Dancer Lauren buys her own home in Mumbai!

Mumbai, the city of dreams, is rightly called Mayanagri. It might be easier to fulfill most of your dreams here but for owning a house. Countless people have reveries of living here but buying a property here sure burns a huge hole in your pockets.

Nonetheless, some are lucky to own an apartment here while many others struggle to turn their dream into reality. And, B-town dancer Lauren Gottlieb is just one of them.

The mind-blowing dancer who has made appearances in some reality shows and a few Bollywood movies has finally got the keys to her new home in Mumbai. After three long years of struggle & adversities, the US beauty feels that this is her home away from home. “It is extremely difficult to get a property of your choice in Mumbai especially if you are a foreigner, single, dancer and linked to bollywood. And I’m all of these. I simply wish to thank god and my family for my accomplishment,” the emotional Lauren wrote on Instagram.

You can also reach her on :

Facebook : www.facebook.com/LaurenGottliebofficiall

Instagram : www.instagram.com/laurengottlieb

Do you really own your land as per law?

Did you know that paperwork like tax receipts is not enough to prove you are the owner of a property? Yes, you’d be surprised to know that a transaction entered into between a buyer and seller of land is simply recorded at the registration and stamps duty office. However, it is only a record, and not a clear proof entitling the owner to his or her land. So, the formalities, as regards transfer papers and tax receipts aren’t legally binding documents.

In a landmark legislative move, the Rajasthan government recently passed the Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bill or simply put the land titling Bill, which makes land and property acquisitions easier, transparent and safer. For the common man, this basically means that The Bill aims at giving the buyer of a property a clear title, which removes all doubts as to who owns the property. In other words, the state guarantees you that the land under your name is yours. You aren’t the ‘assumed’ owner.

If you are wondering what is the current law on land title, here’s a primer. When there is a dispute between two parties over land, the true owner of the land cannot make a rightful claim on the land if it is challenged. Therefore, one could end up losing the land, and chances are that the owner may not get the market rate for it.

So, how is the titling Bill different? The Bill proposes to ensure that the true owner will get the market price for the land. Also, any disputes over the land can be resolved by having a look at the guarantee title document.

To take a leaf out of the Rajasthan government’s positive move in this direction, other state governments need to begin by computerizing all property-related documents that are registered with the Registrar Offices and create a database to keep out any illegal claims from coming forward.

Home Loan eligibility

Before even looking out for a property, buyers like to know the quantum of home loan they are eligible for. While that’s a good approach, there is always more clarity needed to make the final decision. We have attempted to throw light on some aspects to aid your decision making.

Banks or financial institutions determine the home loan eligibility of an applicant based on the valuation given to them by the evaluators they appoint. Your loan eligibility is also derived on the basis of your income, your regular outgoings and repayment track record. Your overall loan eligibility will be restricted to 80% of the agreement value or the valuation as determined by the bank, whichever is lower. Some banks also offer 90% of the agreement value to lure borrowers.

What is the eligibility for joint owners of a property and its tax implications?

To avoid Title issues later, it is a good idea to buy a property in joint name. The joint owner must become a co-borrower when applying for loan. In case the second applicant is also employed, it helps to improve your eligibility in terms of the loan amount. If the loan is taken in joint names and the property is self-occupied, both applicants can claim deduction under Section 24 (B) up to the limit of Rs 2 lakh each as well as claim deduction u/s 80 (C) for repayment of principal portion of the home loan.

 What is the time allowed between plot purchase and construction in case of composite home loan?

While Different banks have different clauses for starting construction on a plot, most banks permit a period of one to two years, within which, the construction must begin. If you construct the house within a year from purchase of the plot, the bank may give you home loan including cost of plot of the land. No tax benefits are available in respect of loan to buy a bare plot or in any year during which the construction is not complete.

 Can you get two home loans on a single property?

It is not possible to get two separate home loans on the security of the same property. However, you can avail a joint loan with a co-applicant if your incomes can justify the higher quantum of loan. You can get the tax benefits on the loan repayments provided you are an owner or a co-owner in the said property.

Mumbai

The interest in real estate investment seems to be fading with time and unaffordable prices however, Indian High Networth Individuals (HNIs) still get attracted towards buying property in London.

According to a new wealth report unveiled by Knight Frank last week, Mumbai, which is considered to be one of the costliest cities in the world, but it isn’t all what it seems. Monaco tops the list for real estate rates globally, while India’s commercial capital is near the bottom of the pyramid the wealth report findings observe. So, if you are a billionaire contemplating on parking your money in real estate, it is perhaps time to look closer home.

As per this report, a rich Indian can manage to buy 99 sq metre of space in Mumbai for $1 million which keeps it much closer to the bottom of the pyramid. Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo are the Asian cities that outdo Mumbai in terms of cost.

The top of the pyramid is captured by Monaco, where for $1 million; you can only buy 17 sq metres of space followed by Hong Kong (20), London (22) and New York (27).

The Indian UHNIs (Ultra High Networth Individuals) also prefer to purchase properties in Dubai and Singapore. According to a survey, the latter two cities are expected to surpass the coveted top positions presently enjoyed by London and New York, the report states.

Image Credits: DNA

If you are the one who is cursing the Mumbai city due to lack of space, proper amenities and other shortcomings, so here are some heartening news for you; Mumbai is one among top five emerging world cities. According to the report of JLL, a global property consultant, “Mumbai is 4^th on the list of emerging world cities, however; the top three are Shanghai, Beijing and Dubai. Apart from Mumbai; New Delhi and Bengaluru were also in the report which titled “Globalization and Competition: The New World of Cities”.

In report, According to JLL emerging world cities are the business capitals of major economies as these cities are experiencing higher growth percentage, attention of governance and implementation of strategies to become more stable and establish regions. These cities often get support from the national government, as government is in the process of economic adjustment and busy in the restructuring and optimization of urban and metropolitan regions for the benefits of global engagement. The report explains that Mumbai is witnessing urban consumer demand between now and 2030, along with other regions such as; Jakarta and Istanbul. According to experts, this growth can help the retail sector as demand and supply ratio is different in these cities as per region preferences and requirements.

JLL Report Findings:

According to report, it is expected that 26 percent firms have the revenue of more than $ 1 billion and by the end f 2025 this share could reach 50 percent. However; report, also pointed out that in present real estate market of Mumbai is performing well as it is attracting real estate investment and outsourcing activities, but still at certain points its facing chronic infrastructure supply challenges and these challenges can be hurdle for transnational firms. Apart from that Manila and Jakarta also reported the same issue. In these cities transnational firms are performing well as they are able to expand their operations in South and South East Asia in very low cost with huge market opportunities, whereas; on certain pints they are also facing considerable urban infrastructure shortages.

Recommendations of JLL:

It is recommended to these cities that now its need of time to focus on the other aspects such as; reducing complexity of preparation, assembling and project execution because it could prevent capital investment budgets on a year-by-year basis. However; there are substantial improvements in Mumbai as government has taken steps to improve transparency, reduce red-tapism, and strengthen governance with aim to reduce the complexity in execution of projects. For example; In Mumbai the civic corporation has cut building permissions from 150 to 70 and it also reduced the time limit to give such permissions. Apart from that state government is also working on a plan to digitize permissions which real estate developers need. It is suggested that there is need to address three major issues as it could be hurdle in the growth and success of the cities and these three issues are; how to build and sustain multiple sources of investment, how to attract talent and local skills and co-ordination in metropolitan space.

In the absence of strategies and systems of address these issues, the emerging world cities will struggle and find it difficult to manage their growth effectively in the ratio of economic development.

Image Credits : DNA

In past few years, Pune and Mumbai have seen aggressive growth in term of property prices since year 2012 by 49.97 percent and 73.91 percent respectively, whereas; the second most pricey real estate market was Delhi/NCR as it was observed that in Delhi/NCR the marginal price rise was 9.13 percent since year 2014. According to reports, it’s clear that if you want to rent or buy an apartment, so Mumbai and Delhi-NCR are among the most expensive cities, especially than when you are from middle class, whereas; Hyderabad and Ahmadabad are still most affordable city to buy or rent house as per the reports of ArthaYantra, a Financial Life Management Advisory Firm.

According to reports, since 2012, Mumbai witness 73.91 percent, Pune witness 49.97 percent and real estate market of Delhi-NCR has observed the marginal price rise of 9.13 percent, whereas; reports showed that Bengaluru witnessed a price rise of 9.76 percent since 2012 and Chennai was with 5.55 percent  marginal price rise. However; when it comes to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad so they have a negative growth in price and it was -20.70 percent and -10.46 percent respectively. In terms of property prices the growth since 2014, Mumbai again led the pack with 16.04 percent rise in home prices and it was followed by the Kolkata with 11.27 percent, Chennai with 8.78 percent and Delhi-NCR with 6.37 percent. Whereas; Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru was among the cities which witnessed a negative rise in home prices since last year and it was -0.42 percent, -4.46 percent and of -2.55 percent respectively.

According to report of ArthaYantra, Ahmedabad has seen a negative growth since 2012 in terms of property rents and due to that to placing it on the top most position in affordability-to-rent city. Whereas; Hyderabad has seen reasonable increase in the rental values, but drop in the property price, so it’s sensible to place it on the top most position in the list of cities where property prices are affordable.  However; Bengaluru is more favorable towards renting in comparison of buying property as it has seen a drop in property prices due to its demand in real estate industry. When it comes to affordability, so survey showing that someone with the annual income of Rs 25 lakh cannot afford residential property in Mumbai, however; same person with same annual income can buy property in Delhi/NCR. Buying property in the city like Chennai is only suitable for those people who have annual income of over Rs 20 lakh, however; if you have annual income of above Rs 17 lakh, so you can attempt to buy property in Pune city too.

In present, Bengaluru is one of the most affordable buy destinations for people who have the annual income of over Rs 15 lakh, and people with the annual income of over Rs 15 lakh can also buy property in Kolkata. But when it comes to buy property in the city like; Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, so they are among the cheapest cities and due to that people with the annual income of over Rs 9 lakh can buy residential property.

Festive season offers

If we will look the business of real estate market at the time of festive season, so we will find that developers and the consultants are on the same side because they are accepting that it will continues to go through a slow time. There are many real estate developers in country which have strong financial support and they tend to challenge or complete the convincing progress of real estate market with their under-construction projects. Unfortunately fact this has been overly hyped by the media and real estate developers that they have strong financial background and they are able to complete their projects on time. But still there is drop in the overall confidence of end buyers because they are worried that if they will commit their money into properties which will not be delivered on time, so it could be problem for them.

Price Correction in Projects:

In last one year, the prices of property in Mumbai has been increased by 3.7 per cent, in Chennai its increased by 15 per cent, but in Delhi or NCR no change recorded in the price of property. All this rise represents the more or less stable scenario and it is expected that it will continue for another 2 or 3 quarters as there are many fence-sitting buyers, who are waiting for the time when real estate prices get correct. But according to real estate experts price correction will be location specific as well as developer and will happen only if there will be nothing to attract the buyers. There are few cities where demand is still sufficient and prices are more or less affordable and in those cities there will be no price correction. Apart from that the regions where people looking for more affordable property certainly price correction will happen in those areas. However; there are much activity to make the real estate market more affordable because developers are actively re-configuring their projects as per market conditions in process to save the cost and pass the benefit to buyers. Much number of real estate projects are about to launch and they all have been at lower rates than those of earlier projects launched in the same locations in such category projects.

Economical Scenario:

In present, economy has not shown any type of perk for which real estate developers are waiting. However; market has definitely improved in comparison of last year. But market is still improving and recently, RBI as cut the interest rates to help the sentiment of buyers and it is expected that it will be factor to drive more sales in real estate market. With the cut in interest rate, the RBI has sent the signal to the real estate market that inflation is under control and buyers and developers can be more confident about economic growth. However; these kinds of signals are positive for buyers and developers as well. If you will show the actual pertinence on property purchase, so it could draw big impact on the savings because impact may not be very significant, in expensive regions such as; MMR, NCR, Delhi and more. If property prices will be expensive in any case, then marginal reduction in the cost of borrowing will not make any big impact. However; the reduction in interest rates will draw a bigger impact on the buying behavior in less expensive markets such as; peripheral locations of tier I and tier II cities.

NRI Investment:

If will take a step towards the domestic real estate consumption and analyze the demand and supply ratio in metro cities so you will understand that outlook looks very upbeat. In present, there are many non-resident Indians (NRIs) who are extremely active while investing in Indian real estate market. In India, NRIs are among top five investor communities who are investing in countries property sector. Apart from that there is natural affinity to India that NRI with high intrinsic value prefer to buy property in India than buying property anywhere else in world. However; sometimes due to weaker rupee value NRIs prefer to invest in India.

This festive season it is expected that buyers will see the mixed bag, but still question remains same, is it a good time to buy? Definitely yes, for end buyers because they have never been more spoiled for choice with bargaining power and lower interest rates. There are many real estate developers who are offering hard discounts registration charges and waive on stamp duty, VAT service tax and on other services such as; floor rise premium, free parking space and more. This festive season is an ideal time to make the best deal of your life and turned your dream home into a reality.

A big raise of Rs. 750 crore for real estate sector by IDFC Alternatives Ltd, a private equity fund managed by India’s IDFC is raising eyebrows!  As per IDFC, this is their maiden real estate funding focused on residential sector in India. This fund called IDFC Real Estate Yield Fund is an indication of a precautious return of risk capital to the country’s anxious real estate market.

We all know that real estate sector is going through a rough phase, reduced home sales and high interest rates are causing too much pressure on debt-laden developers who are trying to raise funds for recapitalizing existing bank loans and investing in future projects.

Around 60 to 80 crores will be invest by IDFC with gross target of 22 per cent returns. The four year (extendable by one year) close-ended private equity fund will invest in on-going residential projects in prime locations across six major cities in India including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. Because of secured nature of underlying investments, this funding will pose a lower risk.

The IDFC Real Estate Yield Fund will capitalize on the opportunities by focusing on debt deals that generate high yields, while ensuring downside protection and adequate security cover.

IDFC claims that this fund has some unique differences – it is a more focused and investor-friendly debt fund that aims an even distribution of income to investors. The goal of the fund is to make a superior-quality portfolio by concentrating on reputable developers and brown field residential projects, which will help generate higher returns for the investors of the fund by engaging a balanced risk-return strategy.

Ghodbunder a realty zone

Ghodbunder road is the most lucrative and well-established zone in Thane. It has maximum office supply absorption and maximum potential for capital appreciation and growth for investors with a 5-7 years investment horizon.

Today, this prime residential and commercial area is offering the likes of Mulund, Ghatkopar and even Andheri stiff competition for attracting office space investments. The stabilized residential and commercial environment in the area has instilled the confidence that is needed to revive Thane’s real estate fortunes. With the real estate picking up pace in Thane, Ghodbunder road are has emerged as destinations for IT and ITES players. Ghodbunder’s superior infrastructure, affordability and cosmopolitan ethos could have helped it score over many other areas which lack these attributes. However, the builders feel that the city is still caught in a slump caused by the slow official machinery. The bureaucratic machinery is still trying to sort out various issues, and proactive decision-making is visibly lacking.

Given the prolonged uncertainty over the last few years, it is hoped that with the installation of a new state government the official machinery would move faster and would usher a stable policy regime. It is evident that the kind of clarity that is needed to fully revive sentiments is still to come. However, it is not practical to expect overnight results -the revision of administrative machinery takes time. It makes no sense to harbour unrealistic expectations and come to any premature conclusions at this point.

On the plus side, the there are some serious officials who are very conversant and involved with the ground realities. Even the MMRDA and TMC are determined to make Ghodbunder road a crown jewel for Thane in terms of new initiatives and developments. This involves building confidence, providing stability – and, obviously, attracting investments. If this determination is followed through upon, it is not unlikely that Ghodbunder will once again offer direct competition to other key IT destinations in early 2015. The Thane Municipal Corporation’s budget is expected to provide more clarity on new initiatives and the status of many infrastructure related developments. Corporates currently invested in the real estate in the area are looking forward to this clarity, which will help them take decisions on their expansion plans and investments into the city over the coming months.

With a view to develop an alternative to Bandra Kurla complex in the eastern part of Mumbai Metropolitan region, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) had planned another ‘Bandra-Kurla Complex-like Business Growth Centre (BGC)’ for Dombivli.

The proposal is lying with the state government. Once the proposal is accepted, the project will take off. The idea is to bring a ‘Business Growth Centre’ as named by MMRDA to Dombivli to invite industries here and provide opportunities to professionals so they don’t have to travel to Mumbai for work.

Rapid industrial growth in Thane district has necessitated such a move from the MMRDA. “The proposed business growth centre will bring industry to Dombivli. “Ultimately, the aim is to reduce travelling time of the working professionals within the Mumbai metropolitan region and help individuals to increase their productivity. Long ago, the MMRDA had identified a patch of land measuring 4.24 lakh sq mts for development of the business centre. The agency has sent its proposal for approval to the state government,” said an MMRDA official.

The business growth centre will be modelled on the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) which was developed by the MMRDA on a 180 hectare plot. BKC houses the Bharat Diamond Bourse, financial institutions like Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), Mumbai Cricket Association headquarters, banks and other commercial offices of leading corporate houses. “BKC has all the amenities for business development. It was essentially developed to ease the pressure off south Mumbai and shift businesses close to places like Mahim and Andheri’s MIDC industrial complex. Employers benefited because productivity improved,” said another senior MMRDA official.

The BGC will aid and support the industries at Thane-Belapur belt, Information Technology (IT) parks near Navi Mumbai, special economic zone near Navi Mumbai and industrial complexes set up by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in the district. “During times of recession the region will benefit from the proposed business centre. MIDC has its industrial complex near Kalyan. It remains to be seen as to what facilities are offered at these centres. It will definitely reduce the travelling time for the employees, also save time and costs in transportation. It will provide stimulus to industrialisation in the region. As for housing requirements for the working professionals, Dombivli has numerous ready-to-move-in and under-construction units, in the budget range of Rs 1-1.5 crore. Most of the township projects are in the initial launch phase and offer 2 and 3BHK flats in a price range of Rs 45-80 lakh. Several small scale projects will be offering possession later this year, hence, impacting the total supply available in the area and giving investment options to investors.