tips for Buying resale property.

There are multiple reasons that push you into buying resale property, and the foremost being the urge to own a home of your own. Other than this evident reason, when you hear a lot of new residential and commercial projects entering the market on a regular basis and flying off the shelves even before they are ready, the next best option you have at owning your own property is by buying resale.

Purchasing a property is always a time consuming task and if you are looking for accommodation on an immediate basis, buying resale is the best option on your hand. Unlike with a new property, the paper work in this case is much faster which mainly involves the transfer of ownership.

Although buying a resale property is a lot more hassle-free than buying a new one, yet there are various legal formalities that you should be looking into. Here we have listed a few tips to help you shortlist a resale property.

Tip 1: Use market expertise

You can approach reputed real estate agencies and individual brokers in the market when planning to buy property in resale. These experts have years of experience in the field. They will fetch the best and verified resale properties for you. Do not get misled by anyone or by your own instincts. Rest assured, the experts will show you only those properties that are free from any issue. Moreover, you will also get appropriate guidance and assistance through all the registration and payment procedures.

Tip 2: Document scrutiny

So, if you have shortlisted a few properties and settled upon your top choices, it is time to go through all related legal documents. An important step because you wouldn’t want any legal hassles later on. Carefully examine whether the purchase and ownership transfer papers are in order. Checking the registration and tax documents is of utmost importance.

Tip 3: Property valuation

Rather than blindly believing the resale price quoted by the owner of the property or the broker, Check it for you. There are multiple sources like the internet. Secondly, speak to other real estate agents in the area.

Once you have satisfactory answers to all your queries and the legal formalities are in line, go ahead and make that property your own.

Property owners, especially those trading in real estate market, continually buy new property and sell them a couple of years down the line. Most flats, although having the tag of “resale” are in extremely good condition. In case you too are looking out for resale houses for yourself, visit us at shopsandhomes.com and find great deals on such properties.

BMC Property Tax payment

As per a new resolution of the BMC’s standing committee, property owners in Mumbai will have to pay an average increase of 14.52% as property tax from April this year. However, owners of flats that measure less than 500 sq ft will not pay the increase as they have been granted relief by the Chief Minister. Under the new rules, there will be no increase for this section for a period of 5 years; a  respite for around 17 lakh families living in houses which have less than 500 square feet of area.

For the information of our readers, The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has changed the property tax calculation from the earlier Rateable Value System (RVS) to the new Capital Value System (CVS).

So, how will the property tax be calculated now? Under the RVS, the tax was calculated based on the maximum amount of rent that the property could fetch in a year. The CVS is based on the market value of the property. Read on for clarifications on tax calculations and to know how to pay these taxes.

Calculation of Capital value:

Market value of property (X) total carpet area (X) weight for construction type (X) weight for age of building

The Ready Reckoner (RR) will help you arrive at the market value. RR is a compilation of the rates that denotes a fair value price for a property set by the state government. The builder may charge a premium over such rates however cannot under sell it. The RR gives the base value. Remember, the stamp duty and registration amount payable cannot be lower than these rates.

Check the ward / zone in which your property falls.

Weights for construction type are calculated in units. Refer below for details:

Bungalows & RCC construction 1 unit

Other than RCC (semi-permanent / chawls) -0 .60 unit

Under construction or vacant land 0.50 unit

Weights for age of building are calculated in units Refer below for details:

Properties constructed before 1945 0.80 unit

Properties constructed between 1945 and 1985 0.90 unit

Properties constructed after 1985 1 unit

Now, how is the property tax calculated?

Capital value of property (X) current property tax (X) weight for user category

A weight for user category is calculated in units. Refer below for details:

Hotels and similar businesses 4 units

Commercial properties (shops, offices) 3 units

Industries & factories 2 units

Residential & charitable institutions 1 unit

Where can you pay the property tax?

You can pay property tax at:

• The Office of the Assistant Revenue Officer
• the BMC Help Centres
• The Citizen Facilitation Centre at all the Ward Offices.

You can also make an online payment. Read on to note down the steps:

Log on to the BMC website:

http://cvs.mcgm.gov.in:7001/MCGM_CVS/

• Enter your account number mentioned in your property tax bill. In case you do not remember your account number, use the in-built search feature.
• Choose the option of payment: half-yearly or annually
• Enter the amount to be paid. You will be directed to the payment mode. Currently only ‘Net Banking’ service is available.
• After the payment is successful, the system will generate a receipt. Print it and store for your record.

Make sure that your record is updated and no ‘outstanding’ is shown against your account. In case of such amiss, the responsibility to get it rectified is on you.

Queries regarding House tax

Vivek Kalia, Joint commissioner of MCG, stated that the move comes in existence when some junior staff members were caught demanding bribes from people who had come to the office to pay house or property tax. The more he added that “In past 48 hours we have caught four junior officers like attendants, peons and clerks were found demanding money from residents who came to pay property tax or collect birth and death certificates.” Vivek said all of the employees who were demanding bribes have been suspended and police complaints have been filed against them.

Why email id?

According to officials of MCG, “We have started the email id so that residents and other people can seek clarification regarding tax notices as well as they will be able to attach the necessary documents and we will answer doubts on the email itself. In special cases people will be free to provide us phone numbers and we’ll call them and fix an appointment so that they can come and meet us directly, instead of getting harassed by junior staff”.

However, some of the officials said, it is interim step and harassment would only stop when the civic agency starts an online payment system on its website to pay the property tax and submit fee to obtain other documents.