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Bring home the festive cheer
There are trends every season which are rotational like the vintage is making a comeback this year. The major focus and choice of many these days are the classics of the 16th century and the English classics in interiors. These can be used aesthetically to make your home trendy this Diwali.
It all starts with a variety of light fixtures and accessories for the festive mood. These are available in various designs, finishes and
colours. Candelabras, accent lighting, including floor and table lamps as centre pieces complement the décor for this season.Add a touch of luxury to your home with hi-end candle stands and lamp shades this Diwali
living with vastu
market pulse
Ground Realty
guest column
guest column
tax tips Can a Will about ancestral property be contested? Can I issue rent receipt to wife for HRA claim? Tax liability of self-occupied house Housing sales to pick up in 6-8 months loan zone/ S.C. Dhall ...
Switching loan may prove costly
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Bring home the festive cheer
It all starts with a variety of light fixtures and accessories for the festive mood. These are available in various designs, finishes and colours. Candelabras, accent lighting, including floor and table lamps as centre pieces complement the décor for this season.
Anjie Kriplani,Interior Designer and Creator of Renaisaance Homez The accessories are the highlights on primarily the staircase, in the living room, in and around the foyer and definitely on the entrance gate. Diwali is a great time to decorate the walkway with lanterns for a nice welcome. The season mixed in global flavors is evident in décor trends emphasizing on flickering tea lights, crystal holders and lots of lanterns to add glamour to the occasion. Also candle sticks, stands, holders are always welcoming and are the most popular bet. There are gold tissues which can be covered on the glass candle stands and luxury candle sticks to give an excellent embellishments. Moreover, photo and wall frames with gold moldings are trending in addition to chandeliers and lamps for those who want a regal and sophisticated look. Likewise, beautiful embellished classic, silver, crystal and golden, Moroccan glassware and tableware make for a rich yet soft look for this season. These make interesting statement pieces to serve delicacies to the guests. Flower arrangements are also an important component of putting together a festive look. Floating some flowers in crystal and acrylic vases giving simple yet bold look on the table with texture and colours can be a great option. Placing them on mats and plates on the dining table lends a fresh and fragrant touch. Coloured votives with flower arrangements also give a pleasant and colourful impression. For people who like to decorate their home themselves can have quick DIY tutorials. For DIY, there are diyas which can be decorated and molded in many designs. Eclectic designs using metal mesh, electric lights are easy ways to add glamour during the festivity. Moreover, jewels like pearls, coloured stones (ruby red, emerald green, diamond white and garnet pink) in varied shapes (square, rectangle, round and oval) studded on metallic and clay diyas will look phenomenal. After lighting them, the diyas will dazzle the room with alluring brightness. Wax sculpted candles and diyas requiring oil and cotton wicks are being replaced by tea light candles with votives and oil fumes. Also ceramic diyas painted in subtle hues and a vibrant candle holder in creative shapes are quirky and relatively a higher choice. Of course not to forget the 1-minute decorations, which are always a classic feature for Diwali, are the earthen diyas and rangolis. Besides traditional decorations, modern options are scaling up to spruce up the home decor. Wall sconces, Venetian mirrors on big walls are also a good way to balance and make the room look bigger. Apart from accessories, there are home furnishings for a premium and rich look. Silk cushions and table linens in metallic colours will help you create that grand festive look. By playing up with colours of the season — twists of gold, yellow, silver, shades of wine, emerald green and mustard — for duvets, cushions and bed spreads, the look of your living room as well as of the whole house can be transformed completely. Metallic glazed textures and fabrics, cushions in bright colours can add to the fashion quotient in spaces. Rococo look, too, has gained momentum and is a huge trend with regard to interiors and furniture. People are looking beyond the minimalist and fusion look.
Gone are the days when people restricted their ideas to just wall paints for rejuvenating their houses. And the reason is that, today we have fabulous variety and convenient options to re-décor as per the occasion and festivals. Here are some ways in which you can redecorate your home for the festival of lights: Vandana Khosla, Creative Director, ELVY Lifestyle Change the wall frame not the paint: It’s not just the painting, photo or mirror alone that catches an eye, definitely the sight beholder can be the frame too to attract one’s attention. Vase wise: While candles will brighten your night, flowers spread the festive cheer during the day. Pick the new vases from the market and decorate every corner of your house. Spread the brightness with vibrant rugs: Diwali is the perfect season to roll open the rugs rolled back in stores for summers. Rugs do enhance the actual space of the room. Welcome the Goddess of Wealth: Diwali is a festival celebrated with a belief to welcome Goddess of Wealth on the auspicious day. You can decorate your staircases and front door with beautiful vases, rugs and wall hangings. Dine in style: Diwali celebrations are incomplete without a delicious dinner. Win the applause of your guests by decorating your dining space with dazzling napkin holders, new shining cutlery and gold plated crockery to suit the appropriate festive mood. Fabulous restrooms: Decorate your restrooms with a colourful collection of bath accessories available in the market. Don’t miss the garden either: Decorative lanterns and garden accessories are available in the market to cherish a drink in open air with beautiful fireworks surprises in the sky.
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Direct prosperity to your home
Khushdeep Bansal. The main purpose of the Vaastu Shastra is to fill life with money, prosperity, love and happiness and Diwali or Deepawali is the festival of celebrating happiness and prosperity. On this day we all worship goddess Lakshmi so that our homes are filled with money and good luck along with love and happiness. If we worship at the right time, at the right place and in the right direction, then our lives will definitely be illuminated with more joy, love, happiness and prosperity.
According to the modern concept of Vaastu Shastra at home the puja should be done at the appropriate time in the evening. Out of the 16 MahaVaastu zones, the south-east (Agni kon) zone is considered to be the ideal to worship Goddess Lakshmi in your house. You should face towards the east or south-east, while doing the puja. The best colours are red,green, orange, purple, cream and yellow. Try to ensure that all the decorations, lights and rangoli are preferably in these colours. For rangoli, use purple, green, red, orange and pink colours in the South or in the South-South-East Vastu zones. The rangoli designs should be round, oval or triangular in shape. Ensure that no idols of gods or goddesses, family pictures and other important and beneficial items are kept in the south-south-west Vaastu zone (zone of waste and expenditure). To increase family affection and bonding, keep all your family pictures (ancestors and living members) in the South-West Vaastu zone. Remove all sharp objects from here. To increase gains (property and finances), hang a picture of a black-framed prosperous village scene on the western wall. Since 'health is wealth', make sure that all red, orange and pink coloured objects, old tins of paints, dustbins, brooms and items associated with cleaning are removed from the North-North-East Vastu zone. Keep these in the south-south-west zone. The north-east zone must be clean, free of clutter and mainly painted in blue and white colours, with pictures or statues of Gods placed there. A branch of a money plant in a newly bought blue flower vase in the north zone will attract new career opportunities. Also, all Diwali gifts should be placed in the east zone to improve social associations. Decorate the house beautifully using rangoliand lights, but watch out for the colours used. Overall, white, green and yellow lights are recommended. For rangoli and other decorations, follow the Vaastu injunctions for the different zones. Lights directly affect your mind, awakening the dormant energies in each zone. For instance, red and maroon lights in the south-west zone will affect skills, relationships and finances negatively. As per Maha Vaastu, if you have a north Vaastu zone entrance, then you should avoid triangular rangoli designs. These colours negatively affect wealth, prosperity and opportunities. For a south Vaastu zone entrance, abstain from wavy shapes in the rangoli design as it could affect your security. The east zone entrance needs an oval-shaped or triangular rangoli. This brings happiness, prosperity and enhances social associations.Empower the west zone by entrance using rounded or pentagonal-shaped rangoli. For more prosperity and happiness, just above the main door, hang a torana of blue flowers if it is in the north, red flowers if it is in the south, green flowers if in the east, and yellow flowers if in the western direction. For your office/showroom, the best time for puja is in the morning. The recommended location for the puja is the west Vaastu zone. You must face towards west. The best colours for any decoration here are white, golden yellow and yellow, and round and pentagonal shapes for rangoli. Place silver statues and coins of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha in the west zone to further wealth and remove all obstacles. Red flowers in the south, south-east Vaastu zone will promote the spirit of hard work among the staff. For growth and gains, keep green coloured files in the south-east zone. Blue coloured files are all right in the west. Finally, a pyramid in the north zone will create new opportunities and better sales. This zone should be clear of red, pink and orange-coloured items. If you have a factory, naturally, you want production and quality to improve and stabilise. Lakshmi puja can be performed in the factory in the afternoon. The directional location is the west Vaastu zone and you should face west. To increase gains from the factory, hang a picture of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha with 'shubh' and 'labh' written on it. For excellent quality of production, light a 15 watt red bulb in the south-south-east Vastu zone. As we all know that the main principle or theory of Vaastu rests on Panchtattva, the five basic elements of Nature namely Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Space, which react with each other to form your inhabited built-up space/building in which you dwell and influence you. The Panchtattva Theory and the energies of the16 MahaVastu zones if balanced properly together can give you a memorable
Diwali. Gone are the days when people restricted their ideas to just wall paints for rejuvenating their houses. And the reason is that, today we have fabulous variety and convenient options to re-décor as per the occasion and festivals. Here are some ways in which you can redecorate your home for the festival of lights: Change
the wall frame not the paint: It’s not just the painting, photo or mirror
alone that catches an eye, definitely the sight beholder can be the frame too
to attract one’s attention. Vase wise: While candles will brighten your night, flowers spread the festive cheer during the day. Pick the new vases from the market and decorate every corner of your house. Spread the brightness with vibrant rugs: Diwali is the perfect season to roll open the rugs rolled back in stores for summers. Rugs do enhance the actual space of the room. Welcome the Goddess of Wealth: Diwali is a festival celebrated with a belief to welcome Goddess of Wealth on the auspicious day. You can decorate your staircases and front door with beautiful vases, rugs and wall hangings. Dine in style: Diwali celebrations are incomplete without a delicious dinner. Win the applause of your guests by decorating your dining space with dazzling napkin holders, new shining cutlery and gold plated crockery to suit the appropriate festive mood. Fabulous restrooms: Decorate your restrooms with a colourful collection of bath accessories available in the market. Don’t
miss the garden either: Decorative lanterns and garden accessories are
available in the market to cherish a drink in open air with beautiful
fireworks surprises in the sky.
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market pulse
It is commonly believed that the Indian festive season induces property purchase solely because religious sentiments are high during this period. Likewise, it is a commonly accepted notion that the attractive schemes and freebies that Indian developers offer during the festive season have something to do with the increased sales. Apart from and creating an unduly negative impression in the eyes of global observers of Indian markets, such an assumption does not give Indians the benefit of intelligence.
The Indian festive season signifies prosperity, but if there are no signals of prosperity from the country's economy, nothing can induce aspiring home buyers to take the plunge. For that matter, all kinds of investments are put on hold if the economy is in poor shape. In a depressed economic scenario, neither freebies nor religious sentiment can make a difference. It is a well-known fact that the state of the country's economy is reflected in how its real estate market is performing. Real estate investment requires considerable financial outlay. Even if it is purchased via a bank loan, one still has to make one's own contribution towards the cost of a home. In a situation where one is doubtful of the immediate financial future and one's ability to tackle all the important expenses of running a family, investment into property is out of the question. Neither religious 'muhurats' nor tempting offers by developers will make a difference to such caution. The festive season can only have a positive impact on real estate sales if financial confidence has returned to a sufficient degree. This is when people feel safe to get out of their cautious mode and look at property investment and other methods of investment again. In this respect, the importance of renewed health in the overall economy cannot be over-emphasized. The festive season in 2013 saw less than 13% rise in property purchases in Indian cities, regardless of whether they were metros or tier 2 towns. Ultra-luxury homes saw marginally better traction, largely because buyers in this segment tend to use their own funds and do not rely on home loans. In fact, the generally depressed real estate market sentiment gave luxury home buyers considerable negotiation leverage with developers. Cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai offered some excellent bargains on luxury homes in this period. In contrast, serious inquiries and sales have already increased by 22% in cities like Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore during this year's festive season. Again, this has nothing to do with religious dates or freebies on offer and is actually the result of the return of financial confidence. While people do prefer to buy homes on auspicious dates and are happy to take the benefit of sensible add-on offers, actual home purchases take place on the basis of available liquidity, investment appetite and confident financial projection. For the rest of 2014, the signals remain favourable for a continuing upward trend in residential property absorption. The country's GDP has breached the 5.7% mark for the first time in two years, and a recent survey conducted by VISA indicates that over 60% of Indians with disposable income are once again planning on increased discretionary spending. The newly incumbent Government has delivered on its promise of 'Acche Din' ahead, and real estate market sentiment is once again on the ascendant. With home ownership still being the highest investment priority for Indians, increased home buying during the remaining part of the festive season will peak at around 28% over sales charted in the same period last year. Also, the additional sales momentum will maintain at a steady 20-22% even after the festive season is over. To the market, this is a clear signal for increases in property prices, which means that real estate investments made during the current festival period will see much healthier capital appreciation than seen in the previous 2-3 years. — The writer is Managing Director, Pride Group
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Add the earthern charm
This Diwali try and help the artisans keep the art of terracotta alive. Keep it simple, keep it inexpensive, keep it eco-friendly and colourful. You can use terracotta articles just about anywhere in the house and get an instant festive feel.
Use a lot of diyas around the house. Make one arrangement with diyas indoors using flowers and a multi-layered terracotta diya stand. This looks simply stunning. Decorate the house with various terracotta items and statues. Terracotta does not have to be boring, you can find beautifully painted items to match your colour schemes. Decorate your puja room with idols of Ganesha and Lakshmi. Place beautifully painted huts called “hathnis” and prepare a beautiful puja thali. The Chhaj, is a part of the puja rites and beautiful ones in terracotta are available in the markets. On Diwali, your entrances need to be exceptionally beautiful and welcoming. Beautify your entrance by hanging torans over your main door and make a beautiful rangoli on the floor. Add diyas to your rangoli to give it a more stunning look. You can also make a beautiful design by using flower petals. Add a pretty terracotta bowl of water with flower petals and floating candles to create a magical look. Use aroma candles indoors. Use a lot of terracotta pots in different shapes and colours in your garden/verandas. Also place beautiful figurines in between plants. In Indian homes, it is very common to see the Hindu deities made of Terracotta, especially of Lord Ganesha. You will find terracotta statues of Lord Ganesha in varied postures. During auspicious occasions like Diwali, terracotta deities of Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh are flooded in the market. Highlight them by placing fresh flowers and diyas around them. Put up terracotta lanterns and bells in your gardens or entrance areas to add a dash of colour. A cluster of small bells can be beautifully used as a wind chime as well. Terracotta murals are quite popular now. These murals can adorn both exteriors and interiors. Terracotta masks are other decorative items used in many homes.
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Ground Realty The provision of lights in a house has no more remained a simple task of just illuminating an area of the house to provide visibility at night. It has become a specialised area and now, there are lighting specialists who offer consultancy by issuing drawings and plans to light up a house. Among the various types of lights that they use in a house, LED lighting strips are essential items. Let’s have a look at various aspects related to the use of LED lighting strips in homes:
LED Strips: Few years ago, CFLs entered the market and became very popular due to their low energy consumption and fast promotion by the state power utilities. LED lights are the next craze. LED means Light Emitting Diode. These lights are becoming popular due to their very long life and low power consumption in comparison to CFLs. An LED strip is a low power, flexible, long strip having a number of brightly lit small LED lights fixed along its length at short intervals. Areas of usage: Lighting specialists as well as house builders have taken a fancy for LED strips and are using these at maximum possible locations. Biggest use of LED strips has been made as concealed lights in the false ceiling. The false ceilings are designed to have a groove along the circumference of the rooms and LED strips are concealed in these grooves. The lighting effects thus created on the ceiling are mesmerising. In addition, LED strips are used in the kitchen drawers and shelves, in stairs and in the exterior of the house. Sometimes, these are provided behind glass shelves also. When hidden below the nosing of stair steps, these light up the steps uniformly and in an effective manner. Types: Different types of LED strips are produced for indoor and outdoor use. LED strips for indoor use are simple, naked strips, in which you can touch and feel the lights. LED strips produced for external use are housed in a silicon mould to save them from water and moisture. LED strips for exterior use are obviously costlier than the ones for internal use. The IP (Ingress Protection) rating of outdoor LED strips is also higher than that of indoor strips as these are more prone to ingress of moisture and thus are protected more. Wattage: LED strips made available have different wattages. Most companies produce 5W, 8W and 15W LED strips. However, 5W strips are most popular. LED strip wattage is given as watts per meter length of strip. A 5W per meter LED strip of 1 meter length has a wattage of 5W irrespective of the number of tiny LED lights provided in its length. LED strips are supplied in 5 m long reels, rolled around plastic spools. Thus a 5W per meter LED strip of 5 m length has a wattage of 25 W only. THe cost is directly proportional to the wattage. Colours: LED strips are available in multiple colours. This is their biggest advantage. This unique feature of LED strips helps in creating dramatic lighting effects at the desired locations. Within seconds, LED strip lights can change colour from red to green to blue and so on. Use of golden yellow coloured lights is most common. These lights are also provided with a colour controller. The colour controller can the change colours of lights in a sequence. Different color patterns can be created through it. Such controllers create a dramatic effect when used on the false ceiling lights. The wattage capacity of colour controller is more than 200 Watts. Therefore, a number of strips joined together can be controlled through it. Temperature: While choosing LED strips, knowledge of their temperature range is an important factor. The temperature is mentioned in degree Kelvin. A 2700 to 3000 degree Kelvin temperature means the LED strip will emit ‘warm white’ light. Temperature up to 4000 degree Kelvin signifies ‘day light’. These strips too emit whitish yellow light and colour depth is less than that of yellow lights. A 6000 degree Kelvin LED strip emits completely white light like that of fluorescent tubes. Dimensions: LED strips are mostly 5 m long. Their width is kept as 8 mm to 13 mm. For 5W per meter lights, the strip width is 8 mm. For 8W and above, the width of strip is 10 mm to 13 mm. The thickness of the strip is 2.0 mm to 5.0 mm. This thickness includes the projection of LED lights above the base strip. On close examination, small cut marks can be noted in the LED strips. These cut marks are provided to remove a particular damaged portion of LED strips. In case of damage, one need not discard the whole length of LED strip. The damaged 10 cm long portion can be cut and removed and a new piece can be soldered to the LED strip. Cost factor: LED strips produced by standard light manufacturers cost from
Rs 250 per meter to ~800 per meter. This is the cost of indoor LED strips. Outdoor LED strips are costlier due to the provision of silicon housing for the strips. Outdoor LED strips cost as high as
Rs 600 per meter to Rs 2,000 per meter. These days, the market is flooded with China-made LED strips which are available for just
Rs 40 to Rs 60 per meter length. However, nothing can be said about the life of these. The Drive: Every LED strip of 5 m length needs a drive to run it. In common language, this drive is known as ‘Choke’. The Drive of standard make costs around
Rs 400 per piece. The number of drives is calculated by dividing the total length of LED strip to be installed in the house by 5. These drives have inbuilt properties of overload protection, short circuit protection, shut down in case of overheating and protection from voltage fluctuation. Separate types of drives are produced for indoor and outdoor lights. While the indoor drives are mostly produced in poly carbonates, the outdoor drives are provided with aluminum housing. The drives are expertly hidden by the electricians in the grooves provided for the LED strips and are not visible. In the market, China made drives are also available for just ~50 per drive but one shouldn’t rely on them. In fact the Drive and LED strip should be chosen of the same Make to avoid any problem after their installation. Installation: Like the stickers, LED flexible strips are provided with a thin paper type strip at the back which can be stripped off to fix the LED strips on any surface. In order to install them properly, the right method is to affix a thin aluminum strip along the alignment of the LED strips and fix this aluminum strip to the surface by driving a few nails or screws at some interval. — This column is published fortnightly
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Sare Homes announces new payment plan for 200 apartments
Realty firm Sare Homes will offer 200 apartments under a new payment plan, in which the customers can own an apartment by paying 2 per cent of the total cost as down payment. “Under the advantage payment plan, customers can buy an apartment by paying 2 per cent of its total cost as downpayment provided their loan has been approved by the bank and they have to remaining 18 per cent in 9 installments within two years of the allotment,” Sare Homes Managing Director Vineet Relia said in New Delhi earlier this week. Under this payment plan the company will offer 200 apartments at SARE Crescent ParC Township in Ghaziabad near National Highway 24. The apartments will be offered at cost of
Rs 32 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. Relia added that the innovative plan would help the prospective customers to purchase their dream homes without denting their pockets Ghaziabad. “Our township is in advanced stage of construction while families are already living in Phase 1 and 2. Whereas Phase 3 is almost ready for possession and construction is in full swing at Phase 3,” he said. SARE Homes is promoted by an offshore fund Duet Group focused on developing residential real estate. The company has properties in India valued at ~4,100 crore. — TNS New CREDAI Western UP team The Western U.P chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India NCR (CREDAI Western UP) has announced the appointment of Manoj Gaur (MD, Gaursons India Limited) as the President in the recently held AGM of CREDAI NCR held in New Delhi earlier this week. CREDAI Western U.P chapter also introduced the new leadership team comprising Deepak Kapoor ( Director, Gulshan Homz Pvt Ltd) as President Elect, Amit Modi ( Director, ABA Corp ) as Vice President, Rajesh Goyal (MD, RG Group ) as Vice President, Vinay Goyal (Director, Express Builders Pvt Ltd ) as Vice President, Prashant Tiwari ( MD, Prateek Group ) as Vice President. “The newly elected leadership will be responsible to work closely with various government departments and will also help to shape the future of the region’s realty sector. We will be focusing on the core objective of the CREDAI such as Transparency, single window clearance and code of conduct” informed Gaur. Jaycee Homes launches new project Mumbai-based developer Jaycee Homes launched a new residential project Elegance in andheri West recently. Designed by a renowned architect, Elegance will have 2 BHK apartments in 14 floors. Each apartment will have French style casement windows, imported marble flooring, international fittings & fixtures, fully fitted modular kitchen, intercom system and camera for screening visitors. The project has excellent connectivity via the Western Express highway, the Vikhroli - Jogeshwari link road and the Versova-Ghatkopar metro link. Speaking on the occasion Diipesh Bhagtani, Executive Director of Jaycee Homes said, “Andheri is the leading light of western suburbs. Amidst the trend of large complexes, there are the discerning few, who look for exclusivity. With Elegance, we are bringing the luxury of exclusivity, at an affordable cost of a 2 BHK, and modern amenities. This is probably the most unique offering in Mumbai.”
Brigade Group to invest 500 crore in GIFT City Bangalore-based realty major Brigade Group will invest ~500 crore in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), India’s first globally benchmarked International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) over the next few years. Allotment of 1.1 mn. sq. ft. of BUA has been made to Brigade Group for development of Commercial, Residential, Retail Mall and Hotel projects in SEZ & Non-SEZ Area in GIFT City. The Group has also submitted their interest for taking additional 1.7 mn. sq. ft. of BUA to be developed at an estimated investment of
Rs 600 crore, showing their intention to take a long position in development of India’s first Global Financial Hub at GIFT City. Brigade Group has significant presence in southern India, including cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi etc. and is known for their high standards and quality of development across various facilities. Commenting on the development Ramakant Jha, MD & Group CEO, GIFT Company Ltd said, “The investment on such a large scale by south-India based group is a testimony of the opportunities that this project offers. Real estate firms would benefit in terms of return on investment and growth that would make them part of development of country’s first IFSC. Brigade Group’s reputation of developing Grade ‘A’ properties and experience across all real estate domains would provide synergies with the world-class services and infrastructure that GIFT City would offer.”
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guest column There are a few sectors in India today that have the dubious distinction of being branded greedy and opportunistic. Real estate and healthcare lead the pack while education follows a close third. Furthermore, demand for space from sectors such as education and healthcare have opened up ample opportunities in the real estate sector.
This implies that somewhere there are the same entrepreneurs behind projects in all the three sectors. This increases the scope for manipulation and unfair practices. According to experts branding in the real etate sector is an effective answer to keep a check on the malaise of trust deficit. It matters to win back the trust of customers where past experiences haven’t been consistently positive. Unsurprisingly, sellers have to invest much more in advertising, where trust is an issue. Effectively branding your real estate business is the key media to build trust. The other important reason for the high investments in branding in real estate is competition. With almost every developer doling out cut-copy-paste offerings followed by similar incentives to invest, they have no choice but to differentiate using better branding. In the developed real estate markets in Western Europe, Middle East and Singapore, the core driver for branding is not merely trust as most developers are bound by stringent quality controls and their licenses can be revoked if they are found lacking in any regard. The branding there is driven by the need to differentiate from competition. Why is it required? Branding is often confused with advertising or communication that just focuses on selling the units in a project. But this is merely the start of building a brand. Advertising merely influences branding, and it is not branding. A brand equals trust. A brand is built when you are consistent to deliver on your promises over a long period of time. If you think long enough, you will eventually realize that there are very few developers who understand this difference while fewer have managed to achieve a status of being a brand in India. Real Estate branding is influenced by four main attributes – location of the project, past performance of the developer, the quality of the services being offered and the current brand image in the market. The real estate sector needs to realise that short-term gains will not last for long. They must invest in quality and performance ethics if they want to win the trust of customers. Delivering the project on time, communicating in a trained manner during and after the project construction, delivering quality that was committed-not letting the prices escalate for the buyer and high quality post possession services are equally important in creating a strong developer brand. Current scenario Although there is a positive movement by a few reputed developers towards creating great brand experiences across entire customer journey, there is still a long way to go. For instance, there is rarely a case where the building plan stays the same at the time of sales and at the time of delivery. There are always surprises in store for the customer. Part of the reason is the complex regulatory policies in India that don’t allow projects to stick to their commitments. As a result, developers deal with a highly uncertain environment. A project that gets initial clearance gets objections at a later date placing the fortunes of hundreds of buyers in jeopardy. Clarity, transparency and simplicity are three principles, which if practiced religiously across the supply chain , can transform India into one of the most attractive real estate brands in the world. How branding can bring change? The current scenario is bound to change sooner than later. As real estate matures from being a sector to an industry that is bound by regulations, driven by transparency and led by ethical developers who want to make money not at the cost of customers but by providing them real value for their investments. This will attract significant FDI in India, which in turn can create employment. This will further propel the real estate sector completing the cycle of growth. Benefits for the buyers and developers Whether it is the government which can collect more taxes, buyers who will get what they paid for, developers who will become brands and can demand premium for delivering better experience and construction companies who will become bigger and better at what they do. However, this can only be achieved when brand becomes the primary driver of their business rather than money that corrupts and blindfold the industry to the trust deficit that is currently in.
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guest column Tata Housing’s subsidiary Tata Value Homes has launched an e-commerce platform to sell flats.
“Tata Value Homes has announced the launch of Tatavaluehomes.com which will allow global access to its properties in India,” Tata Housing said in a statement earlier this week. The new platform will enable buyers to book homes in 3 easy steps for just
Rs 30,000 under the inaugural offer, said the realty arm of Tata Group. Tata Value Homes has come up with an offer from October 15 under which customers will be able to buy a particular unit at a flat price across Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai. “All 1 BHKs will be priced at
Rs 29.9 lakh, 2 BHKs at Rs 39.9 lakh, large 2 BHK at Rs 49.9 lakh and 3 BHKs at
Rs 59.9 lakh,” the statement said. A company official said that 250-300 apartments would be offered under this scheme. Earlier, Tata Housing had tied up with Google and Snapdeal to sell homes through their platforms. Launching the new portal Tatavaluehomes.com, Tata Housing MD & CEO Brotin Banerjee said, “Evolution of Indian consumer over the years to embrace the e-commerce platforms has opened up the market for consumers across the globe. With the increasing internet penetration, the new platform builds on the vision of being the largest provider of homes”. He said the company had invested in the research and technology which ensures transactional safety, quality and transparency. “With this launch we have simplified the platform which makes purchasing homes accessible to Indians, across the world,” Banerjee added. Tata Value Homes has so far sold over a million sq ft of residential space, which translates into over 700 units worth over
Rs 300 crore in value and affordable housing segment. Tata Housing is a closely held public limited company and a subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd. It is developing 60 million sq ft of area and an additional 19 million sq ft is in the pipeline. — PTI
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tax tips Can a Will about ancestral property be contested? Q.As per my understanding a Hindu male has a right to make a Will in respect of self-acquired property. I do not have any knowledge about the ancestral property of a Hindu. I want to know whether a person can also make a Will about ancestral property. Is such a Will revocable by the legal heirs? — Navjot
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Can I issue rent receipt to wife for HRA claim? Q.I am a retired defence officer and am getting pension along with disability pension. My wife is a KV teacher and a tax payee. She gets HRA. We are staying in our own house registered on my name. Our house is a two bedroom house with a servant quarter. Since I am a disabled soldier, my pension (the disability element and service element) is exempted from IT. My query is
Can I issue a receipt of rent to my wife so that she can get tax rebate on HRA? If yes, then up to what amount should such receipt be issued? I will show the amount as income from house property in my IT return. —
Niranjan Singh A.Section 13A of the Act provides for the exemption of the house rent allowance subject to conditions prescribed in the Income-Tax Rules 1962. As per Rule 2A of the said Rules the amount of house rent allowance not includible in the salary is to be worked out as under: *
the actual amount of such allowance received by the assessee in respect of the relevant period; or *
the amount by which the expenditure actually incurred by the assessee in payment of rent in respect of residential accommodation occupied by him exceeds one-tenth of the amount of salary due to the assessee in respect of the relevant period; or *
an amount equal to - (i) where such accommodation in situate at mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi or Chennai, one-half of the amount of salary due to the assessee in respect of the relevant period; and (ii) where such accommodation is situate at any other place, two-fifth of the amount of salary due to the assessee in respect of the relevant period. *
Whichever of the above is the least would not be includible in the income from salary. It would be observed from the above, that one of the requirement is that the amount of deduction is limited to the excess of the amount actually incurred by the assessee in payment of rent over 1/10 of the salary of the relevant period. The issuance of mere receipt would not therefore be of any help and there has to be an actual payment of rent by your wife to you. It is not possible to compute the deduction allowable as the figure of total salary received by your wife is not indicated in the query. I would like to caution you that the department is not likely to agree for allowing a deduction as it seems to be most un-natural for a wife making payment to her husband towards house rent for the residential accommodation occupied by her though both of them are living together in the same house which is owned by the husband.
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Q.My brother took a loan of Rs 80 lakh from me through an account payee cheque two years ago, which has been credited to his account. Now he wants to enter into a family settlement with me by giving me three kanal agricultural land within the municipality in a village near Hoshiarpur which is of equal value. My queries are:
nThe land is already registered in his name. Do I have to get it registered again by making a conveyance deed which may involve substantial expenditure. nWill the tehsildar-patvari concerned carry out the mutation without any objection or it is mandatory for me to purchase the stamp papers and get the conveyance deed made in my name. nHaving done the above exercise based upon your advice, can my brother delete his liability of
Rs 80 lakh loan from his balance sheet, for the purpose of filling an income tax return? —
Rommel A.Your queries are replied hereunder: *
A Family Settlement Deed is entered into between the members of a family who are having a dispute relating to various properties and/or business owned by the family. It is also possible to enter into a family settlement if there is a likelihood of dispute between members of a family regarding the properties or business so as to avoid the dispute. In the case cited by you no family settlement would be possible instead a sale deed will have to be executed by your brother in your favour for the sale of the property *
The sale deed, as and when registered, will be on stamp paper and the stamp duty will have to be paid on the market value of the property. *
The Tehsildar/Patwari would make the mutation in your favour on the basis of the sale deed so executed and duly registered with the Sub-Registrar. Your brother can delete the liability of loan of ~80 lakh from his balance sheet thereafter. However, the capital gain arising on the sale of the property will have to be paid by your brother
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Tax liability of self-occupied house Q.My father owned a residential house which was self occupied. He passed away recently and according to his Will the house property has to be transferred to the legal heirs i.e. me, my two brothers and my mother. My elder brother is the executor of the estate. The house property is yet to be transferred to all of us. The said property is now being used by my younger brother and me. The property has not been let out at all. For the purposes of filing a wealth-tax return of the estate for the year ended March 31, 2014 is it possible to claim that the property is being used for self residence? — Rajesh
A.It should be possible to get the valuation of the house determined under the provisions of Section 7(2) of the Wealth-Tax Act 1957 in the category of a property being exclusively used by an assessee for residential purposes through out the period of 12 months immediately preceding the valuation date. The words “exclusively used” do not mean that the assessee should have actually lived in the house for the entire prescribed period. What is required is that the house should not have been let out for rent or for commercial purposes. Further, the use of the house “by him for residential purposes” must be regarded as having been satisfied even if the house is used for residential purposes by the heirs who are entitled to a share in the estate and not by the executor himself.
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Q.Ours was a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) which was partitioned after March 2014. The only asset of the property of the HUF was a residential house. On partition said house has been allocated to me, a member of the family. The fair market value as on the date of partition was approximately Rs 6 lakh. The said house property has been sold by me in August 2014 for a sum of Rs 80 lakh. What would be the capital gain chargeable to tax in this case? — Rajan A.The transfer of house property to you at the time of partition would not be treated as a transfer under the provisions of the Act and there would no implications with regard to the incidence of tax on account of total partition of HUF. However, the transfer of house by you for a sum of
Rs 80 lakh would require the computation of capital gain. The period of holding of the HUF will also be included for computing the amount of capital gain. As the figure of the cost of the property has not been mentioned by you in the query, it is not possible to compute the amount of capital gain.
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Housing sales to pick up in 6-8 months Housing sales have remained lower than expected so far during the current festival season mainly due to high interest rates and the demand is likely to pick up only in the next 6-8 months, according to a report by Knight Frank and FICCI.
Property consultant Knight Frank and industry body FICCI recently released the Real Estate Sentiment Index for Q3 2014 (July–September) based on a survey of various supply-side stakeholders including developers, private equity, banking and non-banking financial firms. The current sentiment index, for all asset classes and all locations, surged by 12 points to 63 points, while the future sentiments have also improved by 2 points to 71 points. “Although the current sentiment score merely breached the 50 mark in Q2 2014 (April–June), results for this quarter (July–September) have risen to 63 which is attributable to the stakeholders’ positive perception regarding the economy, residential sales and price appreciation compared to six months back,” Knight Frank said in a statement. The Union Budget 2014-15 has laid considerable emphasis on the realty sector and this has infused a positive sentiment for the future, it added. However, the report said the euphoria seen in the housing segment about sales and launches during the previous survey has been rationalised. The optimism about housing price rise continues to hold steady in this quarter. “Festival season has not really kept up to the expectations in terms of housing sales. Home buyers are in wait-and-watch mode hoping that the interest rates will fall and economy will improve. We feel that in another 6-8 months, the actual transactions will start picking up,” Knight Frank India Chief Economist and Director Research Samantak Das said. He noted that although enquiries have increased, the actual buying is not taking place. The festive season has not brought in the expected cheer to the realty sector, with markets reporting “not so-encouraging” housing sales over the past two weeks, the report said. “Unlike the boom years, stakeholders this year had resisted the temptation to launch new projects in the season, focusing instead on reducing the inventory that has piled up over the past few quarters,” it added. Another industry body Assocham has also said that in spite of new launches the real estate market in the country will be back on its feet some time in 2015. Launches of new homes rose by 30 per cent during January-March period of 2014 in anticipation of recovery in the property market post-election, according to industry body Assocham. The launches of new homes amid slowdown in demand led to rise in unsold inventory by nearly seven per cent, it added. “After four consecutive quarters of muted launches, such activities showed improvement at the country level. Ahead of general elections, developers had launched many projects to gain competitive advantage and, at the same time, anticipated a recovery in market conditions post-polls. “However, a slump in demand led to buyers taking a cautious approach. The number of unsold units rose 6.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter because of the large number of new launches amid a prolonged slump in sales. New launches increased by about 30 per cent q-o-q in Q1 2014,” Assocham said in a statement. While there was an improvement in new launches, sales continued to remain low despite developers offering attractive pricing schemes and discounts to attract buyers, it added. “Liquidity and high level of leverage remain big issues with the real estate developers. These two issues can ultimately get resolved with pick up in the economy and a smart recovery in demand for housing units,” Assocham Secretary General DS Rawat said. “But there is a lag between improvement in macro picture and its impact on the real estate market, particularly in the residential segment which is highly sensitive to the interest rates and the job market, which needs to be robust for the demand rebound,” he added. — PTI
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loan zone Q.I have taken a home loan for Rs
15,00,000 from a Cooperative Bank. The tenure of this loan is 15 years. I have the following queries:
*
What is the meaning of BPLR? * What do you mean by base rate? *
Can I switch my home loan interest rate from BPLR to base rate? — Amrit
Gupta A.By definition, the benchmark prime lending rate, or BPLR, is the reference interest rate based on which a bank lends to its creditworthy borrowers. Normally, loans were given out a little more or a little less than this reference interest rate. All retail loans were linked to the BPLR or the PLR. So, any change in it will affect the cost at which you have taken a loan from a bank. Starting July 1, 2010, all banks in India have moved to a base rate regime. The base rate is the minimum rate that a bank will lend money at. Think of it as a floor below which RBI will not allow banks to lend to you. As per RBI guidelines, the base rate system would be applicable for all new loans and for those old loans that come up for renewal. Existing loans based on the BPLR system may run till their maturity. In case existing borrowers want to switch to the new system before expiry of the existing contracts, an option may be given to them on mutually agreed terms. Banks, however, should not charge any fee for such switchover.
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Switching loan may prove costly Q.I have a home loan with HDFC bank since January, 2008, at an interest of 11.25 per cent. Now I want to close the loan because the current interest rate is 13.50 per cent. The bank is demanding foreclosure charges of 2 per cent and service charges and brokern interest. What should I do? — B.B. Goel A.The foreclosure charge was informed to you while availing the loan from a bank. Accordingly the bank will recover this charge in case you want to shift your home loan account to some other lender. You may be aware that home loan rates have gone up. If you want to avail loan from some other lender just to prepay the present banker and it may work out to be costly affair as apart from paying the foreclosure charges you will have to pay processing fees, documentation charges, mortgage fees, title verification fees, may be valuation fees etc. You need to evaluate the charges which you may have to pay vis a vis the foreclosure and other charges to be paid to your present banker and then take a call
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It is commonly believed that the Indian festive season induces property purchase solely because religious sentiments are high during this period. Likewise, it is a commonly accepted notion that the attractive schemes and freebies that Indian developers offer during the festive season have something to do with the increased sales. Apart from and creating an unduly negative impression in the eyes of global observers of Indian markets, such an assumption does not give Indians the benefit of intelligence.
There are trends every season which are rotational like the vintage is making a comeback this year. The major focus and choice of many these days are the classics of the 16th century and the English classics in interiors. These can be used aesthetically to make your home trendy this Diwali.
Revamp
in style
Traditionally, in every Indian household a thorough cleaning is done so that the house sparkles on Diwali. Colourful decorations, rangolis, lights and diyas (earthen pots) are put up to enhance the festive look. The centre of all the celebration is the Lakshmi puja. 
A mature industry that values transparency and an ethical business environment is beneficial for all stakeholders in the supply chain.
A.I presume that the reference to ancestral property in the query is actually a reference to a joint family property. In such a case the Hindu Succession Act 1956 , provides that a co-parcener has a right to make a Will in respect of his share in the joint family property. He has no right to make a Will in respect of the entire joint family property. A Will, if executed validly, cannot be revoked by the legal heirs after the death of the testator. It can be challenged only if the same has been obtained by force, coercion or undue influence or has been executed under the influence of intoxication so as to take away the free will of the testator.