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Wrap up 2012
Despite plunging sales, demand for luxe homes remained high decor trends:
fireplaces
Ground
Realty Launch pad Tax tips Vaastu wisdom Loan zone Pick of the week
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Wrap up 2012 While the iron grip of slowdown continued in 2012 and low buyer and investor interest kept the market all over the country tepid, some key initiatives taken by the government to give a boost to the real estate sector remained the highlight of the year. Reforms that rocked Another significant reform measure implemented by the government was the permission granted to foreign retailers to establish operations in the country. The government allowed FDI up to 51 per cent in multi-brand retail and up to 100 per cent in single-brand retail, thereby opening the doors for global retailers to establish operations in India. While these measures have been introduced with riders regarding the sourcing of raw materials, minimum investment and target cities, nonetheless this has helped rejuvenate global investor interest in India. Single brand retailers such as Ikea and Pavers have already been granted approval by the government to set base in India. These measures will help support growth of organised retail real estate in the country. Other positive policy initiatives during the year which will have far-reaching impact on real estate development include government approving a plan for the development of housing and basic facilities in slums across 250 cities to make country slum-free by 2020 and relaxing rules for land transfer to public-private-partnership projects. But the most progressive and much-needed reform for regulating real estate business and land acquisition took a back seat, as crucial bills on these were not introduced in Parliament. So was the case with incentivised policies to push affordable and rental housing and according industry status to real estate. Retail on the upside Key markets in India recorded steady demand for retail space in 2012 as international and domestic retailers continued to open stores along the high streets and in prime malls despite concerns over the domestic economic outlook. The period saw a steady flow of enquiries from new-to-market brands, particularly in the apparel and F&B segments. Although several overseas groups remained upbeat, there were signs that some retailers were turning more cautious as consumer spending weakened and the domestic economy slowed. The retail mall supply across the top seven cities (NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata) slowed considerably as compared to the supply recorded in 2011. Moving ahead, transaction activity is expected to increase on the back of improved consumer spending and expanding mid-income purchasing power. High street formats continued to dominate the retail landscape whilst most luxury retailers preferred to operate from five star hotels and premium malls. New markets are also coming under consideration as international retailers expand their focus beyond the top three cities to include the likes of Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and
Chandigarh. The residential real estate market across the key cities in India was impacted due to sluggish economic growth and high inflation. The steady rise in interest rates during the year deterred home buyers from their purchasing decision. During 2012 residential sales witnessed a decline in all major cities particularly in NCR (National Capital Region), Mumbai and Bangalore due to high interest rates coupled with delayed completion timelines. Developers also continued to face the challenges of high borrowing costs, rising input prices and shrinking profit margins. Interest in premium and luxury housing was restricted to certain affluent prime locations only, while mid segment and affordable housing continued to remain the predominant demand driver especially in peripheral markets. Although demand showed signs of improvement towards the end of the year, developers are attempting to sell off their existing stock by attracting end users and investors alike. In addition, the easing of mortgage rates is likely to improve buyer sentiment and rejuvenate market demand over the next few months. Prices are likely to remain stable, with some downward pressures in most markets in a short to medium term, till the pressures of unsold inventory are eased out. Star performers During 2012 Gurgaon, Noida, Bangalore, Bandra Kurla Complex, Lower Parel, Hyderabad and Chennai were the key performing markets for the office sector. Metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and smaller cities such as Jaipur, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad remained on the priority list for most domestic and international retailers. After the strong momentum that the residential market attained in 2011, residential sales declined during the first half of 2012 in all leading cities, particularly in NCR (National Capital Region), Mumbai and Bangalore. Over the next few months, moving into 2013, consumers will hope for a reduction in interest rates, which, in turn, might help in reviving demand in the sector. This will also propel growth in construction activity across the country. Government measures regarding permitting foreign investment in sectors such as retail, interest subvention schemes for the low economic strata and enhancing liquidity in the market are likely to revive the demand, especially in residential and retail
sectors. Commercial scene lacked cheer The commercial office market segment witnessed a shift in occupier focus towards more efficient use of existing portfolio on the back of stagnation in economic growth. Across key cities, office space absorption witnessed a decline in 2012 as compared to that in 2011. Some micro-markets in different cities saw an increase in transaction activity due to increased focus on cost efficiency. While the existing vacancy levels and lower demand led to a steep deceleration in supply addition across most leading cities in the country, rental values remained largely stable across most micro-markets as occupier expansion faced cost pressures and consolidation continued to be the key theme. It is anticipated that supply dynamics will continue to dictate rental movement in the coming quarters, with values being largely stable across most micro-markets. Concerns over the global economic outlook are expected to continue to weigh on occupier sentiment in the short to medium term and the overall mood in the leasing market is expected to remain cautious. Demand is expected to weaken in most markets and majority of the leasing deals are likely to be for small and medium-sized office space.
Highlights
Trends Residential
Commercial
Retail
Challenges
— The writer is CMD, CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd.
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Hot-selling areas (Area sold per sq ft)Zirakpur, Mohali 25,92,521 Dera Bassi, Mohali 9,77,134 Mullanpur 6,38,487 Areas along NH 22 5,67,615 Panchkula 4,95,998 The backbenchers Sector 92, Mohali 9,375 Sector 125, Mohali 7,766 Areas along NH-1 5,250 Sector 109, Mohali 4,920 Areas along NH 21 988
Source: PropEquity
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Despite plunging sales, demand for luxe homes remained high Driven by new offerings, greater influx of NRIs and changing lifestyles, the demand for luxury and ultra-luxury homes with a price-tag in the range of Rs 1-20 crore, or even more in some cases, made a comeback in metros in 2012, according to a report. Despite sluggishness in overall real estate sector, a few luxury residential projects were launched in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Chennai in October, according to a report by real estate consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). “Demand for luxury housing is growing gradually mainly due to the rise in the number of high networth individuals (HNIs), rapid pace of urbanisation, influx of global lifestyle trends and an increase in the number of NRIs,” real estate consultancy firm JLL research head Ashutosh Limaye said. For instance, the per unit price at under-construction World One Tower by Lodha Group in Central Mumbai has a price tag of up to Rs 50 crore. Also, the recent fall in the value of rupee in global financial markets boosted buyers’ interest in investing in luxury housing and encouraged developers to launch luxury and super-luxury housing projects priced from Rs 1 crore and running up to Rs 20 crore, Limaye said. The total value of luxury homes, launched in 182 luxury residential apartments, offering a total of 25,570 units across the top seven cities of NCR-Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata in 2008-2012 was around $ 30 billion, the report said. “The value of luxury homes will be fuelled by the presence of around 1.53 lakh HNIs whose numbers are growing at a fast rate, people who inherited wealth and have dynamic lifestyles, as well as those in the newly rich segment,” Limaye said. Lodha, Sunteck, Kohinoor Developers, Sobha, DLF, Hiranandani are some of the players who largely cater to the luxury residential segment. To attract buyers, developers are trying out a variety of new products in the luxury housing segment, including Singaporean and American-style apartments, homes that are similar to plush hotels and branded luxury residences. While Sunteck has tied-up with Disney Consumer Products to launch Disney Inspired Homes in its Goregaon project, Lodha has partnered with Giorgio Armani to design the apartments and villas in its ambitious project ‘World One’ touted as the world's tallest residential tower. Developers are also increasingly adding lifestyle amenities such as golf greens, schools, hypermarts, jogging tracks, independent swimming pools, complete home automation, modern clubs with exclusive members’ lounges, spas.
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decor trends:
fireplaces Learn the proper way of lighting and extinguishing a fire. Gas fireplaces
In recent years, gas fireplaces have also become a new trend replacing the old and traditional fireplaces. Gas fireplaces are clean, less problematic, and are decorative like traditional wood fireplaces. Even though these come with a number of benefits, the price of gas is a deterrent for some users. Decorative element The fireplace is often the focal point of the room and its mantle should be decorated beautifully. The mantel can add a lot of decoration to your home from custom colours and looks. Wood or stone can also add to the living room décor. The classic mirror-over-fireplace trick can reflect traditional or modern tastes, depending on which style of mirror you choose. Paintings, too, can be used instead of mirrors. You can include decorative statues that can be placed on your mantel. Deciding what statue to choose from starts with what look you are trying to achieve and the theme of the décor in the room. Candles are an expected feature of a traditional fireplace mantel. Two candles on either sides or a group of three on one side balanced with a tall accessory on the other side is a great option. You can place flowers, potted plants or a mantle clock. A modern décor calls for a much simpler display. An electric presence Electric fireplaces don’t fail in comparison with gas and wood fireplaces especially when it comes to the electric fireplace mantels and its stone fireplace surrounds. However, these come in a wide variety with stone fireplace surrounds and electric fireplace mantels depending on the customer’s preference. In terms of heating capability, electric fireplaces can provide heat to a 400 sq ft room. Temperature can also be remotely controlled and be set at a preferred level. An electric fireplace is an electric heater that mimics a wood or coal burning fireplace with either light or visual flames. They are often placed in conventional fireplaces which can no longer be used for fires or can be mounted on a wall where there was previously no fireplace. They plug into the electrical sockets in the wall and can run on a “flame only” setting or can be used as a heater. One downside to these fireplaces is that they are considered less effective than the traditional ones.
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Ground
Realty Giving finishing touches to the ceilings with Plaster of Paris (POP) has now become an essential component of the construction of a house. Plain looking and plastered ceilings are no more acceptable. POP finish is in fact considered a benchmark in assessing the quality of construction work and a symbol of fondness with which the house owner has built his house. But POP work demands attention on many fronts. Here are a few important points to be kept in mind while getting POP work done: The stage:
POP work should be started when the plastering work inside the house has been completed, flooring has been laid but its grinding has not been started. In case tiles are to be used in flooring, POP work can be done before the laying of tiles and even before laying the under layer of lean concrete in flooring. POP work shouldn’t be started when only sub base of flooring has been laid as lots of POP drops on the floor. It is difficult to remove it from the lean concrete before the laying marble, granite or tiles. The best time to carry out the POP work is, therefore, after laying of the flooring. Checks:
It should be ensured that all the electric conduits have been provided in the walls and the ceiling. Check that all wiring and cables for electrical provisions, telephones, TVs and inverter have been provided by the electrician. Electricians often miss running of some wires and make recesses in the walls running up to the ceiling. In such cases, POP work often gets damaged. Assign minimum period:
POP work demands erection of scaffolds in the rooms to allow the workers to do the work. Also, POP mixture prepared by them keeps dropping on the floor. During such time, no other activity can be carried out inside the house. POP work activity should, therefore, be planned in such a manner that it gets completed in the minimum possible time. Prepare designs:
In order to get the POP work completed in minimum period, room to room POP work designs should be got prepared from the architect well in advance. This will avoid any interruption in the progress of this work. POP designs:
Sky is the limit in choosing the designs for your house. These days, geometrical designs are preferred over floral designs and no band is run along the joints of walls and ceiling. Area to be covered:
All rooms including toilets, walk in cupboards, dressing rooms, basement, kitchen can have POP finishing. However, be more vigilant when POP work is being done in dressing rooms and toilets as workers tend to be careless here. In case steel shuttering is used in laying RCC slabs for the house, cement plaster is avoided on its underside and this cost is saved. In such cases, providing POP becomes essential to give a proper finish to the ceiling. Hire a contractor:
Good POP work gangs possess amazing expertise. Hand over any design to them and they can convert it into reality with ease. Overhead work is often considered most difficult but they are so habitual of doing it that it often becomes difficult to find even the slightest defect in their work. A POP work gang should be selected after checking its reputation and actually seeing the jobs done by them already. Through rate work:
While almost all other activities in the house are got done on labour rate basis, the trend is to get the POP work done on through rate basis. This proves quite suitable to the house builder as he is saved of all the spade work in arranging the materials. In case POP false ceiling is provided in some rooms, it is also included in through rate work. Important terms:
While allowing POP work on through rate basis to a party, the time to be taken in finishing the job should be clearly decided as the activities of grinding of floor and painting work can be started only on the completion of this work. In case the building has more than a floor, an understanding should be reached that POP work shall first be started at one floor only so that other activities may begin on it when POP gang switches over to the other floor. Rate:
The prevalent rates for false ceiling work is Rs 85 to Rs 110 per sq ft and Rs 25 to Rs 45 per sq ft for simple POP work. It should be made clear to the work gang that they would clean all the flooring of POP deposits as lots of POP mixture gets deposited on the floor during the finishing of a room. It is better to give a contract on per sq ft rate . Coordination with other gangs:
Whenever POP false ceiling is to be provided in a room, POP work gang has to work in close coordination with electrical work gang that has to run flexible conduits and wires in the GI channel network created by the POP work gang. When the channels are fixed by the POP gang, they should inform the electrical work gang to do their work. Fixing of wire mesh and application of POP should be done only after completion of electrical work. In addition to laying of conduits and wires, the electrical gang should fix the fan rods and clamps for the ceiling fans. In case a chandelier is to be hung, the electrical gang should hang the necessary chain and hook for the same as it is not possible to do this work after the fixing of wire mesh and application of POP. Adhesion to the ceiling:
Preference should always be given to either make the ceiling rough by using a grinder before the application of POP on it. Otherwise, wire mesh should be fixed, covering the full length and breadth of each room by drilling nails in the underside of ceiling. This will ensure full adhesion of POP to the ceiling ensuring that it would never come off. Quality:
Though POP is brought by the POP work gang, the house owner should keep a check on its quality. It is also called Gypsum building plaster. It is supplied in bags of 5 kg, 15 kg and 25 kg. The POP contractor has to watch for two of its properties for his benefit. One is that it sets slowly so that he gets more time in using a prepared mixture. Second is that it has less consumption per sq ft. For the house owner, fineness of POP matters more than its whiteness. Mostly, POP work is later painted with a suitable paint. In case, no paint is to be applied on it, then whiteness of POP should also be checked. Fineness of POP helps in producing more accurate lines and beautiful designs. POP should conform to IS 2547 Part I. Many reputed brands are now available at competitive rates. On drying, no shrinkage in POP should take place and no hairline cracks should appear in it. — This column is published fortnightly
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Launch pad Luxury villas in Karnal Alpha
G:Corp has sent offers of possession to owners of 28 luxury villas in Alpha International City Karnal (AICK). Each villa has been developed in 162 sq yd plot in G+II format. Located on NH-1, AICK is the flagship township of the NCR-based, FDI-funded real estate developer. The villas have been designed by Montreal-based architectural firm ARCOP. More than 1500 persons are estimated to move into the integrated township by the end of 2013. Approximately 400 units are currently in various stages of construction at the site. The group has already delivered approximately 114 acres as part of the development in Phase I of the township. The township was recently recognised as the Best Integrated Township of the Year by CMO Asia Awards 2012.
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Tax tips I want to get the land registered in my name
A. The land can be registered in your name provided your mother as well as sisters, who are also the legal heirs, give their consent in this regard. Normally the consent is given in the form of a Deed of Relinquishment. This should be in your favour and is to be executed on stamp paper of requisite value. On the basis of Deed of Relinquishment and other documents required by the municipal authority, it should be possible for the authorities to mutate the land in your name. Can my son claim double deduction on HRA and loan interest?
A. The answers to your queries are as under: Section 10(13A) of the Income-tax Act 1961 (the Act) provides for the exemption of house rent allowance granted to an employee by his employer to meet the expenditure actually incurred on payment of rent in respect of residential accommodation occupied by the assessee, to such extent as may be prescribed having regard to the area or place in which such accommodation is situated and other relevant considerations. The above exemption is not allowable in case the residential accommodation occupied by the assessee is owned by him or the assessee has not actually incurred expenditure on payment of rent in respect of the residential accommodation occupied by him. In this case your son did not own the accommodation occupied by him and was receiving HRA and has also paid the rentals. In view of the above specific requirements of Section 10(13A) of the Act, your son is entitled to the exemption in respect of the house rent allowance to the extent permissible under law since none of the prohibitions described above are applicable in his case. Deduction in respect of interest paid for amount borrowed for the acquisition of a house property is allowable under Section 24 of the Act. Such interest can be claimed as deduction only by owner of the property and who has acquired the property with borrowed funds. There is no prohibition in the Act for deduction of interest on the amount borrowed for acquisition of the house property even though the assessee is living in a hired accommodation. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal in a particular decision has held that a house for residential purposes does not require a compulsory residence in that house. It only requires that house should be available for residential purposes of the assessee all the time. The essential aspect of the matter would be whether the assessee has retained exclusive control over possession of the house owned by him though he may not be actually present in the house, when he was away from it, he is still in constructive possession of his residential house. In this case the claim of the assessee that the property was self occupied was accepted by the Tribunal (CIT vs. Deepak Seth) (2005) (1 SOT 35) (Delhi) In view of the above decision your son should be entitled to a deduction of interest paid/payable in respect to the flat acquired by him for his self residence.
Date of conveyance deed decides ownership
A. On the basis of the facts given in the query, the cost of the plot would work out at Rs 3,08,312 (2,77,712 + 30,600). The registration of plot having been done in your favour, the profit arising on sale of plot on January 21, 2013 will be treated as a short-term capital gain and no benefit of indexation would be available. This is because you became owner of the plot from the date of execution of conveyance deed in your favour. The said plot has, therefore, not been held by you for more than three years. The short-term capital gain would thus work out at Rs 6,91,688. This would be added to your other income and such total income would be taxable on the applicable slab rates. Do I need to register a GPA by an NRI in India? Q. My brother is a US citizen. He owns some ancestral property in India. He gave me GPA, (General Power of Attorney) duly signed and stamped by Notary in USA to sell this property. Is this GPA (of a foreign national) to be registered in India? If so, then under what Section? Kindly clarify. — Mahesh A. In accordance with the provisions of Section 32 of the Registration Act 1908, every document required to be registered under the aforesaid Act shall be presented at the Property Registration Office by a person executing the document or by the representative or assignee of such a person or by the agent of such person, representative or assign duly authorised by power of attorney executed or authenticated in the manner stated in the said Act. Section 33 of the Act provides that in case a person does not reside in India a power of attorney should be attested by the Notary Public or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Council or Vice- Council or representative of Central Government. The power of attorney received by you, duly signed and stamped by Notary Public in USA should be sufficient for representing your brother for executing a sale deed. I may add that the authorities in India normally insist that a power of attorney executed outside India should also be registered in India. Non-deposit of sale proceeds in the right account
Q. I have owned a residential plot allotted from PUDA for more than three years. I sold the letter of intent (for which 25 per cent was already paid by me to the authority) for Rs 12 lakh in April 2011. However, due to ignorance, this amount was not deposited in the capital gains account and was deposited by me in a savings bank account (solely for this purpose) and I got an FD made for this amount. This whole fixed deposit was encashed in October 2012, and further paid whole amount to make payment of installment towards purchasing a flat (under construction). My question is have I fulfilled the requirements to claim exemption from tax liability in this case? — Raghubir Singh A. The right to allotment of a property would be construed as a capital asset and since it was held for more than three years, the same would be a long-term capital asset. The provisions of Section 54F of the Income-tax Act 1961 (the Act) require that the amount of net consideration arising on the sale of a long-term capital asset which is not appropriated by the assessee towards the purchase of a residential house within one year before the date on which the transfer of a long-term capital asset took place or which is not utilised for the purchase or construction of a residential house before the due date of furnishing the return of income under Section 139 of the Act, shall be deposited before the said date in an account in any bank or institution as may be specified and utilised in accordance with any scheme which the Central Government may frame by notification in the official gazette. In your case the due date was July 31, 2012 and you have not deposited the unutilised amount of net consideration under capital gain scheme as required under Section 54F of the Act. However, recently Mumbai ITAT in the case of Kishore H. Galaya vs. ITO (ITA No. 7326/Mum./2010) has held that non-deposit of unutilised amount under capital gain scheme was only a technical default and in case intention of the assessee was to utilise the amount towards construction on the plot, the exemption under Section 54 of the Act would be allowable. The provisions of Section 54 and 54F being on similar lines, you should be able to claim the exemption from capital gains tax in respect of capital gain arising on the sale of the plot.
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Vaastu wisdom Q. Which is most appropriate direction for staircase? — Sudeep
Q. The construction work of our house is nearing completion. Please suggest the colour scheme for different areas. — Shaheen A.
You can choose the colours as follows: Bedroom: Light colours are suitable for bedrooms. Pink, blue, green, gray and lavender in their lighter shades keep the rooms tranquil and induce good sleep. Pink or cream coloured tiles or marble are good for the
flooring. Kitchen: Kitchen must have some tinge of red in it depicting fire. It can be utensils, or any other items. White or blue are suitable for walls and
flooring. Guest room: For active and pleasant atmosphere prefer yellow, green, blue, orange or lavender in their lighter
shades. Study room: To improve concentration and for pleasantness opt for green, blue, light purple which also improve
memory. Children’s room: Bright colours are suitable for baby rooms be it pink, blue, yellow orange or
purple Bathroom: White, light gray, pink or any pastel shade is suitable.
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Loan zone
A. If you can postpone taking a home loan for another three months then you are likely to get loan for 0.50% to I per cent lower interest rates. RBI is likely to cut repo rates (interest rates), beginning from its next policy meeting in January. Repo rates are the rates at which the RBI lends to commercial banks and any lowering of these rates helps to reduce interest rates for banks. This means that interest rates are likely to fall and investment analysts are hoping that the RBI will drop repo rates by at least 50 to 1 basis points by February 2013. In all probability this is likely to be passed on by banks to consumers, which means that loans are likely to become cheaper.
Q. Can I get two home loans against two different properties? — Kulwinder Singh A. Yes, you can have as many loans against different properties as you want. The only criteria being that you should be able to repay all the EMIs every month.
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Pick of the week Price: On request. Chateau d'Ax has launched, Secret, its super luxury range of sofas in India. The sofa has a number of distinguishing features like an iPod connected on the corner of the sofa, and sound evolving from hidden speakers from the frame of the sofa turns this sofa into a stereo system. The sofa also has a hidden wine chillier which can be controlled by remote. It offers a complete relaxing experience having everything within your vicinity; you may need to chill out. Price:
Rs 5.5 lakh
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| HOME PAGE |
While the iron grip of slowdown continued in 2012 and low buyer and investor interest kept the market all over the country tepid, some key initiatives taken by the government to give a boost to the real estate sector remained the highlight of the year.
Reforms that rocked: During the union budget 2012-13, the government proposed incentives for the residential sector which included an extension of one per cent interest subvention scheme for low-cost housing up to Rs 25 lakh and permission for funding through External Commercial Borrowings
(ECBs).
Driven by new offerings, greater influx of NRIs and changing lifestyles, the demand for luxury and ultra-luxury homes with a price-tag in the range of Rs 1-20 crore, or even more in some cases, made a comeback in metros in 2012, according to a report.
Despite sluggishness in overall real estate sector, a few luxury residential projects were launched in
Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Chennai in October, according to a report by real estate consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle
(JLL).
During the union budget 2012-13, the government proposed incentives for the residential sector which included an extension of one per cent interest subvention scheme for low-cost housing up to Rs 25 lakh and permission for funding through External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs). These measures were not only meant to promote the interests of developers and end users alike, but were also aimed at reducing debt pressures on developers, besides providing some impetus to the construction of affordable housing in the country. Similarly, the interest to be paid on the ECB loan availed from July 2012 to June 2015 by real estate developers is now subject to a tax deduction at 5 per cent from the existing rate of 20 per cent. 
The winter season is here and who wouldn’t love to sit in front of a warm fire in those cold chilly evenings. The golden glow of crackling flames lends a surreal aura to the ambience of any room in this weather. A fireplace is an architectural structure designed to contain a fire for heating. Over time the design of fireplaces has changed from the one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits than the modern designer fireplaces. They were used for warmth on cold days and nights, as well as for cooking. By the 1800s most new fireplaces were made up of two parts — the surround and the insert.
The Addela Group recently launched luxury project – Raj Residency — in Greater Noida West (Noida Extension). The five-acre new project is located in Sector-16C, Greater Noida West (Noida Extension) in Gaur City II. It will have two, three and four BHK luxury apartments in the range of Rs 35.50 to 50 lakh. The apartments are likely to be completed within 36 months and also have an escalation-free price clause and convenient payment plans.
Speaking on the occasion S.K. Sayal, Director & CEO, Alpha G:Corp said, “The villas will redefine the concept of luxury lifestyle in Karnal and offer their occupants international class quality living experience”. With this development the property market in Sectors 28 and 29 is likely also receive a fillip, in terms of price appreciation and return on investment.
Q. My father died in 1997. The house in which we are living is in his name. I had an elder brother who died in 2004. He was unmarried. My mother is living with me. I had four sisters who are all married and settled. I want the land to be registered in my name. Kindly advise.
— Pankaj
Q. My son, who is working in an MNC at Noida, had been living there in a rented house with his wife. He had taken a home loan and bought a flat at Noida. Later on there was a dispute between my son and his wife and she shifted to the new flat and my son continued living in the rented house. My son has been granted divorce and decree was passed sometime back. After divorce his wife vacated the flat and he moved into his flat, vacating the rented house. He used to visit occasionally but was staying in the rented house prior to his shifting. He was thus maintaining two establishments and there was no income from the flat. I understand that he is entitled to the benefit of HRA received by him as well as the deduction of interest on home loan. Kindly confirm that this is correct and quote authority for the same as the assessing officer has questioned the claim made by my son for both the amounts. I understand that my son has made a correct claim as both the benefits are admissible under the provisions of the Act. I may add that it was necessary for him and his wife to live separately while proceedings for divorce were on to prove that they have separated.
— P. Kumar
Q. I was allotted a plot by HUDA on March 15, 2001. The cost of the plot was Rs 2,77,112 for which application money (10 per cent of the total cost) of Rs 27,772 was paid on November 1, 2000 and allotment money (15 per cent) of Rs 41,656 was given on March 15, 2001. Remaining 75 per cent was paid in six annual installments of Rs 34,714, the last one being paid on February 15, 2007. The offer of possession date was August 9, 2007 but I did not take possession as I was not going to construct on the said plot. Now I am going to sell it for Rs 10 lakh and have already taken the token money. The sale deed is going to be finalized on January 21, 2013. I have already got the conveyance deed registered for Rs 30,600 which is mandatory. I have calculated the Index cost as Rs 5,03,426 and so LTCG will be Rs 465974. Is my calculation right?
— Kuldip Singh
A.
According to Vaastu as staircase is a heavy structure hence it should be located in negative zones like the south or west. The staircase in northern or eastern part of house may have adverse effects. The stairs should rise from the east to west or from the north to south. The staircase should not be in the centre of the house. Avoid staircase in northeast direction also.
Q. I have entered into an agreement with a builder for buying a flat in Zirakpur. I have to pay the money within six months. I will need a home loan to make the complete payment. But some of my friends have told me that the home loan rates are going to be reduced in the next few months. Kindly advise me if I should go for a home loan immediately or wait for the interest rates to come down?
— Amrit Suri
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