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area watch: hoshiarpur
Going nowhere Buyers are staying away from the property market in this Punjab town even as prices remain high 
The ban imposed by the Punjab Government on the registration of sale and purchase of land deeds in unapproved colonies since September 1, 2012 has brought the sale and purchase of property in the city to a virtual standstill.
Another factor that has hit the realty sector here over the past year or so is the increased cost of construction material.
Most of the construction activity going on in the residential segment at present is of the houses that had already been registered in the approved and some unapproved colonies here.
Better deal in offing
decor trends
Ground Realty
tax tips
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area watch: hoshiarpur
The ban imposed by the Punjab Government on the registration of sale and purchase of land deeds in unapproved colonies since September 1, 2012 has brought the sale and purchase of property in the city to a virtual standstill.
Another factor that has hit the realty sector here over the past year or so is the increased cost of construction material. Most of the construction activity going on in the residential segment at present is of the houses that had already been registered in the approved and some unapproved colonies here. The state government had imposed the ban to check the illegal growth of unauthorised colonies in the state. The mushrooming of unauthorised colonies where land was sold by fly-by-night operators has been one of the major concerns for the authorities as well as the unsuspecting buyers. While the state has been losing revenue and municipal bodies are left to grapple with an increased load on the civic amenities, the buyers end up blocking their money in areas where even the basic civic amenities are missing. Paramjit Singh, Executive Officer of the local Municipal Council, said Hoshiarpur has 36 sq km area with a population of about 1.66 lakh. As many as 55 unauthorised colonies had come up within the municipal limits of the city between 1985 and 2013 where more than 2,000 houses had been built. Though the committee had been sanctioning maps for the construction of the houses as per PUDA guidelines, the state government had fixed development charges for the construction of houses in unauthorised colonies in 2006-07. As per the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a writ petition, the state government had imposed ban on the registration of sale and purchase of land deeds to check construction in unauthorised colonies. Scanty development According to market watchers there is very little real estate activity going on this city from major developers or local players. As the flat culture is yet to take root here, most of the deals in the residential segment are either in the secondary market involving built up properties or fresh deals of plots. PUDA and the local improvement trust are the main bodies offering schemes from time to time. But over the past few months the low sentiment in the realty segment has resulted in virtually no new schemes being floated by these bodies. On the commercial front, too, very few projects have seen the light of the day here. PUDA had taken up only one commercial site scheme at old Deputy Commissioner and SSP office adjoining the District Court Complex, but this scheme could not materialise due to very high price of land in the area. The response of buyers has also been very poor here. The Hoshiarpur Improvement Trust had finalised its scheme No 2, 10 and 11 since its formation in 1975. Jatinder Singh, Executive Officer of the Hoshiarpur Improvement Trust, said residential plots in all the above mentioned schemes had been sold and a majority of the owners had constructed their houses there. The trust had constructed 74 shops in scheme No 11 adjoining the mini secretariat in 2004-2005. But only 13 of these have been sold so far. Similarly, the trust had developed sites for 15 shops and 16 shop-cum-offices in scheme No 10. Besides, 15 shop-cum-offices had been constructed in this scheme which are also lying unsold. The trust had taken up two new commercial schemes in Katcha Toba and Fatehgarh Sahib which were under construction. Some private contractors have recently constructed a City Shopping Complex near local Bus Stand. High prices, no buyers The property market here which was basically dominated by investors about five years back, is now tottering as there are virtually no buyers ready to pay the high prices being quoted by these investors wanting to get a good return for their investment. While the end user is waiting for the prices to come down, the investors are not ready to reduce their margins drastically. The slow pace of infrastructure developement in the region has also played a role in stunting the growth of real estate activity here. Most of the buyers are end users or middle income salaried class who can’t afford the high prices being quoted in some of the areas in the city. The moneyed farmers, on the other hand are preferring to buy land or flats in bigger cities like Ludhiana, Mohali and Chandigarh rather than in this slow developing city. Dinesh Kaushal, a local property dealer, said that rates of land in the city and periphery areas varied substantially. While the prices of one marla from Gorian Gate to Clock Tower was between Rs 11 and Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh in Birbal Nagar, in Narain Nagar and Surya Nagar near Sukki Choie the price is Rs 2.50 lakh per marla. In the villages located on the periphery of the city one marla can be bought for Rs 1.25 lakh, while a plot below a marla at Vakilan Bazar had recently been sold by a property dealer at Rs 22
lakh. The political angle Balwant Singh Khera, member of the national executive of Socialist Party of India, alleged that some leaders of ruling parties in connivance with land mafia, were trying to get Municipal Corporation constituted in place of the Municipal Council to grab the land of villagers of 15 villages located on the periphery of the city and earn huge profits. A united front headed by the former Punjab Minister Naresh Thakur had been formed by the local leaders of various political parties to oppose this move. They had already earmarked residential colonies in Sukhiabad and old Bharwain road near the Adamwal area.
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Better deal in offing
An order by anti-trust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) against realty major DLF, amending its agreement with apartment buyers of three different projects and making it more equitable and fair, may well pave the way for a model pact for property sales to ensure fair play in transactions.
Though the order has sparked a legal debate on the jurisdiction and other matters concerning the real estate sector, the entire episode has once again opened up a pandora’s box with regard to sale agreements of real estate companies. It is an open fact that sale agreements are loaded heavily in favour of developers who put in one-sided clauses that give them discretion with regard to change in zoning plans, lay-out plan, floor plan, specifications, usage pattern, alteration of structure and hidden charges. These skewed buyer agreements, which spell out terms and conditions with respect to sale and purchase of property, have many pitfalls. Quite often, the buyers complain that the developer did not deliver what he had promised in terms of facilities and amenities. There are also disputes over inferior quality of construction and poor specifications of material and accessories. It’s not just the case of amenities; buyers also feel cheated in terms of space. In fact, real estate developers exploit the
carpet area-super area ambiguity to charge arbitrarily. What makes matters worse is that there is no fixed ratio of super built-up area to carpet area and no transparent and justified way of calculating it. And many a time developers do not even disclose the exact break-up of carpet and super area. With the help of the biased sale agreement, developers also make property buyers shell out extra money (hidden charges) as these charges do not find a mention in the builder-buyer agreement and even if these are there, these charges, including external development charges (EDC), internal development Charges (IDC), preferential location charges (PLC), are not specified. There are instances when super area is increased without increasing the carpet/built-up area. As a result of this, all other charges like PLC, EDC, IDC and maintenance fee get enhanced. Home buyers are also short-changed on account of delayed delivery as they end up paying extra pre-EMIs for the period of delay which amount to higher interest payment and longer overall tenure. In fact, for developers, it pays to delay, especially when the homebuyers’ agreement has a price escalation clause. Moreover, as per the penalty clause in the agreement, developer only promises a meagre compensation of Rs 5 per sq ft per month, whereas he charges 18 per cent penal interest when the buyer defaults in his payments. Against this backdrop, the order has come as a whiff of fresh air for the property buyers. And now the housing ministry's decision to introduce long-pending real estate regulatory Bill in the coming Budget Session of Parliament further renews their hopes. As per the draft bill, real estate developers are required to register all projects before sale of property, disclose project details, contractual obligations and status of clearances. The regulator will also prevent developers from delaying projects and diverting funds by making it mandatory for them to deposit 70 per cent of project funds in escrow account. All this holds out hope of providing a fair deal to property consumers by ensuring transparent and ethical real estate transactions.
— IANS
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at home with fENG SHUi Feng Shui practice is relevant to both the inside and outside of the home, and both these aspects must be considered equally. It is not a static approach to décor. Indoor Feng Shui provides a vast canvas for amateur practitioners to let their creativity flow. The key is to go with the flow of Chi. Visualise a current that is slow and meandering, easy and unencumbered. Allow for this gentle movement when you arrange your furniture. Let your indoor traffic curve and turn delicately rather than shoot forward in a straight and hostile manner.
The first and most important element to pay attention to is the main door of the house. Let the Yang energy reign supreme at the entrance. Spacious foyers allow room for Chi (energy) to settle and accumulate there. Here are some points that you must be aware about in order to guard your main door, because in protecting your entrance you will be protecting the beneficial energy of your entire home. *
The house should be on the same level as or higher than the road. * The house should not appear to be hemmed in by two taller buildings. *
Fencing around the house should be of the same height all around. * A fence or brick wall should not be too close to the house. *
The driveway should not face the main door directly. * Do not install barbed wire over the top of the main gate. *
The size of the main door should be proportional to the size of the house. *
If the main door is a design that is made of two panels, then both panels must be of equal size. *
Ensure your main door doesn’t face an intersection or T-Y-junction passing directly in front of the house. *
Check that the door does not face a cemetery, a police station, a funeral home or any building that has a triangular roof pointed at the entrance to your building. *
The main door must not face a single lamp post. The Feng Shui cure for all of the above problems is to block their negative energies with hedge, plants, and trees or by hanging a Pa Kua mirror. You can also paint your door a bright red to counter the flow of bad energies. —
The writer is a Panchkula-based Feng Shui, Vaastu and art consultant and founder of Artizen’s
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decor trends Valentine’s Day is a celebration of relationship that we share with our friends, family and significant others. With romance in the air, it is the time to gift the loved ones. This is also a great time to decorate your home. From romantic to naughty; Valentine’s Day décor adds a zing to the grey days of winter. The celebration and decoration are sure to spread love inside your home.
Besides the typical red, pink and white roses, one can also go in for other flowers like lilies, tulips, orchids. Arrange flowers artistically in flower holders, glass bowls, tumblers, tea cups, tea light candle holders. A mix of candles and flower arrangement can deck up anything from the entrance to your home to the dining area. You can add a lively touch to your mantle by brightening up fresh fruits with greenery purchased from a florist. With decorative ribbons, your hands on scissors and wings of imagination, you can create wonders. You can also create a notice-board at the master bedroom door by hanging a pin board with your Valentine’s Day card expressing your feelings, surrounded by a flower garland and decorative pieces of ribbon. A candlelight dinner at your own home in a personally decorated dining area will be much cherished. The chandelier above your dining area can be decorated by cutting ribbons at different lengths and suspending Valentine’s cards, small soft toys or chocolates tied to them. The dining table with a red printed table cover, silver ware, great food with wine, create the ideal ambience for a perfect romantic dinner. Soak in love You can also decorate your master bathroom with bubble bath covered with rose petals. Oil burners with an aroma of lemon grass and bath tub corners decorated with candles would set the mood for a perfect romantic evening. Add aroma to your room by adding aroma oil burners. Lavender aroma is recommended for relaxing. Candles can add a romantic connection. You can also add a pop by putting candies or chocolates in transparent jars and leaving these open for kids to indulge.
Accessories play an important role in any décor. White and red cushions in soft fabrics, a nice photo frame with your picture with your loved ones, bright pink red rugs, Swarovski runners over the table and a silk bedcover in bright cheerful colours will complete the décor. You can add a few paintings which reflect intimacy and coziness. Yellow or dim light adds sensuality to any room.
— The writer is CEO Ansa Interiors
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Dress up your walls with trendy tiles
Jagvir Goyal ... While the use of floor tiles in the house remains optional, wall tiles have become an essential element. There are certain areas that have now been permanently assigned wall tiles. Let’s have a look at the various aspects related to wall tiles: Areas: Walls of toilets are nowadays are essentially provided with tiles only. In addition, the wall area above the counter top and below cabinets in kitchen has also become the exclusive domain of tiles. In chimney area, the tiles are provided up to chimney level. Characteristics: Tiles used for the walls are ceramic tiles. In ceramic tiles, there are further options of porcelain tiles, glazed tiles, unglazed tiles and matt finish tiles. Many dealers offer porcelain tiles as a separate variety. Ceramic tiles are divided into four groups, Group II, III, IV and V. The higher the group, the stronger are the tiles. Tiles belonging to higher groups cost more. For walls, Group III tiles are suitable and should be chosen. Glazing: Glazed tiles are coated with a liquid glass. The liquid glass is a mixture of glass and elements like Feldspars, Zirconium and Zirflour. On baking the tiles, this liquid glass enters the surface of the clay and provides the tiles with ‘stain-free’ property. Glazing of tiles helps in providing an unlimited range of colours and designs. Tiles are produced either by first burning the clay biscuit and later again with the glaze applied on them or by firing them only once, with the glaze applied on them in the first instance itself. Tiles burnt singly are better than tiles that are subjected to burning twice. The size: Wall tiles are available in many sizes, ranging from 8 x 12 inch to 36 x 12 inch. Popularly used sizes these days are 24x12 inch and 18x12 inch. Bigger sizes have made the job easier for masons also as they have to match the corners of lesser number of tiles on a wall. Earlier 4x4 inch size used to be provided and it was a really tough job to match their level and corners besides the grouting of joints. However, bigger tiles are costlier. Size of the tiles used should be finalised by keeping in mind the size of the toilets, cost factor and also to cause minimum wastage. Colour selection: There is such an array of colours available in tiles that the buyer is likely to get lost and taking a decision may look hard. Catalogues and websites don’t really help in selection of tiles and one has to make two or three visits to showrooms, spend time, roam about and visualise to ultimately narrow down to the tiles for his house. It should always be kept in mind that the sanitary ware now available in the market is of white colour only. One or two companies are offering sanitary ware in ivory or pastel colours otherwise white has universally been adopted by the sanitary ware manufacturers. While selecting tiles the combination of the tiles and sanitary ware should be visualised. The highlighter: The craze of providing highlighter on the walls in the seat, shower and wash basin area is now fading. Use of highlighter here and there in the toilets erodes its sophisticated look. Highlighter should at the most be used on the shower wall, extending to 1.5 to 2 feet on each side of shower. The final choice, however, is of the user who may ask his architect to show some 3D image options of the toilets by providing highlighters in different manners. Features: The tiles may be totally plain or have some self designs. Run your fingers on the tile surfaces to have a feel and to finally select the tiles and highlighters. Select tiles having beveled edges. These, when fitted in position by a skilled mason, look beautiful. Joint-free tiles with edges and corners perfected to match to give a joint-free look may be selected if the house owner likes that type of look. The quantity: The quantity of tiles required for each area or toilet should be worked out carefully by considering the dimensions, height up to which the tiles are to be fixed and by deducting the door and window areas falling in the area to be tiled. Care should be taken to cater for the extra number of tiles needed near the corners of the walls, wash basin counter, window edge etc where these may have to be cut and fixed to match the beveled edges. The quantity purchased should, therefore, be a little more than the exact quantity worked out theoretically. One box of tiles normally contains 8 pieces of 2x 1 ft size or 10 pieces of 1.5x1 ft tiles and so on. Instead of buying some loose pieces, a whole number of boxes should be worked out. Tile suppliers have no hesitation in accepting back the extra tiles after their use at full price. House owner should, therefore, buy an extra box for each type of tiles. The cost: Bigger tiles are costlier. Yet the cost is now quite competitive and use of tiles always proves to be cheaper than using marble or granite. The cost of tiles ranges between Rs 20 per sq ft for simplest tiles of 8x2 inch to a few hundred rupees per sq ft for bigger sized digital tiles. It should be noted that the highlighters are now no more costlier than normal matching tiles and rates are uniform whether you buy the highlighter or the matching tiles. Grouting: After fixing the tiles, the joints of the tiles should be grouted well with a grout of matching colour. One should allow at least 24 hours to pass before doing the grouting work. During grouting, a damp sponge to wipe There is no match for the colour and effect that tiles can add to a room. Wall tiles maintain the ‘new’ look year after year as these hardly undergo any wear and tear, don’t accumulate dirt and can be cleaned easily. Minimum maintenance like just cleaning or sponging them occasionally keeps their shine intact. These don’t infest any germs and are ideal from the hygiene point of view. Above all, these are easy to select and install. This column is published fortnightly
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Rebate on paying instalments from own pocket
S. C. Vasudeva email your queries to realestate@tribunemail.com ...
Q. I was allotted a residential plot by PUDA through a draw of lots. I am paying for that in installments fixed by PUDA from my
savings. Can I claim income tax rebate under Section 80 CC for these payments? Please guide me in this regard — harmander singh
A. Section 80C of the Act allows deductions for the following payments: Payment made under self-financing or any other scheme of any development authority, housing board or other authority engaged in the construction and sale of house property on ownership basis; or Any instalment for part payment of the amount due to any company or cooperative society of which the assessee is a shareholder or member towards the cost of the house property allotted to him; or The repayment of principal amount borrowed by the assessee from specified sources; or Stamp duty, registration fee and other expenses for the transfer of house property in the name of the assessee. The above deductions are allowable within the overall limit of Rs 1,00,000 and include payments or deposit made in respect of other specified schemes. No deduction is allowable in respect of instalments paid to any development authority for purchase of a residential plot. You would, therefore, not be entitled to claim deduction against your total income in respect of instalments being paid to PUDA for the purchase of a residential plot.
Rules for claiming rebate on rental income
Q. In to your clarification in The Real Estate (Jan 26, 2013) to a query you had mentioned that “No monetary limit is applicable to a case for the deduction allowable for the interest paid/payable against the rent from house property which has been let out”. Does it mean that the limit of Rs 1.5 lakh of interest paid on loan taken from the bank for any other house property does not apply and one can avail the deduction for interest paid to bank even more than Rs 1.5 lakh. — vijay singal
A. The Section 24 of the Income-tax Act 1961 provides where the property has been acquired, constructed, repaired etc on borrowed capital, the amount of any interest payable on such capital would be allowed as deduction under head ‘income from house property’. The above deduction is, however, subject to first and second proviso to Section 24(b) of the Act. The first proviso provides that in respect of property which is self-occupied the deduction for interest on amount borrowed shall be limited to Rs 30,000 and the second proviso provides that in case the property is acquired or constructed with capital borrowed on or after April 1, 1999 , the deduction shall not exceed Rs 1.5 lakh. In view of the above, deduction in respect of self-occupied house is limited to Rs 1.5 lakh and no limit has been provided in respect of interest paid/payable on loan taken up for a house property which is not self-occupied. Therefore, in case of a let-out property even if the interest exceeds Rs 1.5 lakh, it will be allowable as a deduction against the income from house property.
Suggest the best way to invest sale proceeds
Q. I had purchased a plot in May 1986, for Rs 10,000 and spent Rs 1,000 on documentation and invested Rs 15,000 on the construction of the boundary wall in 1989. I sold the same in May 2012 for Rs 7.50 lakh. What will be my tax liability if: I spend the entire amount for construction of first floor in my house; purchase another plot for Rs 5 lakh only. Till when can I make these investments? — jansher
A. Your queries are replied hereunder: In case the entire amount of Rs 7.50 lakh is invested towards the construction of the first floor of the house within three years after the sale of the plot there would be no tax liability as you would be eligible to claim exemption under Section 54F of the Income-Tax Act 1961 (The Act). In case you purchase another piece of land for Rs 5 lakh you will be liable to pay tax on the capital gain arising on the sale of plot which will be taxable @20.6% (20% + 3% surcharge thereon). On the basis of figures given in the query the amount of taxable capital gain would work out at Rs 6,08,755. The amount of tax payable thereon would be Rs 1,25,404.
Can my wife utilise LTCG for construction in house in my name?
A. The amount of long-term capital gain arising on the sale of a residential house can be utilised for purchase or construction of a new residential house provided the new residential house is purchased or constructed in the name of the person who has sold the old house. Therefore, in case your wife wants to utilise the amount of capital gain towards construction of first floor of a house and claim exemption from taxability of such a gain, it will be essential that the house on which the first floor is to be constructed is in her name. It would, therefore, be essential to transfer the house in her name which would involve a levy of stamp duty on the market value of the house whether such transfer is by execution of a gift deed or sale deed. She has another option to invest the amount of such capital gain in acquiring tax-saving bonds within six months of the date of sale of the residential house. Such bonds have a lock-in period of three years and carry interest @ 6% per annum. The amount of long-term capital gain after taking into consideration the indexed cost of Rs 78,323, would be Rs 11,21,677. The amount of tax payable thereon @20.6% (20% + 3% education cess thereon) would be Rs 2,31,065.
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The Celebration Bazaar
The bazaar is surrounded by over 450 acres of multi-developer residential development within a 4-km radius along with the presence of more than 2,000 retailers in areas of Khanna-Gobindgarh like Guru Amardas Market, Karnail Road Market, Khanna City Center and City Tower. Giving details of the project Sanjay Sachdeva, Executive Director of Advance India Projects Limited said, “With ample car parking, large food court, huge entertainment area and air-conditioned shops on offer; The Celebration Bazaar offers a business opportunity to retailers to operate successful outlets at affordable prices and minimum operational cost”.
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Tata Housing signs MoU with Gujarat government
Tata Housing has signed an agreement with Gujarat government to invest Rs 3,500 crore to build affordable homes in Ahmedabad though it would take some time to enter into a final agreement. The project is to be developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and would come up on over 100 acres with an estimated 6,000 housing units. With the future plans in place, the Gujarat government envisions construction of over 28 lakh affordable homes in rural areas and 22 lakh homes in urban areas worth $ 30 billion over five years. Construction contracts Realty firm B L Kashyap has received orders worth Rs 900 crore for building new residential as well as commercial projects. The new orders comprised construction of residential buildings at a cost of Rs 470 crore and construction of commercial/SEZ buildings entailing an expenditure of Rs 200 crore. The company said for construction of industrial buildings it received Rs 230 crore order. Lending largesse In a bid to revive residential projects that got stalled earlier due to the paucity of funds, the finance ministry has asked all public sector lenders to send a list of all such sites to the National Housing Bank for fresh lending. The revival plan will not only include unfinished housing projects in metros and the National Capital Region but also in Tier II and Tier III cities and those for economically weaker sections. Banks are advised to submit a list of all such semi-constructed projects with their location details together with remarks about non-completion or semi completion, which may be considered viable by the banks for funding and completion of the project. More FAR likely for
green buildings Following a recent announcement by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Tejendra Khanna, green structures in the capital may be allowed a larger Floor Area Ratio (FAR) or Floor Space Index (FSI) compared to conventional buildings. The Lieutenant Governor has asked all agencies to convert maximum buildings into eco-friendly structures as green buildings are playing a significant role in minimising the carbon footprint of cities and require less energy both for cooling and heating. Increasing the FAR will be a good incentive for people to switch
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at home with fENG SHUi
The regulator said in the order that the apartment buyers’ agreement was amended to remove the abusive and unfair conditions present in the original “one-sided” agreement. 
Say it with flowers
Set a dinner date
Play of accessories
The most attractive trait of tiles is that these provide ready to use and finished surfaces almost instantly. This feature is solely responsible for the tremendous popularity of tiles. As people want everything ready to use, so tiles have become favorite flooring and cladding building element. The moment a house builder selects tiles for his home, his impatience about seeing them fixed in position begins to build up.
Advantages
Q. My wife purchased land in HP in 1992 from the housing board for Rs 20,500 and sold it for Rs 12 lakh in 2013. We want to use the money in constructing the first floor of the house which is in my name and had been purchased from the HP Housing Board. Kindly advise if the money so received can be treated as long-term capital gain. Is there need for transferring the house in her name or is there other way? She is a senior citizen and a housewife. If the money is not LTCG then how much tax will be payable? — kant gupta
Advance India Projects Limited (AIPL) is all set to launch its retail venture ‘The Celebration Bazaar’ at Gobindgarh-Khanna. Located in the heart of Asia’s biggest grain market and the country’s largest steel market, this commercial complex is at a distance of 25 minutes from Ludhiana. A part of the 88-acre DreamCity-Gobindgarh Khanna, The Celebration Bazaar is spread across three acres of commercial development which incorporates over 300,000 sq. ft. of retail and office space.