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Divali cheer remains elusive Decor trends Vaastu
wisdom Realty bites
Loan zone Launch
pad
Now, a ‘house warming’ loan
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The grey clouds of slowdown that have been casting a shadow over the real estate sector in the region in the past few months have not lifted during the festival season. Traditionally this time is considered auspicious for making big-ticket purchases. This is also the time when developers launch their projects and offer discounts and freebies to cash in on the positive buyer response. According to experts, sale generally picks up by 15 to 20 per cent around Divali. But this year the pace of sale has remained sluggish so far. One of the main reasons for this is the fence-sitting approach adopted by the investors, who are waiting for prices to slide further. Market watchers say that this season the realty market has primarily been end-user driven. The Tribune reporters give an overview of the property scene in different cities in the region this festival season Tricity Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula markets that are seen as the premier destinations in the regio n have remained slack this year. With a five to eight per cent drop in prices this year the investors have not got the desired returns and as a result not many are investing in property this Divali. “The resale or secondary market is surely dull this festival season as there is very little resale going on within Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali areas which shows that very few investors are there in the market,” says I.P Singh of Mohali-based Abode Realtors. However, end users are picking up housing products in the preipheral areas and especially in the GMADA region. “There is a shift in the buyer profile this year as it is mostly the salaried people who are making bookings in the upcoming projects that will be ready in 12 to 24 months. And as far as this buyer segment is concerned the festival season sales have been reasonable, especially in Greater Mohali and Zirakpur areas”, adds I.P. Singh. With mostly end-users in the buying mode, the festival offers made by developers have also seen a shift. Though cars, LCDs, gold coins, ACs etc are still in the reckoning, it is the cash discounts and subvention and assured rental schemes that have garnered good response this time. “An end user generally looks for offers that actually reduce his burden of buying a home over the next two- three years,” says Prateek Mittal, Executive Director, Sushma Buildtech. The group’s assured rental scheme in which buyers were promised an assured rental on bookings till the time of possession got good response. Market analysts, however, maintain that for end users this is the right time to finalise deals as prices are likely to appreciate in the tricity region in the next few months. Patiala In the Patiala district the festival season has certainly not brought smiles on the faces of those dealing in the realty sector. According to a majority of real estate consultants, the ban on the sanctioning of the building plans in unapproved colonies besides the arbitrary ban on the execution of the sale deeds has made the investors and end user s stay away from the property market. Chairman of Sara Group, Satish Goyal, said that the real estate business was passing through one of the worst phases because of the negative approach of the state government. “Whenever the government wants, it bans the execution of the sale deeds. Apart from this, Patiala Development Authority and the civic body are accepting the building plans with the fee for the unapproved colonies but a ban has been put on sanctioning the building plans”, he said. Goyal further said that in this way the government, no doubt, was collecting revenue but people were being harassed. “Those interested in purchasing land are apprehensive about making any investment because if the building plan is not sanctioned later, they will not be able to get housing loans from banks”, added Goyal. Expressing similar views, Rajinder Bansal of Shamsons Colonisers Private Limited said the real estate market is passing through a severe recession. “Since, the state government has not yet cleared any policy pertaining to the unauthorised colonies, investors and potential buyers are refraining from purchasing land in the Patiala district”, he said, while demanding that the state government must come out with a proper policy about the issues mentioned above. Amritsar Buyers in the city and the surrounding areas are not showing any enthusiasm at present as the demand for plots, houses and flats has dropped by at least 15 to 20 per cent when compared to that last year. Sanjay Sachdeva, President of AIPL Ambuja Group said the off take had been slow and the buyer interest has been weak this season in spite of great offers made by different companies in the city. The housing inventory in the holy city is huge as a number of projects are coming up in the peripheral areas. According to Chief Administrator Amritsar Management Authority, Sandip Rishi, there are three mega projects in the city with 70 small and big developers who are offering good prices to attract customers. Although, the prices had generally remained stable in the approved and authorised colonies — both for commercial and residential property — the lack of buoyancy and weak investor sentiment have added to the woes of developers on Amritsar G.T Road, Airport Road, Loharka and other nearby areas of the city. Sarabjit Singh Raju, who has recently launched Alfa G and Venus County projects, said though his group had managed to register and book a reasonable amount of plots but this Divali had not brought any cheer for the promoters. Krishan Kumar Kukku of SG Group of Developers, which has already developed many projects in the area said though there were just a handful of buyers in the market, projects with fully developed infrastructure are always in demand. The slowdown effect may have derailed the hopes of a festival season revival, but light of hope is still shining for many developers who are confident that things will improve in the near future. Local property broker Micheal Uppal explained that things will improve in December and January when a large number of NRIs come to the city. The SG Group head also mirrored the same sentiment by saying, “We are waiting for NRI investment in coming months which would bring the realty sector out of the present slump.” Bathinda The festival season has failed to evoke good response from buyers in Bathinda in spite of festival offers and discounts. In a move to attract investors, some realty players had offered schemes like discounts on early bookings, waiver of an EMI, easy payment plan and extended period of additional maintenance work. This festival season, people had high hopes from the Bathinda Development Authority’s (BDA) Phase 4 and 5 projects. The draw for plots in these two phases of BDA was to be conducted in December last year. But it could not be held as the owners of land moved the Supreme Court. “Had the draw been taken out in time, we would have saved our money and time and a lot of us would have already constructed homes,” said Harpreet Kaur Bhullar, one of the applicants. “Real estate market here has remained lackluster for most part of the year and the same sentiment is being witnessed in the festival season as well. The discounts and frebies offers have also failed to attract buyers who don’t want to make a hasty decision and seem to be waiting for the prices to fall further before finalising a deal. The buyer has become very intelligent and can see through all kinds of gimmicks that developers are using to attract them,” says a local contractor J.S
Rangi. Ludhiana Though there has been a continuous slump in the real estate business, genuine buyers interested in buying residential plots have kept the festival fervour alive in this industrial capital of Punjab. “Of course, there are very few buyers in the market as the real estate business is not picking-up. Those in dire need, are making investments. The buyers, who earlier made huge investments in properties to get good returns, are not there this festival season. Secondly before making any investment, customers make sure that it is a clean deal (not an illegal colony)”, said Chaman Lal Chaitly, who is in real estate business for the past several decades. He also said that big investors were not on the scene as most of the buyers were interested in buying properties below Rs 60-70 lakh. While Satbir Singh, another property dealer, said the government was coming up with policies to regularise illegal colonies, which may improve the situation in the realty sector here over the next few months. “The colonies on the outskirts are not getting buyers but yes, buyers prefer properties inside the city for residential or commercial use”, he added. Meanwhile, builders who had invested huge amounts in “elite” colonies, are still waiting for customers. — With inputs from Geetu Vaid, Umesh Dewan, Megha Mann, Ashok Sethi and Shivani Bhakoo
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Decor trends
Right location In Indian tradition, a puja room usually stood outside the house in the garden. But now, you can design a puja room inside your homes. According to elders and Vastu shastra, puja room should ideally be located in the north-east corner of the house as it is associated with good fortune and prosperity. Never make a puja room under the staircase or in the basement and make sure that there is no bathroom or kitchen above or next to it.
Simplicity and grace Place for deities An altar is a must to display all idols. You can also use wood, marble and brass shrines or mandaps. Portable mandaps or cabinets are also available where you can simply hang them on the wall if space is an issue in your home. Cover the shelves or altar with bright silk or velvet cloth and then display the idols of the deities on them. You can hang miniature garlands of flowers, pearls and beads around the base of idols. It’s visually more appealing if idols of all deities displayed on the altar are made of the same material. Accessorise the room with brass or silver accessories. Place small bowls, plates, incense burners and silver containers near the images of deities. The door of a puja room should be a double-levered one and not one single door. If your budget allows, then go for a carved wooden door with small bells. If you use music during prayers then make arrangements on the cabinet to place a small music system and place your CDs and cassettes neatly. Don’t use wooden flooring in a puja room. Tiles, especially fire resistant tiles, would be an ideal option.
Add some colour Place colourful pillows or prayer rugs on the floor for sitting during the Diwali pujan. Hang framed paintings of gods and goddesses on the walls. If you don’t have enough space to sit for your prayers, then place the pictures at the usual height. If you will be sitting down to pray then keep all the frames at a lower height. Make a colourful rangoli at the entrance and decorate it with fresh flowers and brightly painted diyas. Use coloured light bulbs and flower garlands to decorate the room for the festivities.
Right ventilation Take proper care of ventilation in the room. The puja room must be well ventilated as one often burns a jyot, camphor and incense sticks which emit strong fumes. It is usually never recommended to have a prayer area in your bedroom, but due to shortage of space if your puja area is in the bedroom or living room, try partitioning it with a wooden screen or glass panels. If you are making a makeshift mandir, just for the Diwali puja, then you can make an altar in your living room and invite your family and friends to join you in prayers. — The writer is a Chandigarh-based in interior and landscape designer
Pics courtesy Tradus
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Vaastu
wisdom Here are some tips for an auspicious Dhanteras and Divali Dhanteras
Goddess Lakshmi is also worshipped on Dhanteras and the best direction for this is the west, so it is better to set up the puja area in western direction for this day.
Divali
The writer is Founder Mahavastu
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Realty bites Lodha Developers has completed the acquisition of 17-acre prime land in Mumbai from realty major DLF for Rs 2,725 crore — the largest realty deal so far this year. In August, DLF had announced the sale of this land parcel to Lodha Developers for about Rs 2,700 crore, almost four times higher than the price it had paid in 2005. India’s largest real estate company DLF had bought the land from National Textile Corporation for Rs 703 crore and it decided to sell this piece of land as part of the strategy to exit from non-core business. Lodha had paid Rs 500 crore as advance to DLF in August. In a statement, Lodha said the company “has completed its planned acquisition of the prime 17-acre Mumbai Textile mill property at Worli from DLF Ltd.” Lodha had entered into a binding agreement with DLF to acquire DLF’s arm Jawala Real Estate, which owned this land. “This transaction, which was expected to complete by the end of October, has been concluded as per the envisaged timeframe. "The acquisition is for a consideration of Rs 1,225 crore, while additional Rs 1,500 crore approx has been paid to DLF against their loans utilised for project expenses,” the statement said. The construction of the project, with five million sq ft of saleable area, is going on and the company expects to open bookings in the next 2-3 months.
— Agencies
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Tax tips Q. I purchased a 200-yard plot from HUDA and made the payment in six yearly installments while I was in service and constructed a house on it (after the plot was registered in my name by HUDA). The construction work was completed in May, 2011. I gave it on rent and now also it is on rent. Now I want it to gift it to my wife so that rental income is counted in her income and also that the house becomes her asset. I am now a pensioner and a tax payee for the past more than 30 years. Please let me know whether I have to gift the same through registry (by paying registration charges) or get it transferred in HUDA records by paying a transfer fee as per HUDA rules. Is there any other method to give the house to my wife to save tax?
— Vijay Singal A. The gift of immovable property to wife will require the execution of a gift deed. This gift deed would be subject to stamp duty leviable on the market value of the property being gifted to wife. Such gift deed will also have to be registered with the Sub-Registrar. The requirement to get the property transferred in HUDA records would not serve the purpose as the transfer of immovable property without registration would not be considered a valid transfer. It may be added that a gift of any transfer of property to wife without consideration would not enable you to save tax as in accordance with the provisions of Section 64 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 (The Act), the income from such property will be deemed to be your income for the purpose of taxability. In case you want to save tax on the income from such property during your lifetime, the transfer of property will have to be for a consideration. How much time is allowed for the construction of house?
A. In the given case the capital gain arising on the sale of a residential flat will be considered as long-term capital gain. Such gain will have to be utilised for the construction of a residential house within three years after the date of sale of the residential flat so as to enable you to seek exemption from the taxability of the long- term capital gain so arising. In case the amount of capital gain is not utilised for the construction of a residential house before the due date of filing income-tax return for the year in which the capital gain arose, the amount of capital gain or un-utilised amount out of such capital gain as the case may be, should be deposited in a bank account under the capital gain scheme so as to avail the exemption. The amount so deposited is available for being utilised for the construction of a residential house within the period as aforesaid. Deduction claim on interest on EMIs paid by bank Q. I had booked an under-construction flat in 2010. I was promised that the possession would be handed over within two years of the allotment i.e. by end of the year 2012. The EMIs had been fixed accordingly. The last EMI has to be paid before taking possession. The builder has now extended the date of giving possession. The possession is expected to be handed over by mid-2013. What is the position of the interest which I am paying to the bank as bank is paying EMIs on my behalf to the builder. Can I claim deduction for such interest? I am told by someone that the deduction of interest is allowable only after getting the possession of the flat. — Rajiv A. The information given to you is correct that the deduction in respect of interest payable on the amount borrowed for the purchase or construction of a residential house is allowable after the possession of the flat is handed over to the purchaser by the builder. However, the amount of interest paid prior to the period of obtaining the possession is allowable as deduction from income from house property in five equal installments beginning from the year in which the possession is taken. Please note that in case of self-occupied property, the total limit for allowability of interest (current year as well as 1/5th share of installments) should not exceed Rs 1,50,000. Will stamp duty be paid on the basis of Circle rate? Q. I had received an advance of Rs 20 lakh towards the selling of my residential house in Gurgaon and purchased a residential flat in Delhi. I am informed that for the purposes of the computation of capital gain, the circle rate will be taken as the rate for computing capital gain. Is the information given to me correct? — Raghu A. Section 50C of the Act provides where the consideration received or accruing as a result of the transfer on the capital gain being land or building or both is less than the value adopted or assessed by any authority of state government for the purposes of payment of stamp duty in respect of such transfer, the value so adopted or assessed shall, for the purposes of section 48 of the Act, be deemed to be full value of consideration received or accruing as a result of such transfer. Therefore, the information given to you is correct and the capital gains on the sale of your house will have to be computed on the basis of the circle rate if any, notified by the state government. In case the consideration received by you is less than the value adopted or assessed for the purposes of the payment of stamp duty, the stamp duty will have to be paid on the basis of circle rate and capital gain will be computed by taking into account such higher value.
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Loan zone
Q. What is reverse mortage loan what are its pros and cons? — Surinder Kumar Makin A. If you don’t have the enough money for the post-retirement life, taking a reverse mortgage loan is one of the options if you own a house. This scheme is not picked up in India because of the emotional attachment with residential property. Most of the parents want to leave their house to their heirs hence they don't want to mortgage the property. However, it may be useful if your situation permits mortgaging the property; it yields higher income instead of renting out the property. If you want to get monthly income after retirement till your death, you can use your property as the mortgage. As a first step, talk to the banker and explain about your interest on mortgaging the property. The banker will visit your property and put the valuation based on the current market trend. Then you can choose the periodic payment from the bank whether it can be monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly. You will start receiving the payment from bank as the loan. Since this is considered a loan, you will not be liable to pay the tax. It is not an income for you. If you give the house on rent, that is income and you need to pay the income tax. Also you will receive very less as compared to the mortgage loan. The problem in India is, this market has not been picked up at all, and most of the people are not interested in mortgaging their property. There are some cons which stop taking the reverse mortgage loans.
After the death of the last surviving spouse, the lender recovers the loan by selling the property. The legal heirs can settle the loan and take back the house. If there is an excess amount on selling the house, the money will be given to the legal heirs. Reverse mortgage would be the choice if you don't have sufficient pension funds. But, this should not be the first choice.
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Launch
pad Supertech Limited will be developing limited edition super-luxurious private villas, Ritz Chateaux, in Sector 74, Noida. The villas will be available in two sizes i.e. 367 sq.yd and 660 sq.yd and will offer spacious living with amenities like private swimming pools, waterfalls, Jacuzzi, airy interiors, verdure gardens, avant-garde fixtures. According to R K Arora, CMD, Supertech Limited, “These designer villas will provide the best in class and are targeted to cater to the real connoisseur who wants to have ultimate luxurious experience of life time.” The cost of these premium villas will start from Rs 12 crore. Avalon Regal Court, Bhiwadi Avalon Group has come up with a new residential project Avalon Regal Court at Bhiwadi. This new group housing project offers 800 flats, including (2 BHK, 2 BHK + Study and 3 BHK) and is valued at approximately Rs 300 crore (sale value). The project is spread over 12 acres and will be completed in three years. The project’s basic rate is Rs 2,300 per sq.ft (all inclusive). — Based on information provided by the developers
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The
grey clouds of slowdown that have been casting a shadow over the real estate
sector in the region in the past few months have not lifted during the
festival season. Traditionally this time is considered auspicious for making
big-ticket purchases. This is also the time when developers launch their
projects and offer discounts and freebies to cash in on the positive buyer
response. According to experts, sale generally picks up by 15 to 20 per cent
around Divali. But this year the pace of sale has remained sluggish so far.
Here are some tips for an auspicious Dhanteras and Divali
Tax tips
Decoration, decor and divinity are the essential elements of Diwali and all festivities are incomplete without a tastefully done up prayer area. The puja room is a sacred space that should be respectful to the deities worshiped within, as well as create an atmosphere of harmony and spirituality to pray and meditate in peace. This Diwali decorate your puja rooms in a way that adds spark to the colourful and bright celebrations.
The décor of your puja room should be kept simple. Paint a puja room in pleasant neutrals. Soft white, pale yellow and ‘barely blue’ create a meditative atmosphere. It is usually believed that the ceiling of the puja room should be lower than that of the other rooms in the house. So go for a false ceiling with proper lighting that illuminates the altar.
The day is auspicious for purchasing gold and silver articles or metal utensils. It is believed that new metal products brought on this day bring in prosperity. As per Vaastu Shastra, the metal objects bought on this day can be more effective if they are kept in the identified zone of metals — west zone of the house. If your jewellery is stored in west and other metal artefacts are also kept in this zone, the house will attract wealth.
Q.
I want to sell a residential flat that I had purchased in 1980, and want to buy a residential plot and construct a house on it. Please advise whether I have to pay tax on the capital gain. How much time is allowed for the construction of house?
— Vishal Bhardwaj
What is reverse mortgage loan?