Abul Hasan Isphahani Road

What it's like

Abul Hasan Isphahani Road is one of the main arterials on this side of Karachi, connecting Gulshan-e-Iqbal and the Safoora junction northwards. It carries serious traffic, and the frontage has developed accordingly: shops, showrooms, offices, plazas, restaurants and the whole range of businesses that need to be seen from a main road.

Behind the frontage the character changes quickly. The blocks running off both sides are established residential, with houses, portions and apartment buildings that have been occupied for years. A property one lane back from the road is a genuinely different proposition from one on it, in price, in use and in who wants to buy it.

This produces two distinct markets in the same postal area. Commercial buyers want visibility, frontage width and the ability for vehicles to stop. Residential buyers want the connectivity without the traffic, and will pay for the difference between the second lane and the first. Rental demand is solid on both sides.

What to check here

• Commercial status, not commercial appearance. Whether the property is permitted for the use you intend, under its own documents and the rules that apply to it. A shop operating on a residential unit is a liability you would be buying.
• Setback and road works. Arterials are subject to widening, service road changes and utility works. Confirm the actual boundary and whether any part of the property is affected.
• Frontage and vehicle access. For commercial use, whether customers can stop and turn is worth more than the width on paper. Visit at peak hours.
• Building and plaza status. For units inside a plaza, the same questions as any apartment purchase: what exactly is being conveyed, the building's own standing, maintenance arrangements and arrears on the unit.
• Tenancy in place. Many commercial units here sell with a sitting tenant. Read the existing agreement carefully: the term, the rent, the escalation and the notice position all transfer to you as an obligation.
• Noise and access for residential buyers. Check the property at evening traffic, and check how you would actually get in and out of the lane during it.