Monday, August 31, 2015

Revenue Sites Buyer Beware




Revenue site is a site that is formed on the agricultural land without proper approval under the relevant law pertaining to town and country planning  and  also  as  per  other provisions of law.

Under the law, no building shall be constructed on an agricultural land without obtaining conversion and other   approvals from the concerned authorities..

All around Bangalore, it is a very common practice for people to buy a piece of agricultural land, which is  more popular as 'revenue site,'  without knowing the hassles involved in the buying of such sites. Consequently local brokers, aided  by   certain  landlords  also misguide buyers of revenue sites. So hard earned money of these innocent people goes down the drain, ruining them forever.
Middlemen Ride

The middlemen and the local brokers have perfected their profession. This is how they operate. A nominal sum is paid as token advance to the landlord and a general power of attorney is obtained; and then, the search for the victim begins. The middle men, like double edged razors, hike the price of the land and at the same time, do not properly settle the accounts with the illiterate and ignorant land owners.

Then, there are clever entrepreneurs, who consider themselves above law. They form layouts on agricultural lands without sanction, approval, planning, design etc. To increase the saleable area of the 'sites', they encroach on roads and as a result the roads get narrowed down. These layouts are formed without civic amenities and facilities, since there is no intention of providing them. However, they know the art of marketing. They make colorful brochures with photographs of certain parts of structures including 'Vidhana Soudha', Utility Building, etc., to paint a picture of the property, which a prospective buyer would like to own, as his 'intelligent investment'. They know that NRIs and local purchasers are very particular about presentation. Better the presentation, deeper the deceit, which very few people understand. After the process, one earns money, and the other bitter experience.

Whose ancestral property?

In the recital of a sale deed, it is customary to mention how the seller has   acquired   his title, interests and rights to  the immoveable property. In case of revenue sites, the brokers at the office of  various  sub- registrars  have devised a very ingenious method to  hide this fact from the unsuspecting buyers. They merely advise the I parties concerned to mention in the recital that the property is the 'ancestral property' of the  seller.  In this way the property passes on from one GPA holder to   another GPA holder, till such time an unlucky person becomes  the  owner  of such  an 'ancestral property'.

There are several instances where the land notified for acquisition and the land granted for schedule cast people have been converted into sites. Then the law stipulates that certain lands, when granted to the schedule castes, will revert to them if purchased by anyone else. And there is no guarantee that the money paid for such lands will be refunded.

GPA Transaction:

Very few people care to check the legality of the GPA executed by the original vendor. Nobody bothers to find out whether the GPA is registered or not, whether the executor of the GPA is alive or not.

All that everyone is concerned is how to become the owner of the site. Few people realize the danger when a GPA is revoked. A joint GPA executed by two owners becomes invalid if one of them dies.

Form 9 and Form 10 transactions

Certain dishonest and insincere revenue officials to circumvent the law and cheat the government have devised these transactions. Form no. 10 is for a house coming under gramthana village panchayat area. Form no. 9 is for a vacant site coming under gramthana village pancayat area. Originally, a property falling under the village panchayat area alone has the government site status. The middlemen and the revenue officials have made bogus forms no.9 and 10 and have registered immoveable properties in favour of innocent purchasers. Earlier, when the Urban Land Ceiling Act was in force, hundreds and thousands of revenue sites were registered by merely mentioning in the sale deed the expression 'one square asbestos sheet house'. This was mentioned just to avoid getting the relevant clearance under the said Act. After the Act was abolished the term 'one square asbestos sheet house' was also  removed from the  broker's dictionary.

It is not legal to form layouts in the agricultural land/green belt area. In such lands, the record of rights (RTC) will be in the name of the original land owners.

The sites, being 'ancestral proper- ties' of non-existing persons, will be sold by the GPA holders. The numbers assigned to these sites will never match with the survey numbers assigned to these lands by the government. The purchaser of the revenue site doesn't get the title of the property. What is purchased is an 'imaginary site' only. If, however, the original owner is good then any purchaser can enjoy the property. In Tamil Nadu, only properties with proper titles are registered. If the Government of Karnataka makes similar rules, lots of innocent people will be protected from the onslaught and greed of the middle¬men.

Difficult_to_get_loans

If the title deeds are not clear and marketable, it is difficult to obtain bank   loans   for   construction  by mortgaging the sites. Generally, these sites are situated on the city out-skirts. There will be no proper roads, electricity or water supply. There is no scope for immediate development or occupation. After all this, if the prices of the sites appreciate over a period of several years, the original landowner will appear from nowhere and start cultivating the area. He will remove all the demarcating stones planted by the GPA holder to fool the purchaser. The purchaser will then find it difficult to identify his property. In certain cases the GPA holder sells the same sites to several persons and collects money from all of them. Consequently, a marathon litigation awaits him. The laws are so complex that they give rise to multiple interpretations. To add to his woes, the court fees, which are very high, drain his already depleted resources. All these are sufficient for anyone to forget everything and be done with it. Only a fraction of the deceived purchasers feel that the laws are helpful under such circumstances. It is hoped that people will exercise utmost care and restraint, when they go about purchasing 'revenue sites'.

A little caution in time will save lots of botheration in future. Instead of purchasing a 60 x 40 site a purchaser can as well go for a 20 x 30 site with a clear marketable title within the city limits. Moreover, all the sites formed in and around Bangalore must have BDA or BMRDA approval. The buyers, therefore, instead of wasting their hard earned money on revenue sites and spending sleepless nights, would rather be wise to consult qualified legal experts before investing their well earned money.


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Saturday, August 29, 2015

Revival of Real estate




The world economy seems to be slowly emerging from the shadows of the recession that engulfed the entire economic world since September 2008. The Indian real estate, after a rough patch in 2008, is looking optimistic, driven by price corrections, softening of interest rates, launch of affordable housing, and improved liquidity. The recessionary condition of 2008-09 has helped to highlight problems / loopholes marring the real estate industry that remained hidden in a buoyant market. Thus real estate sector is looking forward to adequate policy measures by the government and their implementation.

On the policy front, uncertainty on future course of industry persists in the absence of a clear policy framework for the sector. To the extent possible, government should clarify its expectation from the sector towards contribution to economic growth, failing which, no defined approach can be adopted by the real estate investors.

Further given the liquidity crunch witnessed in 2008-09, there is a need for further easing of lending norms for the sector and given recent controversies surrounding FDI in the sector, clear policy statement on FDI participation in the sector would be welcomed.

Incentives on the tax front could be in the form of re-introduction of tax benefits for development of affordable houses / townships and increasing deduction currently 1 available on interest and M principal repayment on housing loans.
On the commercial real estate front, with expected growth in tourism, extending tax deduction to all categories of hotels and in all districts and enhancing the deduction period from 5 years to 10 years can provide requisite boost.

Keeping in perspective delay and liquidity crunch being faced by SEZ developers, measures can be taken to change tax holiday period from date of notification to date of operations. Levy of service tax on commercial lease rentals can be done away with or deduction can be allowed.

Luxury homes for rich Indians Developers from the US, the UK, 
Singapore and the UAE, are betting big on Indians who are capable of buying Rs. 1.5 crore plus properties. There is a new law under which one can legitimately take $2,00,000 out of India and invest in properties or shares. This has facilitated high net worth Indians [HNI] to invest in properties abroad.

Prices at various places around the world have fallen sharply between 10 and 40 per cent. Also, rupee has become stronger against pound and dollar. So, one can actually buy a house in London, even if not a luxurious one. The real estate prices in Dubai have also seen a steep fall. One can actually buy a villa in Dubai's posh Palm Island for Rs. 5 crore. This is almost one third of the price Dubai-based developers were quoting earlier it is learnt. The failure of two government-owned companies in Dubai has sent the property prices crashing. If a high-end row house was being sold at Rs. 2.5 crore plus in June 2009, the same property is available at Rs. 1.5 crore. Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, a government-promoted company is selling 2, 3 and 4 BHK row houses near Dubai for 560-850 dirhams per sqft.

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Friday, August 28, 2015

Bangalore real estate on the way to recovery




The demand for one bed room, kitchen (BHK) has been on increase; the developers over the past few months have launched or are launching several residential projects in the south and north Bangalore Industrial areas. With the proper and reasonable pricing to the properties with 1BHK flats, the situation in the real estate market is likely to improve in the coming months.

In view of the high costs of projects, the affordability to buy 2 or 3 BHK flats in such projects has gone down to some extent. This might have caused large number of already developed flats in the past few years, lying vacant for a considerably long time. During recession period, real estate market was badly affected and as such there was a down trend in the sale of apartments. Added to this situation of 'No mood to buy', inadequate infrastructure and poor connectivity also affected the real estate market of Bangalore. 

However, the situation seems to have changed now in view of many infrastructure projects taken up by the various local authorities of Bangalore.
Bangalore is changing fast. Projects for widening of roads all around the metro, strengthening of city transport by adding large number of buses, construction of under/over bridges, construction of sub-ways are all in progress. The most eagerly awaited ambitious project 'Metro Rail' is scheduled to commence its runs by 2011. The metro rail project will certainly improve the connectivity. Better connectivity will also help the real estate market to improve. The much improved connectivity and good infrastructure will be a boon to the real estate market.

With the reduction of the size of flats to one BHK, the prices of flats have come down. There seems to be healthy improvement in the number of buyers of the reduced sizes of flats. The demand for such single BHK flats being high, the developers may even think of letting out the unsold flats on rental basis in case sufficient buyers are not found. This will not only help the people desirous of occupying flats on rental basis but also developers for getting some returns on unoccupied flats. The demand for residential accommodation will, to some extent, be met.

The demand being more for smaller units with one BHK, what will happen to the already developed properties with more than 2 BHK flats? The developers are offering various incentives for their properties and expect that they will be able to dispose of a good number of such flats in the coming months. 

However in the absence of data about the vacant units of the developed properties, it may be difficult to know about the actual number of unsold units.
All efforts will have to be made by the developers to persuade the prospective buyers, for disposing of their developed flats, instead of keeping them vacant by offering all possible and practical concessions like deferred payments, affordable EMIs etc. in prices instead of offering various luxurious benefits.

With the availability of comparatively easy funds by way of loans at lower rates of interest, lowering the sizes of apartments from 2 BHK 3 BHK to 1 BHK, lowering the property rates by correcting the price structure, improvements in the job market, it looks like the real estate market may show some improvement in the coming months. However one will have to wait and see what will happen in the coming months. We may have to look for some concessions forthcoming for the badly hit economy of the real estate industry in the ensuing State/Central budget.

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Thursday, August 27, 2015

EASEMENTS




There are several villages in the midst of agricultural lands. There are houses surrounded by other houses. Inhabitants of these places have one common disadvantage – they do not have direct access to the road. To reach the public road they have to pass through someone else’s property.

There are several acres of sprawling agricultural lands for which water has to come through adjoining lands. In some remote areas people collect water from a distant water body. To reach the water source they have to walk over a long stretch of land, which does not belong to them. The owners of such lands cannot deny use of their lands.

The Easements Act of 1882 clearly says that it is the privilege of the people to use the land out of necessity, which the owners cannot deny. Easement is right to use another’s property. It is a right, which the owner of a particular land enjoys over an adjacent property, which he does not possess. It is the right over a property belonging to someone else and not to the person claiming easement.
The landowner who will benefit from the property which is not his own and over which he has a right is called dominant heritage or dominant tenement and the owner of such a land is called the dominant owner. Dominant because the owner has control over the use of that particular land which he does not possess.

Whereas the landowner who cannot enjoy his own land over which another owner has a right is called servient heritage or servient tenement and the owner of such a land is called servient owner. Servient or subordinate because he has to abide by the requirements and convenience of the dominant owner. In fact, whether he likes it or not, it is a burden brought to bear on him by grant, by custom or by prescription.

X has a piece of land. Y has the right of way over it. Here X is the servient owner and has the servient heritage. Y is the dominant owner and he has the dominant heritage.

Servient Heritage means an inherited property over which the dominant owners have a right to use it to their advantages. Dominant Heritage means inheriting a right over another’s property without owning it.

The title to easement may be by grant, by custom or by prescription. An easement can be acquired by grant. The deed may be separate or the grant may be included in a deed relating to the dominant heritage. For example, X sells his land to Y and by the same deed he may grant a right of way to Y for such land for another land of his.

Grant is given by an agreement executed by the grantor in favor of the grantee for a consideration. The grant becomes effective when the grantee has the right to enter upon the grantor’s land.

Prescription means getting a right by continuous assertion of the right, which has been in use for a long period of time. According to the Indian Easements Act, for example, the inhabitants of a building enjoying the access and use of air and light as a right continuously for over 20 years have the right to enjoy them without any condition or restriction.

Easement by virtue of custom is a legal right acquired by the power of law through continuous use of a land over a long period of time. Therefore the right of way continues to exist by grant, prescription or by virtue of custom.

The dominant owner has the right over the property of the servient or subordinate owner. It is a privilege enjoyed by the dominant owner over the property, which he does not own. The servient owner cannot enjoy his own property. He cannot do anything on his own land and he is bound to suffer for the advantage of the dominant owner. If at all the servient owner does something on his own property, the dominant owner has the right to prevent it.
In an easement there must be a dominant owner and a servient owner, it must be for the advantage of the dominant owner, it may be permanent or temporary, or for a limited period of time or seasonal or for a specified event or out of necessity, the owners must be two different persons and it must be capable of forming the subject matter of a grant.

There are several type of easement. Right of way, right to air and light, riparian rights, right to build, right to uninterrupted flow of water are a few.

Easements, which are the subject matters of agreement between the parties, are for right of way, right to air and light. Some easements are acquired by grant and others prescription and custom. We are dealing with easements, which form subject matters of grant.

Creation of an easement does not mean transfer of property. In the same manner, surrendering an easement right does not imply transfer of property. Easement can be made, altered and released. Easement right cannot be created or modified orally. It must be in a written form. However, easements by prescription and custom need not be in writing.

RIGHT OF WAY

Private right to certain individuals by grant, rights to certain classes of people like inhabitants of a village by custom and common rights dedicated for the benefit of all are three classes of rights of way.

The private right of way is the means of access to and from a dominant heritage by way of grant. If a seller sells one of his adjoining properties to the purchaser, the seller reserves the right of way for passage running across the property sold. In this case the seller reserves the right of way in the sale deed in favour of the purchaser.

If the purchaser has no right of way to access the road, the seller will grant to the purchaser a right of way over his property. Here the purchaser of the plot has to execute a separate deed in favor of the seller granting a right of way. A right of way for the benefit of the public at large is normally acquired by prescription. A private right of way can be either permanent or periodic or for a particular time during the day only, or seasonal or for a limited time, for to and fro movement of human beings, cattle and light vehicles.

The deed of grant must clearly mention the purpose for which easement is granted. By the deed of grant the subservient owner gives full and free right to the dominant owner and his successors a passage wide enough for movement of people and vehicles between the dominant owner’s premises and the public road against a price consideration. To make matters very clear a map with the properties and the passage marked in different colors must be annexed to the document of grant.

The dominant and servient owners have certain rights and obligations to maintain and preserve the easement. While exercising his right over the property of the servient heritage, the dominant owner has responsibilities to preserve the easement. His acts and deeds shall not put the servient owner in to inconvenience. Being the actual user he shall rectify the damages if any caused by his acts at his own expense.

The servient owner is not obliged to do anything for the advantage of the dominant heritage. He has no liability whatsoever to construct a way for the use of the dominant owner or to carry out repairs in case of any damage to the passageway. As the holder of the property he is free to use the servient heritage in any manner he likes, but his acts shall not dilute the right of the dominant owner.

AIR AND LIGHT

Easements of air and light arise only in the thickly populated cities and towns. Earlier buildings were constructed at random often ignoring the conveniences of the nearby inhabitants.  Virtually no space was left in between the buildings hindering airflow and natural light to the smaller houses. The inhabitants of houses who were getting fresh air and natural light suddenly found these denied to them because of a multistory building nearby.

Haphazard constructions are now a thing of the past. Presently, buildings are constructed in a well-planned manner. Leaving minimum space between two buildings for free flow of air and natural light is now mandatory.

Therefore, anyone who comes into possession of a servient heritage has to carry the burden of easement for all times to come for the benefit and enjoyment of the person who comes into possession of the dominant heritage. This sort of ‘master-servant’ relationship cannot be severed as long as such properties co-exist.


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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

AFTERMATH OF IT ON REAL ESTATE


http://bangalore5.com


The surge of the IT companies in the past decade has resulted in the demand of prime and suitable space in the cities where there is more concentration of IT companies. In cities like Bangalore and other leading IT cities, there is a phenomenal growth of the industry and with that there is also great demand for office space in the city as well as outskirts. 

The sudden spurt in the IT / ITES organizations resulted in a huge influx of people relocating to these cities from all over the country and also from some parts of the world causing some grave infrastructure problems inside the city resulting in severe dearth of proper commercial and residential accommodation apart from traffic snarls. As the demand for commercial units rose steadily, scores of Developers came into the picture to cater to the diverse needs of the companies. Only a handful of them could remain in the reckoning while the rest faded into oblivion. Those who could face the stiff challenges and remained in the fray were very reputed builders having a great track record and also adhered to the principles of sheer eminence, work culture, strict adherence to the time schedules and customer oriented service. 

Some of the reputed builders who are continuously serving the needs of these companies viz. Ascendas (India) Pvt Ltd., L&T, Salarpuria, Divyashree Developers (P) Ltd., RMZ Corp, SJR Group, Hiranandani, Kolte-Patil Developers, Raheja Builders, and Sigma Group. They could be rated as the high performers as far as IT Parks are concerned. They are active in almost all IT cities throughout India viz. Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Hyderabad and other second rung cities. 

IT work place here means not a mundane office but an office which would have adaptable work-live-play shop environment, Hi-fi building management system, dedicated power plant, safety and security, vehicle parking facility, Water storage and also lot of modern amenities and to top it all, an aesthetically designed structure which not only acts as a visual treat but also pumps the adrenaline levels of the employees to an all time high.

It is to be noted here that though India boasts of the state of the art Hi-tech parks, some of them were not completely designed keeping with the specific industries in mind.  But looking at the present trend, one may find a multitude of service based companies like Software, R&D, ITES and others inhabit these parks which are tailor made structures. 

The main parameters that are considered to declare a Hi-tech park as the best is always based on the technology infrastructure, superior location advantages and natural conditions, proximity to the down town city/CBD, complete associate service, suitable transportation, assembled talents and sylvan environment. The list may also add up other points like eco-friendliness, part of the modern new Sci-tech town, closeness to the High education area, specifically for companies focused on R&D, accommodating enterprise incubation and technology innovation, urban featured industries, software exemplary base, Sci-tech commercial business, Sci-tech housing areas, Out of the many Hi-tech parks that are currently in the offing all over India, some of the parks offer only space with the ready infrastructure while some offer space solutions in addition to selling the space. The customers always get a better deal when they go for space solution providers. 

Factors like brand image, International alliance, Quality benchmarks, technology infrastructure standards, innovative space solution also plays a big role while putting a park and the builder on a higher pedestal. 

At present, there are umpteen numbers of Hi-tech parks catering to the diverse needs of the clients. But not all of them could be ranked as high performing parks owing to the non-compliance of the above said parameters. It is indeed a very formidable task to adhere to all the norms and those who have climbed to that level are the market leaders and are in great demand by the clients. It has been estimated that from the present $3.5 billion, the industry may see an upward trend to around $13 billion by the year 2007. 

On the commercial front, the demand has come from information technology (IT), Business Process Outsourcing companies (BPO) and information technology enabled services (ITES) companies looking for large space. With the IT industry in India predicted to grow steadily and Bangalore as usual leading the way, the demand for good quality office space near the existing IT locations is likely to continue. About 250 ancillary industries such as cement, steel, brick, timber, building material, etc are dependent on the real estate sector. 

The year 2004-05 saw around 16 million sqft  of commercial space absorbed in India which was predominantly contributed by Bangalore (7.7 million sq ft) followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) (2.9 million sq ft), Mumbai (2.5 million sq ft), Hyderabad (2.2 million sq ft) and Chennai (1.6 million sq ft).”
The city of Bangalore has been able to absorb more commercial space (7.7 million sq ft) than its counterparts in the country in 2004, with the maximum contribution being from IT and ITES companies, according to the year-end report by real estate consultants, Cushman and Wakefield.


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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Hubli Dharwad – Most neglected twin city




After Bangalore it is Hubli-Dharwad the second big city in Karnataka.  Hubli and Dharwad are 18 kms apart and are connected by Railway line and Pune-Bangalore highway.  A  single Municipal Corporation was for the twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad more than four decades age.  The Corporation was formed with the sole intention of developing eh area.  Unfortunately even after four decades no much developments have taken place.

Hubli-Dharwad both are now educational centers even  though earlier Dharwad was known for its educational activities.  Dharwad is a seal of Karnataka University.  Now of course, professional colleges are situated in Hubli-Dharwad. When think of the two units separately Hubli is considered as  a commercial center while Dharwad as educational center Hubli is an agro trade center mainly trading cotton and other agricultural products.  

Hubli is now the head quarters for South Western Railway.  It is a junction for Gadag Sholapur-Guntkal with on a Pune-Bangalore main line.  The Railway work shop is located in Hubli and is said to be the oldest in the City.  A few industries with a few exceptions, in small sector are now aworking in Hubli along Hublu-Dharwad road (National High way). 

Inspite of the facts that a large area has been acquired for industries no major industry has come to the area so for. Neither the local Municipal Corporation nor the govt. have made any efforts to develop the area industrially. Total negligence on the part of Municipal Corporation, Govt. and the elected representatives of the region.  The agitation demanding the bench of High court is hanging fo rthe past more than three decades.  Threre is no political will for development of the area and hence the present situation will  continue.

Penty of land, both agricultural and Revenue, is available all around Hubli and Dharwad.  In view of the slow development, both industrial and commercial, there is no much effect on real estate industry.  However with the  migration of rural population to the twin city the population is slowly growing creating demand for residential accommodation as well as commercial premises.  Some efforts are on for inviting investments in IT industry and positive results are expected.

Building activities are stated to be some what better  in view of the increasing demand for residential accommodation.  In Hubli-Dharwad there are about 8-10 property developers.  To name of few of them are Eureka Developers, Madhura Developers, Ashwamedha Developers, Laxminarayan Developers, Suvidha Realters  etc.,  However keeping in view of the expected development of the area and the demand for accommodation Sahara Group is entering the market.  Even though there are a few colleges for architectural studies, there are very few practicing in the city.  There are about 10 to 15 practicing architects.

Prime areas are Keshavapur, Gokul Riadm Satfur, Hosur, Yalakki Shettar colonmy, Saptapur, Malamaddi, Uukal Deshpande Nagar, Vidyanagar, Durgad Bail, etc., The prevailing rates for non agricultural lands is Rs. 150 to 300.  The land value in Hubli is about Rs. 200 to 400.  The developers are putting up apartment building.  The prevailing  rents for flats of 2 BHK / 3 BHK are Rs. 2000 to 5000.

This is the time when the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation  should under take the developments for infrastructure developments.  Unless adequate infrastructure is made available no developments – Industrial / commercial can take place.  The City and the area between the two units viz. Hubli and Dharwad should have good roads, markets, schools, power and water supply. There should be one or two more roads connecting the two units and it has to be planned right now, when the land is available.  It is to be noted here that in view of the non-availability of property infrastructure of residential and suitable building for offices of the High Court bench there has been a delay in seeing of the bench.  If suitable building are constructed for locating Govt. offices, source of the offices of State Govt, and Central Govt may set up there offices.  The only way to get the investments is to develop infrastructure and it is the local authorities i.e., Municipal Corporation, Urban Development Corporation, Planning Authorities, which have to take  up the developments projects.  Fifty years  is quite a long wait and there should be no further waiting.

The only infrastructure that has satisfied the public is perhaps the transport system.  Hubli and Dharwad are well  connected by the road transport buses as well as Bendre Transport service Railway runs a local trains.  But it is not adequate.
The Hubli-Dharwad Corporation should come up with  some incentives and invite local and foreign investors to invest in Hubli-Dharwad.  The incentives could be in the form of land free of cost or at concessional  rates, exemption of taxes for some specified period, assure uninterrupted power and water supply, etc.,

For More Information:

Bannerghatta Road 

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Monday, August 24, 2015

Jail term for errant Real Estate developer




In what may bring relief to housing aspirants across the country, chances of home buyers being cheated by reality companies might be minimized as the proposed real estate regulator will not only be empowered to penalize errant developers by imposing fines but also recommend imprisonment upto three years if they are found guilty. The information, to be posted on the regulator's website, will also mention the names of blacklisted developers.

For any housing project exceeding 1,000 square meters or four apartments, the builder will have to procure a registration certificate from the regulator after furnishing all relevant project details and permissions from the competent authorities. This includes the number and size of plots, layout plan, carpet area and plinth area of the flats or apartments and the facilities provided. A project cannot be marketed or advertised without the registration certificate. The government has prepared a draft of the model Real Estate Bill, and has invited views of all stakeholders by November ahead of giving it a final shape.

Safeguarding the interests of buyers, the regulator makes it mandatory for the developer to enter into a sales agreement ahead of taking the deposit from a potential buyer and to provide stand-in warranty for the project for two years after handing over the possession for any construction related problems. Any buyer wishing to quit the project due to delays or false promises shall be returned the entire investment along with interest at the existing rate. Briefly, the Real Estate Regulator can [i] penalize errant developers by imposing fines if they are found guilty [ii] recommend imprisonment of up to 3 years, [iii] post names of blacklisted developers on its website; and [iv] order return of the entire investment along with interest at the existing rate if a buyer quits the project due to delays or false promises.

The builder or promoter of the project will have to submit a timeline for providing various civic services like supply for electricity and water, sewerage and drainage systems, lifts and fire-fighting equipment. Value of cost escalation in projects, if any, will have to be arrived at by mutual consent between promoter and buyer. The names and addresses of all middlemen or brokers will have to be maintained on the website. In case the developer fails to provide any of the services listed at the time of purchase, he will be asked to compensate the buyer. The builder shall furnish a bank guarantee equal to five per cent of the estimated cost of the development works to a competent authority, which may discharge it on recommendation of the regulator. The promoter will have to obtain an insurance policy for at least five years after the construction activity is complete for apartments against loss or damage by natural calamities for the cost of replacement of such property and loss of life and bodily injuries suffered by persons occupying the apartments.


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Saturday, August 22, 2015

IS BANGALORE CRUMBLING




The city of Bangalore as we all know has become the global destination and has reached the zenith in a very short span of time. This meteoric rise is mainly due to the flurry of IT and ITES activity in and around the city. 

The talent pool that is available in the city has no match and all the IT giants realized this and opened their shops here. One could find almost all MNC’s having their presence in Bangalore. Apart from IT, the city is also a hub for BT, Floriculture, Apparel and other segments. This sudden transition of the city resulted in a huge influx of people from all over the country and there is a very conspicuous increase in human population and with that the vehicle population also increased manifolds. It is to be noted here that the city has around 2.5 million vehicles. 

From the past 2-3 years, there is a marked deterioration in the infrastructure of Bangalore due to the ever-increasing traffic. This is a result of Government’s apathy too. A majority of the roads in the city has become a nightmare for the motorists. Much hue and cry has been raised on this issue but nothing noteworthy has been done yet. The much hyped flyover projects in many points in the city are yet to be completed even though the deadline got over months back. Adding to this, the equations with the IT fraternity and a select band of politicians are not working well.  There is a big question mark on Bangalore’s future with some of the IT giants shifting their focus towards Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. 

The famed weather of Bangalore is not the same anymore with many lakes paving way for concrete structures and tress being cut mercilessly to widen the roads. But even the widening of roads is not done properly. If we look at the registrations aspects of the properties in Bangalore, there is a lot of confusion and people are not in a comfort zone to get new properties and register it without any problem. 

Adding to it, the recent gruesome murder of a call center employee of HP and the more recent Terrorist attack at IISC adds more credence to the fact that Bangalore may not be an investors favorite any more. It is high time for the concerned to take note of all this and act instantly else Bangalore may crumble to nadir. 


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