How to improve your credit score before applying for a home loan

August 2018

Improving one’s credit score has many advantages. Not only does it make it easier to obtain a loan, but it can also help the applicant to get an attractive rate of interest 

It is advisable for home loan seekers to obtain a credit report, before applying for a large loan, such as a home loan. This report, which provides a person’s credit score, can be obtained from any one of the four credit bureaus operating in the country – CIBIL, Experian, Equifax and Crif High Mark. A score between 750 and 900 is considered as excellent. However, if the score is below 675, one may need to improve the credit score before applying for a home loan.

“A good credit score can help you get a loan at a more attractive rate of interest. This can lower your interest burden by lakhs of rupees, during a loan tenure of 15-20 years,” asserts Sujit Kumar, a Delhi NCR-based lawyer, who improved his credit score, before applying for a home loan.

Credits : freepik.com

Immediate tips to improve your credit score

When it comes to improving your credit score, first check for any error in your lender’s record books. While you may have repaid a loan, the bank’s records may still be showing some credit outstanding against your name. Rectifying such mistakes, will improve your credit score. 

Disagreements between a lender and a borrower may also be the cause of a poor credit score. Resolving such disagreements, paying the dues and closing the loan account can boost your score.

The most important thing for a good credit score, is to make all the payments on time. If you have missed a particular payment, make amends right away by paying up.

Consolidating your credit will also help. You may have taken five personal loans. Consolidating all these loans, into a single one, will look better on your records, by indicating that you are not excessively credit-hungry.

Also, when it comes to credit card bills, many borrowers pay up only the minimum amount and revolve the rest of their credit card loan. This is a bad practice, as the rate of interest on credit card loans is very high. If you have been doing so, replace the credit card loan with a personal loan, which will bring down your interest charges and enable you to meet your dues.

Long-term tips to improve your credit score

In case you have a delinquent loan against your name and you don’t have the ability to repay right away; this is a situation that can only be remedied over a period of time. If you have a high proportion of unsecured loans, vis-à-vis secured loans, you should try to alter the mix over a period of time. 

Another behavioural change that you must make, is to avoid shopping for loans excessively. In trying to bag the best possible deal, do not apply or make enquiries at 15-20 banks. Each time you make an enquiry, it gets registered against your name and indicates that you are credit-hungry.

“If a person is too hungry for credit, it reflects poorly on his credit score,” cautions Arun Ramamurthy, director, Credit Sudhaar Services. 

Suppose that your credit card provides you with a credit limit up to Rs 2 lakh, don’t use up the entire limit as this is also perceived as a sign of credit hunger. 

Despite your best efforts, if you are not able to achieve a good credit score on your own, then, there are professional agencies that you can turn to, such as Credit Sudhaar, etc. These agencies can help you to achieve the right mix of secured and unsecured loans. They tell you about the right number of credit cards you should own, given your economic status. They also inform you about the maximum percentage of credit on your credit card, beyond which you should not go.

Also read: Home financing options for NRI buyers

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Source: housing.com

Long Term Leases Covered by Rera : HC

MUMBAI : Provisions of the real estate regulatory law were applicable to three apartments booked on a 999-year ‘agreement to lease’ in Lavasa, near Pune, and for which 80% of “purchase price” had been paid, said the Bombay high court on Tuesday. 

It added that complaints for compensation for a delay of six to seven years in possession of these apartments could be decided by the adjudication officer under MahaRera, the state’s real estate regulatory authority. 

Justice Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi, after analyzing the salutary object of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (Rera), held that “merely because the legislation excluded allotment, when given on rent, it does not exclude long term lease… That would be defeating and frustrating the object of the Act”. The judge dismissed three appeals filed by Lavasa Corporation, which is developing a township project, registered under Rera. 

The appeals were against orders passed by the Maharashtra real estate appellate tribunal, which had held that Rera provisions were applicable for the three persons who had booked apartments through ‘agreements to lease’ at Lavasa. Their complaints could be entertained under section 18, providing for compensation with interest for delay by a builder in giving possession in terms of ‘agreement for sale’. 

An adjudicating officer under Rera had earlier held that since the agreement was not of ‘sale’, they cannot seek compensation from the developer, here, the lessor. 

Arguing for Lavasa, counsel Raj Patel and Kaustav Talukdar raised a common question of law: whether the provisions of Rera would apply in case of ‘agreement to lease’, whether the definition of ‘promotor’ under Rera would include ‘lessor’, and whether the remedy provided under section 18 can be against a lessor too? Lavasa’s case was that theirs was a relationship as “lessor and lessee” and that there was “no sale’’ or “absolute transfer of right or title’’ of the apartments. 

For the compensation-seeking trio, counsel Mayur Khandeparkar and Tushar Gujjar argued that since the project was registered under Rera, the provisions of the Act would apply. Lavasa countered that mere registration can’t be the sole test for applicability of Rera, and that it was a huge project and Rera was applicable only to some parts. 

But the HC said the fact that Lavasa got itself registered under Rera necessitates an inference that it was aware that the project was “for sale of apartments constructed’’ and hence “it was bound by Rera provisions”. 

The HC held that the legislative intent could never have been to exclude “long term lease” as it would defeat the purpose of the law, with developers executing ‘agreement of lease’ and “conveniently escaping from clutches of provision of this Act”. The intention was only to exclude ‘rent’ as lessees there have not invested substantial amounts like the purchase price. But one cannot exclude persons who have paid 80% of an apartment’s purchase price. It also held that the 999-year lease was as a good as a sale.

TO KNOW ABOUT THANE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT CONTACT US AT 022 2580 6868

Source: epaper.timesgroup.com

Mhada Join Hands with Private Landowners to Implement PMAY

Private landowners having more than 10 acres of land are eligible to participate in the scheme, Housing Minister Prakash Mehta said 

MUMBAI : The Maharashtra government cleared today a proposal to rope in private landowners to collaborate with state-run housing agency MHADA to implement the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (PMAY) in urban areas. 

Under the proposal, cleared by the Cabinet, the MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) will form joint ventures with interested private landowners to execute the Centre's flagship scheme of providing low-cost homes to the urban poor, Housing Minister Prakash Mehta said. 

Private landowners having more than 10 acres of land are eligible to participate in the scheme, he said. 

The MHADA will construct houses for economically weaker sections and lower income groups. Of the total housing units, 35 per cent will be given to landowners and 65 per cent to the MHADA, Mehta told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. 

"The landowners will have the option to take the housing stock or cash," an official in the housing department said. 

JV projects can be taken up in areas falling under all the 382 municipal corporations, councils and nagar panchayats, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, the Pune and Nagpur Regional Development Authority, the CIDCO, the MSRDC, the Nagpur Improvement Trust and the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area jurisdiction, he said. 

"Such projects will be given an FSI of 2.5," said an official in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). 

Floor Space Index (FSI) FSI is a tool that defines the extent of construction permissible on a plot. It is the ratio of the buildable area to the total plot area. 

In another decision, the Cabinet cleared a proposal to undertake steps to increase bamboo production and create employment opportunities, the CMO official said. 

A new company will be set up for the purpose, he said. 

The firm, Maharashtra Bamboo Promotion Company, will help in development of bamboo clusters besides design and sale of bamboo products, he said. 

A model village will be constructed to promote use of bamboo for housing, the official said. 

Last year, the Centre omitted bamboo grown in non- forest areas from the definition of trees. This would help in exempting it from requiring permits for felling or transportation.

TO KNOW ABOUT THANE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT CONTACT US AT 022 2580 6868

Source: realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com

The home buyers’ guide to choosing the right amenities

                                   

August 2018

Should you buy a house with a swimming pool, a gym, or a park? We tell you how to evaluate the necessary amenities, from the avoidable ones 

Amenities are an important part of any real estate project, which builders use to woo home buyers. While some amenities are essential, like a security system, elevators, etc., property sellers may, at times, also highlight amenities to hide flaws in the project flaws or to propel the sales momentum.

Each buyer’s need is unique, points out Vinod Rohira, managing director – commercial real estate and REIT, K Raheja Corp. “Buyers should first evaluate their needs and compare it against the services available in the micro-market and then look at the amenities provided in the project. This is the best way to choose a product,” suggests Rohira.

Credits : freepik.com

Amenities and its influence on home buyers

Experts believe that it would be wrong to say that amenities do not influence a buyer’s decision. However, if a project has an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, a gym, or a park, it will require consistent maintenance and add to the home owner’s overall monthly expense. Despite this, many buyers nowadays ask for such amenities, while buying a project.

“Home buyers should make their own list of ‘essential’, ‘not so essential’ and ‘not required’ amenities and do a comparative cost analysis of selected projects, before paying up for something that they may never use in their lifetime,” advises Surabhi Arora, senior associate director – research, at Colliers India.

Important versus avoidable amenities

The budget and the segment that the home buyer belongs to, also play an important role in deciding whether certain amenities are essential or avoidable. An affordable home buyer may feel satisfied with a basic home, without any extra facilities, whereas a luxury home buyer may want more than the amenities that are already provided in a project. For example, a swimming pool, gym, club house, spa, bar, etc., can come under the avoidable list, for affordable home buyers. However, for home buyers in the luxury segment, these could be the basic requirements.

Which amenities to opt for?

The list of amenities that are broadly recognised as essential or discretionary for the home buyers are:

Essential amenities:

• Car parking
• Security services
• Water supply
• Elevators
• Power backup
• 24-hour maintenance

Discretionary amenities:

• Walking/Jogging track
• Play area
• Club house
• Swimming pool
• Gym
• Rooftop garden
• Open deck
• Sky lounge
• Spa and salon
• Concierge services
• Restaurants
• Party hall
• Temple and religious activity place
• Cinema hall
• Wi-Fi connectivity

Don’t take what you don’t understand!

The choice of amenities, should be evaluated on the basis of personal preferences, requirements, availability, affordability and exclusivity. Experts recommend that buyers should only opt for something that they are completely aware of and not be lured by rosy pictures painted by home sellers. Amenities always add some fixed or variable cost to the property and this may impact the resale value of the property.

Also read: Benefits of buying a home in the wife’s name

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Source: housing.com

Sale of Residential Properties up 25% in Top Seven Cities in H1 2018 : Report

Housing sales stood at 64,080 units during January-June 2018 against 51,452 units in the year-ago period. Following demonetisation, sales had remained sluggish, but the latest half-yearly figures show that things are looking up 

BERLIN: Residential property sales across India’s top seven cities have revived post demonetisation and have risen 25% in the first six months of the current calendar year, showed a joint report by realtors’ body CREDAI and JLL India.

Housing sales stood at 64,080 units during January-June 2018 against 51,452 units in the year-ago period. Following demonetisation, sales had remained sluggish, but the latest half-yearly figures show that things are looking up.

“Sales have picked up by 25% in the first half of this year. All cities have shown positive growth,” said Ramesh Nair, JLL India CEO . “Sluggishness in housing sales, which continued for the past 3-4 years, is over now.”

Nair believes that the fence sitters have now come back to the market with flats becoming affordable after effective price and time correction.

While CREDAI-JLL reported 25% increase in housing sales, Knight Frank India had, earlier this month, said that sales growth in eight major cities rose slightly at 3% to 1.24 lakh units.

CREDAI’s president Jaxay Shah said the housing market is recovering post demonetisation, Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) and goods and services tax that had affected sales. Shah also insisted that the GST rate needs to be brought down from the current 12% to boost sales of under-construction homes.

The seven cities tracked by CREDAI-JLL are NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune. The report was released at CREDAI’s 18th annual international convention held here and being attended by over 1,000 developers from across India.

Of the key cities, Mumbai saw the highest sales volume totalling 13,659 units in the first half of 2018, up 11% from 12,309 units in the year-ago period. Bengaluru followed closely with 13,382 units and recorded a marginal increase of 2% in sales from a year ago. Pune saw a minor increase of 2% in sales volume at 9,988 units.

According to CREDAI chairman Getamber Anand, homebuyers’ confidence has improved with the implementation of new real estate law RERA in May last year.

Delhi-NCR saw a rise of 26% year-on-year in sales owing to rise in new launches and renewed confidence in the market.

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Source: realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Is Stamp Duty a Hurdle for Home Buyers?

As many as 16 types of taxes got subsumed in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July 2017. However, stamp duty and registration charges continue to remain in force even today as the new tax regime completed one year on July 1st, 2018. The additional burden on the real estate sector by way of stamp duty averages 5%-10%. These rates are varying for different states. The sector represented by real estate bodies such as NAREDCO and CREDAI expect this tax to be abolished and included in GST. Stamp duty is a tax levied by state governments on property transactions and may vary for different areas. It is payable under Section 3 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. 

Currently, under construction projects attract 12% GST which buyers have to pay on the total cost of the property. One pays 8% for buying in an affordable housing project but developers are not able to give this benefit to buyers due to lack of clarity on the input tax credit. Another 5-10% charges are paid by home buyers at the time of registration. 

As of now, buyers fall in the double taxation system when they decide to buy in an under construction project. Many buyers are finding a way out to avoid this double taxation by buying into completed projects. New ways are being explored to avoid GST on projects owing to this double taxation system. Such practices can be curbed if multiplicity of taxes in the real estate sector is brought under the GST regime. 

“At the current juncture, the sector definitely requires stronger measures to address some of the pertinent issues such as rationalisation of stamp duty, streamlining the approval process through single window clearance, according industry status to the sector etc, to bring the sector on the path of recovery,” feels Neeraj Bansal, Partner and Head - Building, Construction and Real Estate, KPMG, India. 

The Tax burden is high on the real estate sector with an abatement of one-third being provided towards land value. According to Manju Yagnik, Vice-Chairman of a leading real estate company, “Despite input credit being passed on to the customer, with GST @ 12%, there is a marginal increase in the overall cost. This needs to be revised downwards, to benefit the consumer, leading to a further push in sales volumes. Over and above the high cost of land, GST and other taxes, the end consumer also pays 5% - 6% Stamp Duty on property purchases in a state like Maharashtra. The government must look at reducing this cost. Uniform stamp duty rates across the country is also required.” 

As of now there is no consensus between the Central and State governments over stamp duty and registration charges getting merged into GST. NAREDCO has already recommended to the GST council to bring these taxes into GST as it will improve the sales of under construction properties. 

Niranjan Hiranandani, President, NAREDCO, reinforces this point. “When it comes to stamp duty and registration, both are state subjects. Although there has been some talk in the GST Council about subsuming these into GST, it has still not been accepted by all states. Once all states come to a consensus and decide to do away with stamp duty and registration, the same will get subsumed into GST. The real estate industry, as indeed NAREDCO, look forward to this becoming a reality – and soon,” he said. 

Surendra Hiranandani, CMD of one of the leading real estate organisations says that attention to stamp duty will further strengthen GST’s long-term impact. “It continues to remain in force even after GST implementation and the rates vary for different states. The additional burden on the sector on account of stamp duty averages 5%-7%. We hope that state governments abolish the same or merge with the existing GST rates which will further help bring down the cost of apartments.” 

Every time a property transaction takes place, the buyer pays tax. Many homeowners, who are looking forward to upgrading their properties to take advantage of the lower prices currently, hesitate buying, even though they need bigger homes. It is a necessity rather than a luxury for such buyers. However, with stamp duty and registration charges the cost advantage is wiped away. GST can address these issues in the long run, if it subsumes stamp duty and registration charges. 

The initial stage of GST brought many challenges. In the second year, it is expected that the government’s measures will achieve the desired objective of ‘One Nation One Tax’. 

It is important that the GST council engages with stakeholders to address their concerns and work in harmony to bring more clarity for the real estate sector. 

It can substantially contribute to the Government’s ‘Housing for All by 2022’ mission. 

It is high time that a buyer-centric approach is adopted and a rational decision taken to cut down multiplicity of taxes in the real estate sector for end-users. Tax burden is keeping buyers away from the market and impacting the sector as well.

TO KNOW ABOUT THANE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT CONTACT US AT 022 2580 6868

Source: realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com

City Areas Look Ceaner After Residents Give Up On Plastic

Thane : Citizen activists of Thane city claim that 20 per cent of the streets and public places in the city look much cleaner thanks to the drop in plastic materials. 

The nullahs are getting lesser choked as earlier the plastic waste would pollute city nullahs and street sides. 

While most admit that much needs to be done to achieve the goal of a plastic-free city, city activists believe that the mindset of citizens is slowly changing and the city is on the right track with regards to ban on plastic. 

Dr Mahesh Bedekar, a resident, said, "I have noticed that every person agrees with the plastic ban and there is a feeling of responsibility towards the future of the city. The change may not happen immediately and will take time, but it will happen. I can say safely that at least 20 per cent of the streets and public places across the city are cleaner and livelier thanks to the ban on plastic. If there is continuous awareness, even a single person can help change the mindset of four others: 

Despite the heavy rains that lashed the city in July, the nullahs in Kalwa did not clog, which otherwise would have due to heaps of plastic carry bags being dumped rampantly by residents. 

A civic official from the Kalwa ward, said, "Since the government has banned plastic there has hardly been any littering in the nullahs and drains. After we had conducted our annual pre-monsoon nullah-cleaning drive we went back for a visit to some of the drains. We were surprised to see that the plastic waste thrown has reduced by a considerable amount." 

While citizens of Thane and its neighbouring suburbs are breathing a clearer air than a few months ago, the ones in Diva are facing a tough time as the banned material is still being carelessly dumped in the drains on a regular basis. 

"When the civic administration had conducted raids at numerous shops in the city initially as the ban kicked in, citizens were scared and had stopped using polythene bags. Sadly then the bureaucracy neglected our area and things resumed back to normal. Our drains are flooded with plastic wrappers, polythene bags, bottles, etc openly being used by the residents," said Adesh Bhagat, a Diva resident. 

However, in some slum areas of the city the situation is slightly bad as the dwellers are forced to throw their waste in the drains claiming that there is no regular waste collection by the civic administration. 

"As the civic body garbage vans do not regularly visit our areas, we are forced to throw waste from our homes in the drains. We know that this is a bad practice and that we are prone to diseases due to this, but how long can we keep the waste accumulated in our homes? We anyway have space crunch and the civic body has been neglecting slum areas. Garbage collection in our areas is not regular which is why drains here will get choked as we have no other source of waste disposal: said Lakshmi Bhandari, a slum deweller from Majiwada. 

I have noticed that every person agrees with the plastic ban and there is a feeling of responsibility towards the future of the city

TO KNOW ABOUT THANE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT CONTACT US AT 022 2580 6868

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com