A Farm House in Morni Hills: What Nine Monsoons Tell You

The single strongest argument for buying a built farm house in Morni Hills rather than land is this: the monsoon has already had its go at it. Nothing you can be told about a design matches what nine wet seasons have actually proved.

So the visit is not about admiring the rooms. It is about reading the evidence.

What to look at, in order

The base of the outer walls

Damp rises. A dark band a foot or two up the outside wall means water is getting in at ground level, and that is a drainage problem rather than a paint problem.

The ceilings, at the corners

Stains at the junction of ceiling and wall mean the roof or the parapet has been letting water through. Fresh paint over an old stain is common; look for the faint outline.

Retaining walls

Walk round and look along them. A wall that is bowing outward is under pressure and will need rebuilding, which is a large job on a slope.

Where water leaves the plot

Find the drains. On a hill, water arrives from above whether you invited it or not. A house with no plan for that is a house with an annual bill.

The roof

Sloping roofs handle these hills better than flat ones. If it is flat, ask when the waterproofing was last done, and treat "recently" without a date as a no.

What to ask the owner

• What year was it built?
• What has been repaired since, and when?
• What did last monsoon damage?
• What does a year of upkeep cost?
• Who looks after it when you are away?
• Where does the water come from, and does it hold in May?
• What does the power backup actually run?

An owner with specific answers has been maintaining the place. Vague answers are themselves an answer.

Age is a feature, not a fault

A house built last year in these hills is untested. A house built ten years ago that still looks sound has demonstrated something no specification can. Given a choice between a newer house with damp and an older one without, take the older one.

What comes with it

Farm houses here often come with an orchard — mango, litchi, guava, plum, apricot. Ask how old the trees are and what they yielded last year. Forty bearing trees and forty saplings are sold under the same word.

Also ask about the staff quarter, the water tank capacity, and whether a caretaker comes with the sale. Continuity of a good caretaker is worth more than most buyers realise.