|
|
|
|
| REAL ESTATE |
|
|
|
A floor of your own
SEZ developers seek more time
No tax on using full sale amount
CALCULATE YOUR POWER LOAD
Leather look
Mid-segment on a high
|
|
|
|
A floor of your own
Independent floors seem to be the latest trend in the residential segment in the tricity area at present. As a product independent floors are the ideal choice not only for the space and privacy conscious buyer but also for investors and realtors. "Independent floors are the first choice of clients and the demand for these is increasing with each passing day", observes J.D.S Sohal, Head (Finance), Realty Club. Seeing the trend in the open market builders too have started offering independent floors in their product portfolio.
Gaining ground "With the floor-wise sale of independent houses catching up in the tricity due to the limited availability of land and exorbitant prices, independent floors are being touted as an answer to the needs of buyers in this segment by realtors. As potential customers in the tricity are open to newer formats, floors, a concept that is significantly popular in Gurgaon, is gaining acceptance here as well", says Rajiv Gupta of Emaar MGF. A number of builders in the region are now offering independent floors. Independent floors, as the name suggests, require no sharing of common areas with other families on a particular floor. Since it is independent of any other flat on the same floor, all the area is meant exclusively for the owner. "Independent floor, thus, is the hybrid of a bungalow and an apartment. Anyone wanting to enjoy the comforts of a bungalow with-in the premises of a gated community should go for an independent floor", says Geetamber Anand of ATS Infrastructure. "More and more people are buying independent floors because of the privacy factor. The total covered area remains the same, but with less the number of occupants", observes G.P.S Waraich of BN Habitat. Another important factor which adds to the trend is the fear of heights. "Many people have phobia about living in high-rise structures. Though they want good space, living on a higher floor is a problem for them and independent floors provide a solution to their predicament", says Rakesh Chhabra, Head (Sales), Unitech Homes. Security is also a major consideration here. "Independent floors that are a part of integrated townships allay all security-related concerns of home buyers. These are safe. In our Panchkula project a fairly large part of the township involves plotted development. So you get to enjoy all the comforts of an integrated township that too with your individual space", adds Mohit Gujaral Vice-Chairman, DLF. Owning land is another fetish of most Indian buyers and this is something which one can't get in buying flats. "We observed that however high the PLC might be, people want to go for the ground floor. I have only two units on ground floor left from a stock of 300 units", Chhabra adds. Even for a builder constructing independent floors is a more profitable venture than constructing high-rise apartments. "For constructing high-rise apartment equipment like cranes and more labour is required which is pretty costly. But in floors the costing is less and profits are more. Secondly, the TAT (Turn around Time) for cash is much more in flats since the number of units to be sold are more, but not so in the case of independent floors since the number of floors is limited and the units are also restricted, so the flow of cash is rapid", observes Sohal "We are providing independent floors with an area of 3,200 sq. ft for Rs 3,500 per sq. ft. These are ready to move in with units having Italian marble flooring, woodwork, bathroom fittings plus the facility of a golf range", says Anand whose company has a project coming up near Zirakpur. Price factor The biggest attraction is competitive pricing. The ground floor of Unitech is priced at Rs 64 lakh with an area of 1,796 sq. ft with front and rear lawns included. The second floor of same area is priced at around Rs 50 lakh. Affordable pricing is an added attraction for buyers. "In TDI City II we launched independent floors by the name of 'My Floors', and the response that we got was fantastic. All of my 144 units have been sold and we have given the possession also. When we launched these floors the price was Rs 30 lakh and now the market price is around Rs 38 lakh (for 1460 sq ft of covered area on a plot size of 250 sq. yd)", says Sanyam Dudeja COO (Punjab), TDI. Even at Emaar MGF the sales have reflected a healthy trend, since their floors are priced at Rs 36 lakh with on a plot size of 280 sq. yd with around 1,500 sq. ft of built up area. Not to be left behind is DLF. "Firstly, our prices have shown considerable appreciation from the time of launch of the project. We launched these at Rs 2,300 per sq. ft and now the trading price is Rs 3,500 per sq. ft. We have G+2 structure in independent floors with power back-up .What we are providing is not a luxury product but a fully fitted value home", says Gujral.
Scoring high on the privacy, pricing and privileged living factors independent floors is a trend that will attract more buyers in the near future.
|
|
SEZ developers seek more time
Reflecting lack of enthusiasm for the special economic zones, as many as 53 developers, including Parsvnath SEZ, Unitech Realty Projects and Uttam Galva Steels, have sought more time from the government for implementing their projects.
Reliance Haryana SEZ, NIIT Technologies, Navi Mumbai SEZ, Indiabulls Industrial Infrastructure and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd have also requested for additional time from the Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar, an official said. BoA, a 19-member inter-ministerial body that deals with special economic zones (SEZs) related matters, is scheduled to meet on May 31. Another six promoters have approached the Commerce Ministry for surrendering their projects. The developers, who have requested for denotification, have cited reasons like global economic slowdown, problems related to land acquisition and imposition of minimum alternative tax (MAT) on the developers and units. The developers who have approached for denotification of their tax free enclaves include Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation for its sector specific SEZ and Satyam Computer Services for its IT/ITeS zone. According to an industry expert, uncertainty over tax exemptions to new SEZs has also led to declining interest in the tax free enclaves. Investors are apprehensive about the new draft Direct Taxes Code (DTC). Seven firms were allotted lands by GSIDC in 2006 at Verna, Sancoale and Keri's Bhutkhamb plateau. The locals had opposed these mega industrial enclaves and subsequently on June 15, 2009, the state scrapped the SEZ policy and asked the developers to hand back the land allotted to them. The developers then approached Bombay High Court's Goa Bench where they lost the case. The Supreme Court has since stayed the land allocation cancellation. — PTI
|
|
No tax on using full sale amount
S. C. Vasudeva Q. I had purchased a non-residential plot in 2003 for Rs 7 lakh. The plot falls under non-residential category and is still under the forest Act. Now, I am planning to sell the said plot. The property agent is offering Rs 20 lakh by cheque (total price of the plot) and Rs 10 lakh in cash. I want to purchase a flat near our area which would be ready in the next two-three years. However, to give some good discount, the builder wants full (90 per cent) payment on the date of booking itself. Kindly advise * That no capital gains tax is payable by me if I give full payment to the builder now itself (within one year of selling my plot) * Can I show Rs 10 lakh cash given by dealer in my account or to buy above flat? A. No capital gain tax would be chargeable in case the net sale consideration is utilised for making payment to the builder in respect of residential flat intended to be purchased. The payment of the entire net consideration should be made before the due date of filing the return of income so as to avoid the necessity of depositing the remaining amount of net sale consideration in bank account for Capital Gain Scheme before the due date referred to hereinabove. Further, the possession of the residential flat should be handed over to you within two years after the date of sale so as to avoid the chargeability of tax on Capital Gain. The net sales consideration should include the amount of Rs 10 lakh. I presume that the amount of Rs 10 lakh forms part of the net sales consideration reflected in the Sale Deed.
Get sale deed rectified
*
I was allotted a third floor flat for Rs 2,88,700 on November 22, 1999 in my name. *
On October 22, 2010, I had sold the flat and entered into an agreement to sell the said flat for Rs 25 lakh. The amount of was paid to me through a bank draft. *
Due to some technical reasons we (I and buyer) registered the lease deed later on December 15, 2010 with the Chandigarh Administration. *
In the meantime, I purchased a new flat on October 27, 2010 costing Rs 35 lakh jointly with my son (with the sale proceeds of Rs 25 lakh from the sale of my old flat plus Rs 8.5 lakh borrowed from a bank and Rs 1.5 lakh from my personal savings). The bank loan was also taken jointly by me and my son. *
I would like to enquire whether I am liable to pay any capital gain or not, since the lease deed of my old flat was made on December 15, 2010. Whereas I purchased my new flat on October 27, 2010, on the basis of full and final payment of Rs 25 lakh made to me by the buyer. *
Do I have to pay any capital gain tax or income-tax ? — K.B.S Kochhar A. Your queries are replied hereunder: *
In your case a long-term capital gain of Rs 19,72,325 will arise on account of the sale of the flat. This has been computed on the basis of indexed cost of Rs 5, 27,675 and the date of handing over the possession to the buyer would be considered as the date of sale. *
Section 54 of the Act provides that in case long-term capital gain arising on the sale of a residential house is utilised for the purchase of another residential house within two years after the date of sale, such capital gain would not be taxable. According to the facts given in the query, you have utilised the entire amount of capital gain towards the purchase of a residential house within two years after the date of sale. Therefore, no tax should be leviable on the capital gain so arising. It may be added that the department is bound to question joint ownership of the house. It would be advisable to get the Sale Deed rectified so as to make you single owner of the house.
Ownership date decides LTCG
Q. I booked a flat in Mohali in March 2008 by paying 95 per cent of its cost plus car parking and club charges. In April 2011 the builder asked me to take permissive possession for doing internal work by paying the remaining five per cent cost plus other charges. The registration, however, will be done only after 5-6 months as the project is not yet formally complete. Some people have taken the possession and are living there. My query is that if I take the possession, then will I be able to sell the flat before it is registered and will this transaction come under long-term capital gain or short-term gain? — Amarjit Kaur A. According to the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (The Act) a capital asset held for a period of more than three years is considered a long-term capital asset. Any profit arising on sale of such a capital asset is treated as a 'long-term capital gain'. Selling the flat immediately after taking possession in April 2011 would not enable you to claim that the profit arising on such a sale as a long-term capital gain. Your date of ownership will be counted from April 2011, and three-year period would be counted from this date of ownership. The profit so arising would be treated as a short-term capital gain. However, in case you sell your property rights in the flat which exist before taking the possession, the period of three years would be counted from March 2008. In such a case it may be possible to claim that the profit arising on such a sale is a long-term capital gain.
The writer can be contacted at sc@scvasudeva.com
|
|
Ground Realty
Making one's own calculations is often a delightful and self-fulfilling activity. You feel joyous when you are able to work out your income tax liability without consulting a lawyer. How about acquiring the capability of making a few more calculations related to your house? Here are some guidelines to work out your power load
Now, you wish to apply for the electricity connection. The first question that comes to mind now is, 'what electricity connected load you should apply for?' Well, you can work it out yourself. Proceed as follows: Air Conditioners: If the ACs are ISI marked, check their plates and note the wattage of each. If the AC is non-ISI, note its wattage as 2500 Watts. Take care that wattage of all ACs is to be noted in watts and not in kilowatts. So figures should be like 2100 W, 2500 W etc. Add the wattage of all ACs and divide it by three. However, if the number of ACs is less than three then at least one AC is to be counted. If the number of ACs is four, minimum two ACs are to be counted. Note it as A. Light points: Multiply the total number of light points with 40. Divide it by two. Note the figure as B. Fan points: Multiply the total number of fan points with 60. Divide it by three. Note the figure as C. Wall sockets: Multiply the total number of wall sockets of five amperes with 60. Divide it by four. Note the figure as D. Power sockets: Multiply the total number of wall sockets of 15 amperes, also called power sockets, with 1,000. Divide it by four. Note the figure as E. The load: Now find the sum of A, B, C, D and E. This should be your connected load requirement. There are certain variations as per electricity regulations applicable in the area you are living in but this figure will give you a fairly good idea of connected load requirement. Example: If there are four ACs in the house. Two are ISI marked, of 2100 W each and two are non-ISI marked. As minimum two ACs are to be counted, A = 2100 + 2500 = 4600 W. If the number of light points is 20. Multiply it by 40 and divide by 2. We get B = 400 W. If the number of fan points is 10. Multiply it by 60 and divide by 3. We get C = 200 W. If the number of 5 ampere sockets is 12. Multiply it by 60 and divide by 4. We get D = 180 W. Let number of 15 ampere sockets be 10. Multiply by 1000 and divide by 4. E = 2500 W. Thus the connected load requirement works out as 4600 + 400 + 200 + 180 + 2500 = 7880 W = 7.88 KW. Some exceptions: Sometimes, multi-plugs are used by people on some sockets. In such cases, the sum of wattage of all appliances connected to that point is to be taken in account to find the connected load. As you don't know at the time of applying for connection that on which point, you'll need to add a multi-plug, keep the connected load applied a little on the higher side than the calculated figure. In fact, you should avoid using multi-plugs at all. KVA vs KW: Sometimes, the rating of certain items is mentioned in KVA instead of KW. In such cases it should be multiplied by 900 to find the number of watts to be noted for connected load calculation. UPS Sockets: There are many sockets at the back of a UPS. These should not be counted while counting the number of 5 ampere sockets. Single phase or three phase: If the connected load works out as more than 10 KW, then, three-phase connection should be applied. For a load less than 10 KW, single phase connection may
be applied. Check with electricity authorities: The calculations made can be got checked from the local electricity authorities as the connected load computing regulations often undergo revisions as more and more appliances are entering the households. Also, there are efforts to simplify the guidelines so that a house builder may himself make his calculations. Happy calculating and connecting! (This column appears fortnightly)
|
|
Leather look
Leather flooring is the latest in flooring trends in India. Launched in India by Idus which has its headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, it is an exclusive product meant for niche clientele. Soft flooring material made out of 100% fine quality real leather has HDF and cork wood underneath to give more strength and stability and has got a Uniclic system of installation which gives the flexibility to remove or repair and re-lay the floor anytime.
It is good for residential use in bedroom, lobby, drawing rooms etc. It can be cleaned easily with a damp cloth and small stains can be removed with a leather cleaning solution. It has a very highly resistance PU protection overly on top to resist from scratches. The trendy flooring comes in a range of over a dozen colours and is priced at Rs 650 per sq ft.
|
|
Guest Column
After the economy recovered from recession, the real estate sector picked up momentum in 2010. The year was positive for the real estate sector with heightened activity in the sales. With the recent stability in the economy, the first half of 2011 has been positive for developers. A higher demand in the housing segment is expected to make the market more competitive for residential players.
Housing Trends
* The second half of 2011 will see an upward swing in mid-segment to ultra-low cost housing segment with large number of launches in the range of Rs 2,000-3,000 per sq ft at the leapfrogged suburban locations. The launch of premium housing projects is expected to continue, although at a slower pace. The impact on affordability will influence the price and demand dynamics. *
Buyers' preference for smaller homes that has been witnessed over the past 24 months will continue in 2011. Everyone seems to be downsizing with higher quality and amenities. The older generation is looking for low maintenance houses and first-time buyers are looking for smaller homes in walk able neighbourhoods. *
Real estate companies are coming up with various residential and commercial projects to fulfill the demand for residential and office properties in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. The growth in real estate in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is mainly due to increase in demand for organised realty and availability of land at affordable prices. *
Indian real estate will be driven by the end user in 2011. With improving economy and better job security, home buyers seem more confident for making a property purchase in 2011 (with some help in the form of a
price correction). According to a recent survey, a whopping 70 per cent of home buyers all over the country want to buy a house for own use. It is interesting to know that 20 per cent are looking at buying a house purely for long-term investment (time horizon more than 3 years) purposes and another 10 per cent are looking at investing for short-term (time horizon 1-3 years) gain. It is, therefore, evident, that the real estate sector has to innovate and redefine business models everywhere.
|
Leather flooring is the latest in flooring trends in India. Launched in India by Idus which has its headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, it is an exclusive product meant for niche clientele. Soft flooring material made out of 100% fine quality real leather has HDF and cork wood underneath to give more strength and stability and has got a Uniclic system of installation which gives the flexibility to remove or repair and re-lay the floor anytime.
Q. I have the following queries with regard to the sale of my flat in Chandigarh. I give below the details para wise:
CALCULATE YOUR POWER LOAD
The set-up: You have built your house, imagined the electrical equipment and accessories you are going to use and made provisions to run the same. Accordingly, you have provided the switches and sockets in each room. You have also thought of the additions to be made in future, may be an additional AC or a dish washer or multi-room LCD connections and provided additional power outlets to supply power to these as you don't want to see any loose wires added at a later stage and dangling on the walls of your house, spoiling its beauty. The electrical circuits and network are complete and ready for electricity connection. 
Count the number: To work out your connected load requirement, prepare a chart showing the following columns: Light points, Fan points, 5 ampere sockets, 15 ampere sockets and AC points (not to be counted in 15 ampere sockets). Now, one by one, check each room including kitchen, toilets, store and all other parts of the house. Systematically, note down the installed points in each room, under each column. When you have checked the whole of the house, add up the numbers in each column.