Fresh lease
The Union Budget 2008-2009 has given one more reason to senior citizens to cheer in the form of tax clarification given by the Finance Minister on the reverse mortgage scheme and bankers too are expecting a surge in the number of people coming forward to avail of this scheme, reports
S. Satyanarayanan

Illustration by Kuldip Dhiman

...little to cheer about
The Budget has failed to extend major benefits to the realty sector, says S.C. Dhall
Realtors and developers have little to cheer about as the finance minister has failed to extend major benefits to the real estate sector. And along with this the continuing hammering of real estate stocks at the Bombay Stock Exchange and the realty index tanking the most among the indices during the past few days (the index fell to its lowest ever figure in over five months), the overall picture seems to be not so rosy in this spring season.

Lusting for Lucknow
Gulf NRIs are making a beeline for affordable realty deals in the ‘City of Nawabs’
Saeed Anwar, an NRI from Dubai, wanted a house in his hometown Lucknow. He bought two plots for Rs 3.5 million ($880,000) in 2005, which are together worth Rs 30 million today. With returns as high as this, many Gulf NRIs are investing in the city’s real estate.

Energise your home positively
A magnificent bungalow, a beautifully designed house and public places give out vibrancy and vitality. The life energy flows smoothly and the people living in those spaces prosper and grow. But several times one notices that within a couple of decades, the same house or garden wears a deserted look, becomes dilapidated and the lives of the people living in it or frequenting that place experience a negative flow in finance, health and personal relationships.

6 Indian realtors make it to Forbes’ richest list
India’s booming realty sector is turning out to be a cradle of billionaires, with six entrepreneurs led by DLF’s K.P Singh figuring prominently on Forbes World’s Richest List and together notching a net worth of nearly $48 billion.

TAX tips
Share in property gifted to sister
Q. I am settled in America for the past 25 years. My father died 10 years back and transferred his house to my mother by Will. Now my mother has gifted the house to my sister. Can I claim my share in the property through court or not?

GROUND REALTY
Gas geysers
Warm up to safety concerns
LPG-powered geysers have become popular but a little laxity in their use and installation can be fatal, warns Jagvir Goyal
Recent years have seen a consistent switchover from electric geysers to gas geysers, power cuts being the main reason behind this shift. Along with this these geysers are also more economical. Almost 70 per cent of new constructions are now opting for gas geysers in bathrooms. Almost all PG accommodations have restricted their power backup systems to fans and lights only and have replaced electric geysers with gas geysers.

REAL ALERT
Beware of bank botch up
Want a home loan for your dream house? Chances are that banks may misplace your house documents, leaving you high and dry
Sudhir Bawa had taken a home loan from a multinational bank and repaid it, but when he sought the original sale deed papers back from the bank, he was told that his property papers were lost.