good location will mean higher acquisition cost, no doubt, but then you will be assured of a certain growth and appreciation over some time. So never compromise on the location of the property you buy.
As I mentioned earlier, people will take shorter and more frequent holidays in the coming times. Lives have become more stressful, and more hectic, and with the polluted environment around, the cost of travel and holiday is on the rise constantly – this will lead to people buying properties within driving distance so that they can go on a holiday, on-demand and whenever they wish to; may it be, even for short weekends. With the rise in working from home, this demand and need have surged even further. So, a major change we will see is more people owning farmhouses and villas nearby to their locations. People having tighter budgets will opt for fractional ownership of such properties and share them based on usage and number of nights. In the holiday home market, the next big thing is fractional ownership.
The only advice I would like to give to entrepreneurs is to be patient. Unfortunately, we are still living in the world of fast food and instant gratification. The younger generation is short on patience and results, hampering stability and growth. To have a successful and robust business, you need to learn to have patience and gratitude.
