Thursday, October 4, 2012

Corruption- Play by Asmita Theatre

Corruption - the biggest threat to our society and our nation. The disease that has grown out of control, like Cancer and is today omnipresent in its entirety in all our institutions; that once stood guard to protect the very fabric of our society. This growing menace has helped the rich to get richer and has made poor; poorer. The situation is more alarming  today as most of the people of this country have resigned to fact that nothing will or can be changed, that situation will only get worse going further and the break-down is inevitable. The number of scams reported have increased significantly and so has the financial implication of the scams.India is crumbling under the weight of its distressed citizens, who ultimately are the victims of the corrupt system. This helpless system that does not take care of its citizens; but provides adequate security to the practitioners of corruption, has brought our country on the cross roads. where if things don't change and change fast a big revolution would happen as a consequence of the distressed citizens venting out their anger and frustration. That there are still people who want freedom from the shackles of this disease is the only faint sign that we still have a ray of hope that some day everyone would stand as one to weed this mal-practice out of our system. Here is a video of street play performed by Asmita theatre- written by Shri Arvind Gaur. The title of the play is - CORRUPTION.





Sunday, September 30, 2012

Consumer Forum

Consumer forum is coming hard on the malpractices of Real Estate Developers, please read this News piece:-



Publication: The Times Of India Delhi;Date: Oct 1, 2012;Section: Times City;Page: 6


Consumer forum orders DLF to pay 10L to allottee


New Delhi: DLF Home Developers has been asked by a district consumer forum here to pay Rs 10 lakh to one of its allottees for refusing to refund the booking amount for a flat in a project which did not have legal sanction for execution.

    The forum also restrained DLF from “launching or advertising” any project without putting up on its website or in its advertisement information about the legal sanction and approvals etc for the project and the details of authorities from whom buyers can verify the same.

    The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum also slammed the real-estate developer, saying it “forced litigation” on its allottee, Gurgaon resident Arpan Jain, by “retaining his money illegally.” The forum said unless DLF is “deprived of its gains made on the basis of unfair trade practices and its greed is checked effectively, it would continue undeterred”.

    “We, holding opposite party guilty of committing gross illegality and unfair trade practices and rendering deficient services, determine damages for harassment and litigation at Rs five lakh to be paid to the complainant (Jain),” it said.

    The bench presided by C K Chaturvedi also directed DLF “to return the deposit of Rs five lakh with interest of 18% from the date of seeking refund.”

    The forum’s directions came on Jain’s complaint in which he had alleged that DLF had refused to refund the booking amount of Rs five lakh he had paid for a flat in its project “Express Greens” at Manesar, Haryana. PTI 

Friday, September 28, 2012

CCI probing the Real estate Developers


Here is an article in Economic times;-


Please read carefully the highlighted part of the article, The CCI chief explaining how the Builder-buyer agreements are one sided. The CCI is currently probing many real estate developers, would request you all to inform CCI if your agreements are drafted in the same fashion, where the developer puts onus of all responsibilities & liabilities on the shoulder of its customers & relinquishes himself from any/all responsibility/liability towards developing as per what is shown to the customer at the time of sale.
Please post a copy of your agreements @

 A.K. Chauhan, IRS
     Director General,
      E-mail: cci-akchauhan@nic.in
     Tel. No. : 91-11-26172895, 26701671
     Fax No. : 91-11-26107428





 Ashok Chawla
    Chairperson
    E-mail: cci-chairman@nic.in
    Tel No. 91-11-23704647     Fax No.23704649



Happy reading:-

Tyre sector order in next 10-15 days; scanner on newer sectors like healthcare: CCI chief Ashok Chawla

Chawla said, "CCI is presently in the process of looking at newer activities like the health sector and the health infrastructure sector in terms of new technologies."
Chawla said, "CCI is presently in the process of looking at newer activities like the health sector and the health infrastructure sector in terms of new technologies."

Three months after shaking up the cement sector by slapping a penalty in excess of Rs 6,000 crore on 11 cement firms, the country's monopoly watchdog, theCompetition Commission of India (CCI), is on the brink of passing yet another eagerly awaited order on the tyre manufacturing sector. In an exclusive interview withET NOWCCI chairman Ashok Chawla said, "We are now in the stage of finalising the order. So, while it's difficult to give an exact timeline, I believe we should be able to put out the order in the next 10-15 days."

In the past, the CCI has probed sectors ranging fromentertainment to aviation. Chawla said, "CCI is presently in the process of looking at newer activities like the health sector and the health infrastructure sector in terms of new technologies. (This) is a dynamic and ongoing process." But it's the real estate sector that is facing the brunt of an extensive nationwide scrutiny by the CCI following complaints of collusion.

Chawla elaborated on the realty probe and said, "Basically, what is being alleged is that the terms of the agreement between the developer and buyer are one-sided and the terms are loaded in favour of the builder. The commercial clauses are such that the buyer ends up carrying a commercial liability disproportionate to the transaction and certainly more than what the builder has to bear. For instance, if there is a delay on part of the buyer in paying the builder, the buyer has to pay a certain amount of interest to the builder. But if the project gets delayed and the contract is provided for compensation to the buyer, the interest paid by the builder will be much lesser."
The CCI is also waiting for responses from auto companies and OEM's which were found guilty of anti-competitive practices in its initial investigation report. "The report brings out the fact that there are anti-competitive practices in terms of spare parts; the way they are tied in terms of where they should be brought from and in terms of their pricing. Auto companies have to come up with their defence and after that the CCI will decide the matter," Chawla added.

Chawla is also quick to point out that the CCI is ready to provide any further inputs or clarification to the COMPAT (Competition Appellate Tribunal) which is hearing appeals filed against the CCI's order on the cement sector. In a recent interim order, the COMPAT has directed the CCI to defer penalties on cement firms till October 11.

Friday, September 21, 2012

JDA bulldozes last of illegal blocks in Era

Business Standard's article on Launch of Aster court ( A premium residential project in Jaipur)

Era group launches Rs 150 cr housing project
Anil Sharma / New Delhi/ Jaipur July 19, 2006
The Era group has launched the first housing project, coming up in Jaipur. The project, of Rs 150 crore, is being developed on over 5 acres.
 
It is being developed by Era Infrastructure (India) Ltd, the real estate venture of the Era group.
 
Era Aster Court, a residential complex, will be located close to multiplexes, shopping complexes, schools, and medical facilities, and has apartments designed by renowned architects, Arcop and Associates

Link to full article  http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/era-group-launches-rs-150-cr-housing-project/250948/

After the launch since 2006 the pace of construction can be judged by the fact that the structure of all the 9 blocks is stil not complete and that can be assessed from the site pictures posted on the company's website giving the progress status, link for your perusal .. http://www.eragroup.co.in/eralandmark/landmark_resi_group_astercourt.html 


The above snap shot shows incomplete structure after more than 6 years of launch of the project, considering that only 9 blocks were to be constructed in an area less than 5 acres. To add to the delay in completion of the project, is the fact that out of the 9 blocks which the builder had sold, 3 blocks were  illegally Sold & constructed, which were recently demolished by Jaipur Development Authority, after the Rajasthan High Court intervention.  This is what was in news in all leading dailies, you can find this news in Times of India etc , for sake of space only one article is duplicated below:-

DNA reports on 16 sept,2012;-
Jaipur: With the help of heavy machines and equipment, the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) on Saturday successfully separated another building in F Block of the Era Group Housing, the final hurdle for the demolition through implosion.
The blasting of the encroached parts is likely to be carried out on Sunday evening. view the full news report....http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-jda-bulldozes-last-of-illegal-blocks-in-era-demolition-due-today-3795841-NOR.html
There after the demolition squad was called in to demolish the structure using the implosion technique. The you-tube video shows how the structure was demolished by JDAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4JMG7JeO38  A total number of 63 flats have been demolished in the process, each in Block-F, E & B. 
Think of the customers who must have booked in these illegal structures, what will happen to their money that they must have paid till this stage?  What is their future, Now? In 6 years the builder could not complete construction of a residential project spread in less than 5 acres? On top of it sold & allotted units illegally to customers knowing fully well  the illegal  status of what he was selling to public at large..this is ERA MANTRA? If Era can not manage/construct/develop 5 acres in time, without committing fraud, how can it be trusted with anything bigger than this?
HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR INVESTMENT IS SAFE IN ERA?? HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU KNOW ALL THAT SHOULD BE THERE TO KNOW IN THE PROJECT YOU HAVE INVESTED IN OF ERA? HAS ERA ALSO CHEATED YOU? HAS ERA SOLD LIES AS IT DID TO ITS CUSTOMERS IN JAIPUR? WHO WINS & AT WHOSE COST? ARE YOU WAITING FOR SOMETHING SIMILAR TO HAPPEN TO YOU? 
OR WILL you now, find out..... The reality behind the REALTY you have purchased or are going to purchase? 



 


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

ERA Landmarks SECTOR-86 Gurgaon!!

How do any one rely on the company that says that the License it had for its project for 12.84 acres  ( License No.-48) in the name of Resolve estate Pvt Ltd (LC-1507 A) Dated- 19/05/2011, and which company/colonizer started the sale of the said project in August,2010, has sold part of the licence & land to Ansals Ltd and now has applied anew and received Licence No. 100 for 5.12 Acres on 7/09/2012. That the colonizer would start demarcating the area and from Oct 2012 to Dec-2012 it would start the allotment process of the same. Further it says that the sold apartments in this project are approx 400 only. Pls see below some of the comments that are being made by the people who have bought homes in this project.

Just spoke to Hardeep Singh (He is one of the member who went to Builder's office on Saturday). Following is what I concluded after speaking to Hardeep-

1. Part of land and license is sold to Ansals. Era still has 11 acres of land (out of original 27 acres of land) to build the project.
2. 11 acre land demarcation will be done in next 10 days.
3. 375 units of this project are sold to prospective buyers.
4. By Oct 15th, buyers can go to their office to see the license copy.
5. By December 2012, unit allocation will start.

This is really good news and hoping to see land demarcation done in next 10 days time.

Further another comment by another customer who has also spoken to Mr Hardeep Singh who was a member of the group of customers who had gone to Era office to clarify the status of the project that they have all bought into.

Thanks to Hardeep Singh and all other friend who meet ERA personal.

I talked to Mr.Hardeep few minutes back and his input is that meeting was really positive and very soon we will see activity on the site as ERA got their licence extension.

He told that:
1) Era is going to do Demarcation in september end, that any body can check.
2)Licence documents can be easily seen by any person after 15 october 2012.
3)Allotment is going to be done in december 2012.

He said that the confidence shown by ERA higher management was a clear indication that every thing in sorted and hopefully project is going to be started very soon. 

So its a good news guys, hold your units and ready for the fruit of patience.

The Fact is that the Company/colonizer, had in 2008 through its brochure said:-

That the company was awaiting Licence for the project of 11.94 Acres in this very sector. its is important to note that since 2008 the company took 3 short years to finally get licence and if what the customers are saying is true, sold it to Ansal within a long period of 4 to 5 months of obtaining it. Classical case of ERA MANTRA.

There are many questions than answers this new equation throws at the customers;-
1) if indeed Era Landmarks has 27 Acres in this track called sector-86 Gurgaon, Has any body seen the land titles in favor of Era or any of its subsidiary companies?
2) what if Era did have only 12.84 acres out of which it has sold 11 odd acres to Ansal and now with additional 5.12 acres and the remaining 1 odd acre would construct & develop a Group Housing? With Era anything is possible!
3) Era indeed has 27 Acres and gave 12.84 acres with licence to Ansal. than the question is when since long Era had 27 Acres why it did not apply and receive licence for it? what was it waiting for? Above all why has it applied and received additional License for only 5.12 Acres, when the total area under its title is 15 acres that is left after selling part of the project to Ansal? Why is the colonizer applying for licence in parts? what would it gain by doing so, more over its an unwarranted exercise to apply again and again?
4) Where is this 5.12 Acres situated? Behind Ansal & behind DLF New Towne Heights, if that is right than what about the customers who were shown the main sector road to book flats?
5) Can 6 Acres accommodate the 400 odd flats it has already sold? Maybe yes, if all flats sold are under 1150 sq ft, it definitely can. Actually 1143 sq ft of built up area can be built on 5.12 Acres, for each 400 flats. So it could very well construct on 6 Acres for only 400 flats, but how do we know they have sold only 400 flats & not more?
6) What is the guarantee that tomorrow Era would not sell the available license to another colonizer, keeping its customers guessing again. The DTCP site only shows the name in which the license is sought, it does not display the name of the party to which it has been sold after being granted.
7) How does the customer to whom Era is asking to believe in the difference know for a fact that the licence that has been granted on 07/09/2012 was infact granted to Era and not Ansal Ltd, who could have applied in the name of Resolve estates to increase its total license to develop group housing of 17 odd acre?
8) is the working of DTCP controlled by Era? Than how is it sure to produce the license after 15 th Oct,2012? Does that mean Era is still awaiting the licence it has applied for and the licence No-100 is of some other company?
There are plenty of other questions that come to the mind, but we better look at what the DTCP says to the prospective customers of real estate in Gurgaon/ Haryana :-

DIRECTORATE OF TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING, HARYANA
SECTOR 18, CHANDIGARH.
Tele-Fax: 0172-2548475; Tel: 0172-2549851, 2549349; E-mail: tcphry@gmail.com
P UBLIC NOTICE FOR THE INFORMATION OF PERSONS INTENDING TO BUY
PLOT/ FLAT IN PRIVATE LICENCED COLONIES OF HARYANA
The Department had earlier issued notices to caution both the general public as well as the
persons/companies/property dealers engaged in development/booking/sale of plots/flats in the private licenced colonies of Haryana refraining them from sale/purchase/bookings in such projects forwhich licence has not been issued by the State Government. In this regard a Public Notice had also been
issued in several national dailies in the month of April 2011 informing the public that they should ascertain the complete details regarding licence granted to such colony before purchase of plots/ flats/office space/ shops etc.

2. It has, however, been noticed that some of the colonisers still issue advertisements inviting the gullible public to invest in a project even before grant of licence to set up the colony resulting into misleading and defrauding the general public. While action against such unscrupulous elements is taken by the Department, the general public is hereby cautioned not to be allured by such advertisements and refrain from investing money in such projects for which licence has not been issued by the State Government.

3. In this regard, it is also informed that plots/flats for residential, commercial, institutional and industrial use etc. within the controlled areas and urbanisable limit as declared under the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963 and Haryana Development and Regulations of Urban Areas Rules, 1976 respectively, can be sold only after obtaining a license from the Department of Town and Country Planning, Haryana. The sale/pre-launch of plots without a license is illegal and there is no guarantee of any such project ever taking-off. In this regard the provision of Section 7 of the Haryana Development and Regulations of Urban Areas Act, 1975, is also reproduced below for reference:
Section 7: Prohibition to advertise and transfer plots. No person including a property dealer shall:-
(i) without obtaining a license under section 3, transfer or agree to transfer in any manner plots in a colony or make an advertisement or receive any amount in respect thereof;
(ii) erect or re-erect any building in any colony in respect of which a license under section 3, has not been granted.
(iii) erect or re-erect any building other than for purpose of agriculture on the land sub-dividedfor agriculture as defined in clause (aa) of section 2 of this Act.

4. Some unscrupulous persons and companies may indulge in illegal activities of pre-launch ofplots without obtaining a license for development of such colonies. Therefore, general public is advised to contact and verify whether license has been granted by the Director General, Town and Country
Planning Department, Haryana before booking of plots/dwelling units/commercial property to avoid any legal problems and financial implications. Details of contact persons and their e-mail ids can be seen at Department’s website: tcpharyana.gov.in


5. The persons/companies/property dealers are again cautioned not to sell/pre launch or offer plots/dwelling units/commercial property without obtaining license from Department of Town and Country Planning, failing which legal action shall be taken against them. 
(T.C. Gupta, IAS)
Director General
30th Dec 2011

Thus is pretty much clear from the above notification that what ever the colonizer has done till now is not in confirmation with what the law says. The builder has used its position to play with the future of hundreds of citizen of this country. who would still have to wait for some normalcy to happen, which would happen only after Era demarcates and allottees the flats fairly to all its customers and it gets clear that the group housing is of what acreage or area. Till than its unnecessary botheration and worry that the customers would have to bear, for no fault of theirs but of the colonizer.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

CCI investigating 70 real estate companies for alleged collusion


Here is an article from Economic Times which highlights the corrupt practices of the Real estate developers in this country & how the independent watch dog CCI is investigating them all. Its time that we the customers who are at the receiving end of all these one-sided illegal contracts and unethical business practices adopted by the builders to gain at our expense give our complaints in writing to CCI so that there can be a thorough probe, so that in future retail customers/ home-buyers do not face any dis-comfort & harassment, both mental as well as financial. Happy reading!!!!!


NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India, or CCI, is investigating around 70 real estate developers around the country, including UnitechParsvnath Developers and Omaxe as well as several big builders in Mumbai, for entering into one-sided agreements with buyers and for allegedly colluding with each other to arm-twist them.

In probably the biggest scrutiny of the industry, the competition watchdog has over the past few months sent out notices to many of these builders, asking them to furnish details about their operations and their agreements with buyers, said a CCI official.

The commission has asked its director-general to investigate a number of practices that real estate developers follow, such as announcing projects before getting all approvals from authorities and not revealing all applicable costs to buyers at the time of purchase, said the official. It will also look into one-sided clauses through which a developer can delay completion of projects, increase or decrease the size of apartments, and change building plans mid-way through projects.

If the Competition Commission finds the developers guilty of having framed unfair agreements, it can impose heavy fines on them. Last year, it had imposed a penalty of Rs 630 crore on DLF, the country's largest real estate company, for misusing its dominant position in Gurgaon and forcing buyers to enter into one-sided contracts in three projects. DLF is contesting this fine at the Competition Appellate Tribunal.

Realty experts say this is a country-wide problem.

"Buyers do not have an option as most developers have one-sided, heavy handed agreements which are to their advantage. Some clauses allow for frivolous termination of agreements, increase in sale price and change in building plans, which are arbitrary," says Anckur Srivasttava, chairman of GenReal Property Advisors.

Time over-runs in real estate projects have been another sore point with buyers. According to a recent research report by property research firm PropEquity, nearly half of the 930,000 under-construction residential units in the country, scheduled for delivery between 2011 and 2013, are likely to be delayed by up to 18 months.

The current round of investigations was kicked off when CCI got a complaint against NCR-based developer Tulip Infratech. The commission decided to expand the scope of the investigation to look at wider practices across the industry and has sent legal notices to developers in the NCR. It now plans to include developers in the western region in its scrutiny.

Several developers, including Omaxe, Supertech, Eldeco, Gaursons, Tulip Infratech and Earth Infrastructure, confirmed they have received notices and replied to them.

"The issues raised are about different clauses in the allotment letter. The company has reasonably explained all clauses as per the allotment letter," said a Supertech spokesman in an emailed response.

A spokesman for Gaursons said the notice the company received contained general queries about timely completion of project, increase in cost of booked flats, and marketshare details of the real estate industry. "We had already submitted our reply to CCI," he said.

The CCI official said the commission has got close to 200 complaints against real estate developers in the last one year, with many of them pertaining to agreements and delays in delivery of properties.

Monday, September 10, 2012

ERA LANDMARKS Sec-103 Ggn Project


Project snapshot in 2008 for the sector-103 project in Gurgaon, (Haryana) by Era Landmarks, states that the project is of 17.29 Acres & the estimated date of completion of the said project is January 2012. On 16/10/2010 vide Licence No. 79 ( LC-1585 A) got a licence from DTCP in the name of M/s Desert Moon Realtech Pvt Ltd for an area of 10.44 Acres. Pertinent point is what happened of the rest of the approx 7 acres? What about the false information spread through the property consultants about the 100 Acres land bank on which Era was launching the Mega residential project on sec-103 Gurgaon, was it just the consultants mis-doing or was it planted deliberately by Era to mis-represent facts for its mala-fide intentions. Should we doubt the figures laid down in 2008 presentation made so elaborately by the experts at Era Landmarks, maybe area was always 10.44 acres and Era exaggerated it to be 17.29 acres...even then how did they climb up to 100acres? The difference between what is there on the ground & floated around as propaganda is to large to believe, maybe that's why the slogan of Live the Difference.

In this interim period since obtaining the licence of this project, Era has sold Phase-1, Phase-2, Phase-3 & Plots to thousands of citizens of India. It has also allotted flats to buyers of Phase-1. To some buyers of Phase-2 allotment has been made but no agreement has taken place. remaining Phase-2 & phase-3 buyers are being asked to wait patiently as it would definitely be worth the wait. It is a fact that no bank has started to finance this project. We still do not know what the actual reasons might be, since we do not want to speculate, we would rather not say much about it. But, the banks must have some valid reasons not to finance a residential project with all necessary approvals at hand of the developer, maybe there is more than what meets the eye?

On the ground there is 100% standstill. The construction is not moving an inch any where. This construction that we are talking here about is only of the Phase-1 on sec-103 Gurgaon. The whole of 2012 has went by on the promise of construction to begin. Here is are some pictures taken recently that suggest what is happening at the construction front on the site, take a look

This is one of the excavated site for the construction of the foundation of one of the towers, from the tentative layout that we have this would be tower-D.


This batching plant & construction material has been there for almost an year now at the site, lying mostly idle

Inside of the construction site where according to the tentative layout plan of the project tower-C might be constructed. The steel can be clearly seen standing out of the foundation work that once had started.

This is a picture of work going in the month of March/April when it was shared by one of the customers with us, who happened to visit the site and click a few photo's as well.

This photo gives a better view of the Tower-C foundation work. Remember this is a conclusion based on the tentative layout, not the final one. Only Era or DTCP know what drawings of the layout Era submitted to them for approval, they might be totally different from what Era has shown in the Sales brochure. Very little chance of they not being Different..have to be..as its the difference Era believes in.

 This is the view from the main road, near what is shown as the entrance to the project from the main road, also showing the board of the adjacent project.

View of the sales office constructed on the site and the high tension wires passing just near it. From the above photos of the construction site, it is clear that work is practically on hold.
What does the customer lose by delay in construction, well many things. First the customer does not get the possession of his/her flats on time, sometime delays can be really heartbreaking, as a lot of money is at stake and the customer has made his arrangements based on the knowledge that the possession would happen in that particular year. So if the construction does not begin on time, naturally it would mean bearing higher cost in the way of paying High EMI's plus the Rents for longer periods of time than planned for by the home-buyer. Next comes the Higher taxes, Higher EDC, Higher registry charges etc, this could raise the cost of the apartment by no less than 20%, which was never envisaged by the buyer but the developer has taken adequate cushion against bearing these extra charges by the cleverly worded Buyer- seller agreement's, which are made available to the buyer not at the point of sale but many times after a delay of an year/ one & half year of the original sale and receipt of almost 25% of the booking amount, leaving the buyer with no choice but to accept such ridiculous terms & conditions. I would advise you make sure that the agreement you sign does not have such unilateral clauses that do not keep your interests in mind. Lastly it is the mental trauma & harassment that the Buyers of such delayed projects undergo for no faults of theirs, running from pillar to post trying to find when he/she can get possession of their properties after paying almost the entire promised amounts plus the extra charges that invariably will heap up, due to deficiency in service of the developer.
Therefore please do not believe in what is orally promised to you, write repeatedly and get written answers for everything from the developer. Ask him to tell you why is construction being delayed when the project was approved with all necessary sanctions from the point of sale. Ask him for written information of the Sanctioned layout of the project, ask him for the copy of the licence( LC-V) with land details. Ask him relevant documents of his Building plan approvals (BR-III). The clearance from the ministry of environment & forests. These approvals are necessary and its mandatory that the colonizer share the same with the customers.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Article in Firstpost

This is an interesting article on real estate which I thought of sharing with all, as it gives some insight into how the Home buyers can save themselves a lot of botheration & a lot of hard earned money. Hope you all find it useful.


5 things buyers must understand before investing in real estate

by  Sep 7, 2012
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With  land, input and labour costs soaring, home prices are inching upwards across all markets, making realty a popular investment avenue. But lack of transparency and tight regulations means buyers are making investment decisions without properly understanding the risks.
The rule of thumb is to buy when the market is low and sell when the prices are on the up. Watch out for signs like rapid sales, aggressive advertising by realtors and fluctuations of interest rates, but most of all you must understand the various ownership costs, which include the hidden and evident costs, while purchasing a property.
Here are 5 things buyers must take into consideration before buying a house.
1. Understanding the perils of hidden costs: As a prospective buyer, one must know that apart from the price and deposit paid to the developer and the home loan provider, property taxes, insurance for your home, stamp duty, registration costs and maintenance costs should be accounted for. But over and above this, hidden costs like interest and opportunity costs due to delays in delivery, increase in developmental charges by state governments, other levies like service tax and VAT can knock one’s budget and finances. Recently home buyers in Maharashtra have been crying hoarse over the sudden VAT being proposed on flats bought between 2006 and 2010 in the state.  Says  Dilip Shah, Senior Counselor and Analyst for Redevelopment of Housing Societies, the best way to tackle this is by going through the fineprint of agreements between the builder and the home loan provider to ensure that the builder does not include any extra price clauses where the buyer will be entitled to pay for any future levies, taxes etc.
Reuters
“The devil lies in the detail. Buyers should be doubly careful of clauses that gives builders blanket powers to pass on the costs, whether it is up-gradation of specifications or infrastructure facilities like power-back up  pr car park area,” Sandeep Lal, a Kolkata-based advocate told Firstpost.
According to the layman’s guide to buying a house, “buyers should make a provision for 25 percent of a ready-to-occupy-house and keep an allowance in excess of 40 percent for a flat that might be ready for occupation one year later.”
2. Do not believe in advertisements blindly: Going by simple economics, an entry and exit barrier is meant to ensure fair play. But in realty there are no such barriers. So when the going was great and prices shot through the roof during 2006 and 2008, many players, big and small, entered the market with promises that were never to be kept.The end result? Many investors fell prey to unscrupulous companies, especially in towns where small developers lured buyers through low-cost projects, but disappeared completely after the downturn began.  Says Kishor Pate,  CMD of Amit Enterprises Housing Ltd &  Secretary for CREDAI Maharashtra, “buyers must deal only with an established developer who has had number of successful projects in the same city, especially while opting for an under-construction flat.
According to Pankaj Kapoor, MD at real estate research firm Liasas Foras, most investors are penny wise and pound foolish who like dirt-cheap deals by little-known companies, rather than investing  in projects by a reputed builder who is probably  more  transparent and likely to comply with regulations. The best way to find a sound builder is by researching through newspapers, periodicals, interaction with real estate agents and lending institutions.
3. Location is key to a good investment:  Properties that are in close proximity to schools, hospitals, shops and other facilities will stand in good stead at all times but also demand a higher price than those in far flung areas. This is why it is important to be to identify locations likely to see appreciation in the near future. Says Kapoor,” The biggest mistake investors make is  invest in properties without visiting the site. Default usually takes place when the area under consideration is not habitable.”
For example, in Mumbai far flung areas in Panvel, Karjat, Virar are often recommended as good investment destinations. But here too one needs to be sure of the infrastructure around it. Mere promises of future infra projects should not be used as a measure of investment, only invest if  you spot a region that is in the stages of development, Kapoor warns because if the infra project is delayed or does not come up, the value of the property will remain stagnant or even fall.   Moreover, the area should have employment ‘catchment’ as  job creation is what drives demand for residential real estate.
4. Check clearance of land titles: One of the foremost factors to ensure that the title is in the seller’s name and he holds absolute ownership of the land. Get hold of a professional and make sure that all the legal property documents are up to date. Check for hidden clauses or any irregularity to avoid any hassles.   The lack of clear land titles means the transaction are is risky. If you are buying land, you must trace past ownership to avoid any dispute in the future. Says Kapoor, ” If a buyer can pay Rs 50 lakh for a flat, why can’t he hire a solicitor for Rs 5,000 to ensure that he has the appropriate land title.  By opting for such kind of savings, the buyer pays a high price  for these mistakes later in case of dispute or default.
 5. Valuation: And finally, how do you know whether you are paying the right price for your flat?
The best way of arriving at the right valuation for your property is by comparing the price with the area’s density, explains Kapoor. If the area is habitable or has potential and within your budget, the valuation is right, but if the house is  not habitable at least till the next 1 year, but is still commanding the current market value, means the cost is inflated.
Secondly, talk to a handful of agents and get an appraisal from a certified professional appraiser. In the current conditions with the current inventory, how long would it take the market to absorb, or sell, all the houses on the market? If the supply is much larger than the demand, you are likely to get a discounted rate or at least some freebies with the flat.
Third, look at comparables for similar houses. Study prices and sales from one year ago, six months ago, three months ago and current numbers.  Does the current price reflect market reality? Here a  qualified professional valuer who looks into valuation, costs, building defects, future profits etc will help in making the right deal.