Lucrative options
A surge in commercial projects in the tricity area has opened new vistas of choice for investors, writes Charandeep Singh

Office suites with terrace garden

Elevation of Godrej Properties’ upcoming project in Chandigarh

A stable realty market and a robust hiring and retail scene has brought commercial properties high up on the list of investors in the real estate sector. Prices of commercial properties have shown considerable appreciation in the first half of 2011 all over the country. With the effects of slowdown waning the companies are in consolidation and expansion mode so the demand for office as well as retail space has grown considerably resulting in price appreciation. A number of commercial projects have been launched in the tricity also in the past 12 months making the commercial property scene vibrant here. Investors have shown keen interest in the different projects here. "It makes sense to invest in commercial property in the tricity since it is expected to be the major hub of office space beyond NCR. Moreover, with a number of new projects offering office and retail space coming up here, one has a lot of choice to invest in commercial property", says Dinesh Jain of Delhi who has invested in an upcoming commercial project in Mohali.

Reasons for the spurt

"Gurgaon and NCR are not the same as they were three-four years ago. So with the crumbling infrastructure there, a lot of companies want to venture out of the NCR and want to have a base somewhere in north only. So tricity forms an ideal location for them. That is why there has been a sudden surge in demand for commercial space here", explains Suchet Monga of Monga Realtors. Chandigarh is among the highest per capita income cities in the country. "So with residents having deep pockets, lifestyle products are in demand. That is why we see DaMilano or Mont Blanc boutiques operating in Chandigarh. Swank retail space is required to accommodate all these products. Hence the surge in demand", says GPS Waraich of BN Habitat.

Commercial space fetches high rentals and builders too are offering handsome returns to investors during the construction period. So one can get returns till the time the property is actually leased out so it is a win-win situation for an investor. "We are offering 10.5% fixed returns to our customers from the date of booking. In due course we would help our client in leasing out the property as well as due appreciation would also take place. So the investors get all the derived benefits", adds Sunil Satija of Bestech Group. This has made many like Gurjit Ahluwalia, who says, "I sold my agricultural land and invested some part of my corpus in a proposition which was offering me handsome returns. An investment of one crore fetches me Rs 11 lakh return annually. This kind of return was not possible by investing in agricultural land".

Major players

"Food court and multiplexes are big drivers of footfall. Any commercial complex having these two propositions is either leased out or sold out very fast. As a testimony to it, we as of now are having 97 per cent occupancy of our office space in Chandigarh", explains Rahul Mehta of DLF. Godrej Properties is coming out with its first venture in northern region by building a commercial complex in Chandigarh. They have 4.8 lakh sq. ft of office space and 1 lakh sq. ft of retail space. The going rate as of now is Rs 10,500 per sq. ft for office and Rs 15,000 per sq. ft for retail space. "Actually ours is Platinum LEED green rated building which would cause least disturbance to the ecology of the area and would further ensure operational efficiency also by saving around 30 per cent of electricity", says Godrej Properties spokesperson.

Similarly Omaxe is coming up with 'India Trade Tower' in its Mullanpur project which will be an 18-storey structure and is touted to be the tallest building in Punjab and tricity. They have a built up area of around 2.5 lakh sq. ft and the asking rate is around Rs 4,950 per sq. ft.

Novel ideas as well as easy payment schedules have made these properties extra attractive for investors. "In order to make our clients derive maximum benefit by investing in commercial property, we are offering construction-linked payment plan, where part payment is made as per the construction schedule. The highlight of our project is that we have introduced the concept of 'office suites', where in you have your office-cum-personal terrace garden on the top floor. The unit size for office suite is 2000 sq. feet", says Chetan Bansal, director of Acropolis Mall in Chandigarh. Acropolis Mall will have a developed area of 6,80,000 sq. ft, which as of now is being sold at Rs 11,000 sq. ft.

An interesting feature of all the commercial projects is whether the property is sold out or leased out, the maintenance of common areas is the responsibility of promoters. "After selling out our space we would have facility management done by an international property consultant with very strict guidelines to ensure compliance", says the spokesperson of Godrej Properties. "We have a land parcel of about 15 acres but as of now we are only developing our 'IT Office Space'. We would develop around 6 lakh sq. ft of office space and the current rate at which it is getting sold is Rs 4,750 per sq. ft. We started the construction six months before the actual launch of project", informs Sunil Satija, MD Bestech India, a company that is developing commercial office space in Sector 66, Mohali.

REALTY GUIDE
B K Sanghi

Freehold commercial plot

Q. I am an NRI based in California. I want to purchase a freehold commercial plot in Chandigarh. Please advise when I can buy a freehold commercial property in 
Chandigarh.

— D.S Virk

A. First of all let me make it clear that commercial property is not auctioned on freehold basis in Chandigarh. Only residential property is auctioned on freehold basis in Chandigarh. The commercial property is sold on leasehold in Chandigarh under which you have to pay a yearly lease money to the Chandigarh Administration.

In fact, the auction of property is due in the city of Chandigarh and the auction should happen in this financial year.

Registering a Will

Q. I am 80 years old and own a two kanal house in Chandigarh. I have two sons and one daughter. I want to give my property to my elder son. Kindly explain me what is a Will and how I can register it.

— P. N. Gupta

A. Will is a legal declaration of the intention of a person with respect to his property or other assets, which he desires to take effect after his death. It is an untitled document which states how the assets should be divided after the death of a person. It is a document which can be revoked, modified or substituted by the person executing it at any point of time during his lifetime. For executing the Will a person must not be a minor and should not be of unsound mind. The Will has to be in writing and it has to state that the person executing the same is making it out of his own free will and in a sound state of mind. It has to be signed by the executor of the Will and has to be attested by at least two witnesses.

However, under the provisions of law Will is not required to be compulsorily registered. It can be executed even on a plain paper and can be fully valued even if unregistered. In case you want to register the Will, then you will have to approach the office of the Sub-Registrar along with the witnesses who have signed on the document. The executor of Will as well as the attesting witnesses have to put their signatures and thumb impressions in the register maintained by the Sub-Registrar. There are Sub-Registrars designated for various districts and you have to find out the one for your area to get your Will registered. The Sub-Registrar would be as per the place of the residence of the person executing the Will.

The writer is president of the Haryana Group Housing Federation. The column will be published fortnightly. Readers can send their queries at Real Estate Desk, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh (by post) or through e mail at realestate@tribunemail.com

REALTY BYTES
Paramount City Square

Paramount Group launched retail complex —'City Square' — at its 'Paramount Emotions' project in Noida. City Square is a part of the 12-acre project located in Noida Extension. The complex is spread over an area of 20,000 sq. ft., and will be operational from December 2013 for its residents.

The complex will have open shopping areas, anchor stores, kiosks, restaurants and coffee shops. There are three varied options of spaces; for shops, the area ranges from 274 sq. ft. to 955 sq. ft. and the anchor stores and restaurants will be of 2,285 sq. ft. area. The cost of these spaces is approximately Rs 4,000 per sq. ft.

The complex will associate with high end brands to cater to the needs to the residents of the project and also for the inhabitants nearby.

Dhoot Group bags MoD project

Dhoot Group, a Kolkata-based conglomerate with pan-India presence, has bagged another prestigious project worth Rs 190 crore from the Director-General, Married Accommodation Project, Ministry of Defence, for the construction of 332 blocks — 1,952 units for the Army at Amritsar.

Making the announcement at the start of the project, Pawan Dhoot, Managing Director, said, "This is a prestigious project for our Infrastructure Division. Construction of 17 lakh sq ft on an area of 215 acres will create thousands of jobs and strengthen our relations with vendors and suppliers. We have kept a 27-month timeline for the completion of the project, and the work at site is in full swing to meet its set deadline”.

NPA concerns

The RBI has expressed concerns over rising exposure of banks to the real estate sector and said it could lead to an increase in the non-performing assets (NPAs) of the banking sector. The apex bank, however, said the share of real estate NPAs in the gross NPAs of the banking sector stood at 15 per cent against the share of the sector's credit in total credit at 17.7 per cent. The credit to the sector registered a growth of 24.6 per cent in 2010-11 against 17 per cent in the previous year, it said. Residential mortgages and the commercial real estate registered a growth rate of about 24 per cent, the central bank added. — PTI

tax tips
S. C. Vasudeva

No tax on gift to grandson

Q. I have 6.5 acres of agriculture land and a residential house. Out of the above agriculture land, I had purchased 1 acre from my own savings. The residential house was also constructed by me on the part of inherited property and some land was also purchased by me. My wife died leaving three minor sons. I brought them up with great difficulty and did not remarry. Now, my two sons are married and one is unmarried. Unfortunately, in April, 2010, my youngest son died leaving behind his wife and a five-year-old minor son. My unmarried son, who is an ill-disciplined and alcoholic, wants to marry my widowed daughter-in-law without my consent. My eldest son is also not going to stay with me. Now my queries are as under:

• Can I give 1 acre of self-acquired agriculture land to my elder son's son who will look after me. He is a minor aged16.
• If I remarry and adopt a daughter as per the adoption law, I get one or two children from this wedlock how the inherited landed property and house will be divided.
• Can anyone force me at this stage to give the agriculture land as per law? I am ready to give my sons some land for their maintenance at this stage temporarily but not permanently.
• If the answer to the point given above is yes what about the share of the children as mentioned in the second query above.
• My both married sons were insured and the money was given by me. My widowed daughter-in-law got about Rs 5 lakh from LIC and the eldest son got about Rs 2 lakh as premature payment.
• If I give them share in the land for maintenance and a portion of my constructed house to live in, then can my widowed daughter-in-law claim maintenance after her remarriage, and how much?
• My both sons have refused to help me in agriculture work.
• I had taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh for agriculture purposes and Rs 2 lakh from society. For this, I have mortgaged 3 acres of land to repay the debt.

It may be added that in case you decide to opt for a total partition of the joint family property, an order under Section 171 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, must be obtained.

Loan facts

Q. I have booked a flat in the joint names of myself and my wife and also availed a housing loan from a bank in the joint manner. The flat will be ready for occupation in June, 2012 but the deduction for EMI of the loan, Rs 18,000 each, from the our salaries will begin from November, 2011. My query is that can we both take rebate u/s 24 of interest on loan up to Rs. 1,50,000 each and u/s 80C towards repayment of loan up to Rs 1 lakh each during the financial year 2011-2012?

— Ramesh Chugh

A. Your queries are replied hereunder:

• The amount of interest paid/payable in respect of the housing loan will be deductible from income from house property i.e. as and when the house is complete and its annual value is determinable. The interest for the period prior to the completion of the house shall be allowable in five equal installments starting from the year when the house is completed and income from house property can be computed.
• A deduction for the repayment of the principal amount of loan raised from a specified agency shall be allowable as and when the income from house property is computed. The deduction is permissible under section 80C of the Act within the specified limit of Rs 1,00,000.

Check terms of agreement

Q. My brother has rented out his SCO to a company on the basis of franchisee agreement, (all affairs of business are handled by the company itself) under which a fixed amount of commission (in the form of rent) of Rs 1 lakh is paid by the company every month and TDS is also deducted on it. My brother has been paying advance tax on it treating it as rental income. Now that company has issued TDS certificate (Form 16A) mentioning therein as: "commission" in the column nature of payment. Now my query is, how this commission can be taken as rental income and shown under the head 'Income from house property' in ITR? Kindly quote the relevant provision or circular on it.

— R.K. Gupta

A. The issue raised by you will depend upon the terms of the agreement. Prima-facie, on the basis of facts in the query it seems that the amount received by your brother is in the nature of rent. In case your brother is the owner of shop-cum-office and the space has been provided to the franchisee for its use only, the receipt from the franchisee should be brought to tax as 'income from house property'. This is because in substance it will be a case of giving the property on lease. However, in case your brother is not the owner and is himself a lessee, the income will be taxable as income from other sources. The treatment of the payment by the company in its account books should not make any difference. As stated above, the substance of the agreement will have to be looked into before deciding the taxability of the receipt.

Rebate under Section 54F

Q. I am NRI for tax purposes. I purchased a plot on June 15, 2009 (date of sale deed) for Rs 22.7 lakh. The ownership title of this plot is in the name of my sister-in-law and myself. The purchase amount was paid out of my NRO A/C by cheque. The money for this purchase was sent from overseas into my NRO A/C as at that time I did not have any NRE A/C. I also booked another independent floor (in my name & my wife's name) in February, 2010, on a construction-linked plan and paid a booking amount of Rs 4 lakh to builder. In March 2010, I paid another Rs 19 lakh to builder in advance. The agreement to purchase this independent floor with builder was signed in November 2010. There is approximately Rs 10 lakh balance that is to be paid to builder at specific building stages when they are due. The money paid to the builder so far is paid from my NRE A/C. As per agreement, the possession of this independent floor is due in November, 2012, and the registration of this property will be done after the possession. If the above stated plot (purchased on 15 June, 2009) is sold on or after 16 June, 2012, for Rs 50 lakh and the possession of the above stated independent floor is taken within 1 year from the sale of the plot, Am I entitled to claim deduction from LTCG? Who is liable to pay LTCG? I, my sister-in-law or both.

— S.K. Sharma

A. The facts in the query do not indicate as to why the plot was purchased in the joint names i.e. yourself and your sister-in-law. Further, the relationship of sister-in-law is not clearly evident i.e. whether she is your wife's sister or your brother's wife. In either case, your sister-in-law cannot be treated as your benami and it will be deemed that she is entitled to one-half share in the property. It may be added that this entitlement may have repercussion on account of provisions of Section 56 of the Income-tax Act,1961 (The Act) which may get attracted if she is not within the exempted category of 'relative' and the amount of her share may become liable to be taxed in her hand as income from other sources. Replies to your queries given hereunder are without taking into consideration the above provisions:

• The profit on the sale of plot will be treated as a long-term capital gain in case the plot is sold after three years of the date of purchase. You would be entitled to claim exemption under Section 54F of the Act provided the residential house is purchased within one year before or two years after the date of sale of plot and a sum of Rs 25 lakh (your share of net consideration) is utilised towards such purchase. The facts indicate that you have paid Rs 23 lakh up to November, 2010 i.e. beyond one year of the date of sale of plot and the balance payable is Rs 10 lakh only. You would thus be investing Rs 10 lakh out of the net consideration within two years after the date of sale for the purchase of the flat. In such a case, you would be entitled to a proportionate benefit only. You will thus be liable to pay tax on proportionate amount of long-term capital gain.
• You could have claimed the exemption of the entire amount of capital gain allocable to you, provided the purchase of the flat had been effected within one year before the date of sale of plot.
• Your sister-in-law would be liable to pay tax on her share of long-term capital gain arising on the sale of the plot.

Ancestral property and law implications

Q. My grandfather died many years ago. At the time of his death, he had some agricultural and non- agricultural property in his name. The property was self-acquired by him. This query is in the context of agricultural land only. His two sons, that is my father and my uncle, got the agricultural land transferred in their name in the revenue record. My uncle sold his share of agricultural land some years ago, whereas my father did not sell his share, which still stands transferred in his name. After the death of my mother, my father married for the second time. Both widows died long ago. At the time of his death, my father was survived by the following heirs:

Ist marriage heirs

• One married daughter (me)
• One married brother (expired some years ago after the death of father)

news board

Rational move

Various taxes relating to real estate should be rationalised for affordable housing projects in order to tackle the rapid pace of urbanisation in the Indian cities, according to a survey conducted by accountancy firm Grant Thornton and CII.

"In view of the phenomenal pace of urbanisation, residential real estate ought to be made affordable to accommodate the ever-increasing immigration into our urban centres," Grant Thornton India National Managing Partner Vishesh C Chandiok said in a statement.

Pointing out that Indian cities would be short of more than 35 million housing units by 2012, Chandiok said changes in the tax structure shall be the key to incentivise and promote affordable housing projects in the country.

As many as 63 per cent respondents in the survey believe that "rationalising various direct and indirect taxes under registration of property act, income tax act and service tax is imperative to promoting affordable housing and preventing an impending urban crisis".

The respondents comprised real estate professionals, government officials, architects, planners and academicians. — PTI

Chinese shopping spree in UK

One in three buyers of newly built London homes are Chinese, Knight Frank, residential and commercial real estate firm, has said. Sky News quoted Knight Frank as saying that a decline in the value of the pound has made London more affordable for Far Eastern buyers who want apartments for children studying in Britain, or as an investment.

Chinese buyers have shown interest in London because of its status as one of the world's most developed and highest value property markets.

Referring to Europe's tallest residential tower in Canary Wharf, London, one of the Chinese investors said: "At the start we're not looking for something too expensive. Maybe around 400,000 pounds and we'll see how it goes and if it's going well then family, friends and relatives will come to invest more". A Chinese property consultant believes that people from his country have been showing greater interest in buying apartments in London because the property prices in Hong Kong have been raised by 70 per cent in less than two years.

London is offering better better value than Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, he said, adding that: "For a normal 400,000 pounds investment, you can buy a freehold house in London. But in Beijing you can't even get a central apartment." The value of the Sterling has declined by 25 percent against a range of other currencies since 2007, and Chinese investors are reportedly making investments in London to make double gains once the economy stabilises in Britain. — ANI

green house
Break the hedgetradition
Satish Narula

Concepts in horticulture need a genuine change. Talk of privacy and we have in our mind a hedge. One can see hedges along the pathways and for every periphery we have box hedges. The stereotype visuals are making the otherwise interesting subject dull. So let's use our imagination in this section too and have something that will make the neighbours and visitors say 'it's different'.

Your garden is the most private area which needs a good thick hedge for privacy. Hedge for most, however, means Clerodendron inermi, which, no doubt, is the best amongst the available lot. Others like murraya and aliar have their own disadvantages. While the former is prone to the powdery mildew disease, the latter grows upwards leaving the base open and exposed. If not checked in time the powdery mildew can even kill the plant due to premature leaf shedding and create a "difficult-to-fill" gap.

Some people attempt to plant shrubs like hibiscus as hedge. But this should be attempted only by those who know when to prune it.

Now people have also started growing various kinds of duranta for hedges. But, whosoever floated the idea of growing ficus species plants for hedge along the walls surely had little knowledge of horticulture.

If you have been 'stuck' with the idea of growing the traditional kind of hedges, then it is time to try out some innovative ideas to look different and break the monotony of creating 'boxes'. The hedge can be given a slant cutting and also raised in parts with varying shapes.

Hedge does not always mean a wall of closely clipped shrubs. Those looking for a change have started using climbers and a few tree species, too, for the purpose. The aim is to provide thick growth along the periphery. But what makes such plants popular is the minimum maintenance concept. In the accompanying picture you will find casuarinas being grown as screen. But make sure that these are replaced after a few years otherwise these may lift the boundary wall. The climbers, however, are harmless. Another advantage with climbers is that even a single plant can cover whole of the boundary. Unlike traditional hedges, it does not need repeated clipping or maintenance. And above all, climbers bear excellent blooms in season.

This column appears fortnightly. The writer is a senior horticulturist at PAU and can be reached at satishnarula@yahoo.co.in

Hotels at religious locations

Hospitality firm Sarovar Hotels and Resorts recently entered into a partnership with Africa-based Madhavani Group firm Marasa Hospitality to operate hotels at religious destinations across India.

Under the partnership, the two firms will set up three-star hotels in Rajkot, Tirupati, Bodhgaya and Rishikesh with a combined capacity of 370 rooms.

"Sarovar's partnership with Marasa Hospitality has a plan to build up to 10 hotels at religious destinations in the next five years. Four hotels have already been signed", Sarovar Hotels & Resorts Managing Director Anil Madhok told PTI.

While Sarovar Hotels will provide technical assistance for all the projects besides managing the hotel operations and marketing, Uganda-based Marasa Hospitality will invest in the properties.

"Marasa has not put any restriction on the investment. In the next five years, around Rs 400 crore will be spent to set up around 8-10 properties", Madhok said.

Driven by high demand for quality hotels from pilgrims, many hospitality firms, including Starwood and Hotel Leelaventure, are eyeing to set up hotels in religious destinations.

Starwood is currently setting up a 180-room property under Sheraton brand at Amritsar, which is likely to be operational in the next two years.

"We are currently looking at opportunities at other religious destinations which attract a lot of tourists such as Shirdi, Varanasi and Tirupati", Starwood India Managing Director Dilip Puri said.

Hotel Leelaventure is also working on a diversification plan to set up a chain of three star hotels at pilgrimage locations across India under 'Leela Gardens' brand.

The initiative is being led by Samyukta Nair, the grand daughter of 90-year-old founder of the Hotel Leelaventure C.P Krishnan Nair. The new plan would mark the company's entry into the mid-market hotel segment with the first hotel expected to be launched by 2013.

Pilgrimage destinations such as Varanasi, Mysore, Hardwar, Rishikesh and Nalanda that attract a large number of visitors for religious purposes, will be the target destinations for the company. To start with, there could be 10 such hotels opened by the company. — PTI