Today, everything we buy starting from cars to computers to mobiles are becoming increasingly affordable thanks to reduction in cost of raw materials, highly competitive markets and advances in technology. However, there is one sector or area which is yet to catch up with this trend in the real sense and that is real estate in India. While developers all around the country seem to be moving in this direction to maintain healthy balance sheets in the recession, we are yet to see a genuine effort to reach out to the masses who can only dream about buying a home.
Traditionally real estate has always been a costly affair due to high land prices, high cost of construction and the builder making a good margin on his investment. Two thirds of the population would be counted out of this for not being able to afford it. While pragmatism and business sense has demanded that builders develop properties outside the city to mitigate the cost of real estate not just for the builder but for the buyer as well, most builders continue to buy land in the costliest parts of Chennai city and finding out that there is no market for it.
You see, in the boom, when software was in 7th heaven and everyone wanted to spend, invest with the feel good factor, probably you may excuse someone for being naive in so much as not being able to capitalize on it and build high end luxury apartments, etc in downtown Chennai. However, when the recession set in, there was not a soul to be found who would make a beeline for these swanky products. The software engineer, the NRI, the CEO, the CXO dissappeared all of a sudden. It was as if, they never existed at all. All the zillions of dollars of marketing spend could only find the eyeballs of kids who like to read the newspaper supplements than the main paper.
Now, if you look at it from the consumer’s perspective, all wazz well! when he could take a loan and manage to pay it over 10 or 20 years with incomes projected to go up all the time and manage the house rent, car loan along with it. But the recession changed it. The average consumer was happy to retain his job leave alone the pay cuts. Cutting daily expenses and resorting to other investments such as FDs was the norm. And then, there were people who had stretched themselves too much and defaulted on loans. Real Estate was the last thing on everyone’s mind.
All of a sudden, demand plummeted overnight, there was excess supply in the market and developers had to cringe and bring prices down to increase sales by a marginal amount. And then, there were those who could not start construction given the low demand, talk about denotifying SEZs, selling land parcels and cancellations as a result.
Today, the market is recovering, we can once again see people willing to spend but it is not the same as it used to be during the boom. High end luxury homes are the last thing on the HNI’s mind. He would rather put an equivalent amount on 3 or 4 houses than put it all in 1 basket. Thankfully so, the builders have realized this and are diverting funds to budget housing, affordable homes. Come to think of it, the recession was not a bad thing at all. It made real estate affordable to a huge chunk of people who would otherwise put their money in banks, FDs etc.
Well, there are still the brave ones who would like to start ambitious projects with spanish names hoping to find the elusive, rich, cooling glass wearing, mercedes car, returned from abroad etc but they are only finding fake ones.
All this brings us to a point where it becomes practical, logical to develop houses away from the city along with the requisite infrastructure for business, learning and living. When you know that the land cost within the city amounts to 80% of the total cost while it amounts to 10% of the cost far away from the city, it can make you think. Here is an opportunity not just to buy a house and move in but also to invest and reap rich returns. This land is bound to appreciate over time than the ones inside the city. And Lo! behold, affordable housing is born and here to stay.
So, at the end of the day, it takes vision, courage and farsightedness to understand the needs of the common man and come up with a solution or a product that is not heavy on the pocket but heavy on returns. Add industries, commercial infrastructure and a well planned city and you get happy customers who are only too happy to refer their friends.
Well, we are proud to say that we have one such product!!…
Owning a house is an important thing in one’s life-but there’ve been instances of several unlucky buyers who were conned by fraudulent real estate agents. One needs to be careful while buying land/house to avoid falling into legal hassles. A lot of care is needed from the beginning- right from site seeing till the registration of the land. The legal status of the land is one of the first issues that you should address before confirming a property.
Before buying a land, a number of checks need to be done to confirm that the land has a clear and marketable title. The first thing is to find out the tenure, legal right of the holder of the land in government records. The tenure or possession right could be freehold, leasehold or may be held under a government grant. The seller should provide all the necessary documents to the buyer. I have listed few important checkpoints which you should consider while buying a property,
Title deed
The first step is to see the legal document of the land which you are going to buy. Confirm whether the land is in the name of the seller and that the full right to sell the land lies with only him and no other person.
Tax receipt and bills
Property taxes which are due to the government or municipality are a first charge on the property and, therefore, enquiries must be made in government and municipal offices to ascertain whether all taxes have been paid up to date.
Encumbrance Certificate
Before buying any land or house, it is important to confirm that the land does not have any legal dues. It is available as a certificate called encumbrance from the sub registrar office where the deed has been registered, stating that the said land does not have any legal dues and complaints.
Measuring the land
It is advisable to measure the land before registering the land in your name. Ensure that the measurements of the plot and its borders are accurate. You can do this with the help of a recognized surveyor. This will avoid a lot of problems in the future.
Agreement
Once all the matters, financial/otherwise are settled between the parties, it is better to give an advance and write an agreement. The agreement can be prepared by a lawyer and should be signed by both the parties and two witnesses. After signing the agreement if one of the parties makes a default, the other party can take legal action against him.
Registration
The land can be registered in a sub registrar office, after preparing the legal document including all the relevant information. You could get the legal document written by a government licensed Document writer. After registration, the registered document will be received after 2-3 weeks, from the registrar office.
Changing the title in Village office
The whole legal procedure of buying the property will be complete only if the new owners name is added in the village office records. An application can be made along with the copy of the registered deed to the Village office to get this done.
To avoid legal hassle after buying any property, it’s always good to be proactive to check all the above legal parameters while buying any property. I am sure that now you know what are the legal rights and information you’re entitled to access while purchasing a land. Hope to see knowledgeable and prospective buyers.
Housing patterns in Chennai is quite interesting because a few people like individual houses with a garden, spacious lawn and most important thing being sufficient parking area, few others like to be in apartments with a lot of other people as a community. It’s a mixed crowd who love to own different types of houses. With all this beauty they also face some challenges being situated in the heart of of the city. One common problem which people face today is the lack of housing with proper accessibility to business and commercial areas.
Any decent housing within Chennai city now costs 20-30 lakh onwards. While a house in city is a dream for many, owning one is a nightmare due to exorbitant costs, non availability of parking space and other issues.
Given that Chennai city is fast expanding, does it make sense to buy cheaper houses little away from city?
With increasing space crunch in the city, both industry and residential areas are expanding to the outskirts. Numerous SEZs which are coming up are a proof of it. Here is a huge market which is tapped by the real estate giants in Chennai who came up with the concept of building residential apartments and individual farms away from the city. In most of the cases renting a house within the city is very expensive these days because of the fluctuating inflation rate. Though people get fat cheques but still it is not a great idea to spend more than 4 digits only on accommodation in a city when they have their work area away from the city.
People always wanted some change in the way they lead their life. Nowadays the trend of leading a peaceful life within the city is considered being very old and monotonous with such a fast pace lifestyle everywhere we find space congestion, pollution, traffic and a tiring day after work. People wanted to relax, relish the peace without any traffic sound and enjoy the sense of tranquility end of the day. Therefore people prefer to move away from metros to outskirts of the city to enjoy life with greenery and calmness. This is the reason why apartments and condominiums became popular which is precisely situated away from the city.
Here is the take away for you if you are really looking forward to buy a house away from the city, take a look at the advantages of buying a house away from the city.
Pollution Free
Serene and beautiful location
Reduced traveling to work
Access to all facilities-schools, hospitals, malls within the community
Savings on rent
In fact the land value of the property which is far from the actual city is comparatively low, within the city the cost price is too high and the selling price is very low after the depreciation value, but this is vise versa when it comes to purchasing outside the city. Hence the budget fits into many pockets and it’s decent enough to own a house even if it is far.
With nuclear families having become the norm of the day, we feel really sorry for kids who don’t even know their own family members completely. A tightly bond family will be a safe, secure and supportive place for all its members. Chinmaya mission respects these family values and wants family members to love each and other and live together with harmony in a healthy manner. So, they are conducting a program to encourage family values.
MARG is hosting Chinmaya mission’s ‘Mega Chanting’ event tomorrow- the 24th of January. Thousands of families would get together to pray for the well being of themselves, their families and their society.
This will be Chennai’s largest Matru-Pitru Pooja ever. Starting with Medha Suktam and continuing to with various holy chantings, the participants get the rare chance to pray for a divine blossoming of intellect, healthy life and riches.
At the end of the holy chanting, thousands of balloons will be sent up in the sky to show that the world is one and unity is strength- highlighting the importance of family. There will also be a kite festival that will make the sky more colorful and more beautiful than ever to make the day a pleasant and memorable one for the years to come and it will always remind us to be together and happy.
To Register-
Registration fee: Rs.50 per head inclusive of pooja materials, food & snacks and traveling facility (if required) Venue:MARG Swarnabhoomi, OMR Road Date : 24th January 2010
Everyone likes to own a house and the surrounding also expects people to own a house for status purpose. Buying a home becomes a priority when everyone says you should also own one. But it is always considered as an increasingly expensive and risky proposition rather seen as a long term investment. But do make sure that you buy for the right reasons.
If you’re facing this nerve-wrecking decision and thinking whether it’s a right investment or not, then you need facts, not myths.
Traditionally it’s a fact that home ownership is a great way for most people to build wealth over time. It is a bigger commitment and more expensive than what most first-time buyers ever realized. Added to it, spiraling real estate prices make people afraid that they’ll be priced out of the market if they don’t buy soon which means most of the first time buyers are always on the pressure stand point while buying a house. Buying a residential property is a good investment because the home is a growth asset. The longer a home owner keeps his property, the more it will grow in value.
In the modern perspective buying a house is considered to be a potential investment because of these reasons,
Photo Sourced from:http://www.trendir.com/
1. It is a forced savings plan for most individuals who claim that the purchase of their personal home was the best investment they’ve ever made.
2. In a typical real estate purchase it leverages only a 5% initial deposit, while the remaining amount can be borrowed through bank debt or through other external financial sources available.
3. Inflation resistant is real estate as it holds its value during inflationary periods. It acts as a hedge against the investors other assets that aren’t protective against inflation.
4. Every home owner is provided with a capital gain exemption on amounts earned in excess of cost for their principal residence.
5. It allows control over the asset. Real estate is typically an investment for an individual who has control over by the means of the owner has the ability to increase the value of the asset, which may not be the case in most other investment opportunities.
6. A house also serves as most acceptable collateral while raising any loans.
Traditionally, house was bought with one’s life time earnings, and intention was to leave it as a legacy to one’s children. Currently, young professionals and NRIs are increasingly looking forward to buy a house with an intention to either sell it off later or to earn additional income through rentals.
Analyzing the investment pattern when it comes to buying a house be it traditional or modern, the bottom line is always considered to be a long term investment. Now it is time to decide whether you want to invest in the golden egg which increases the wealth every year.
3 
