Health at your Home!

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Anukampa

‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’

In times of supersonic lifestyles, it is critical to give due importance to good health. A healthy lifestyle means a longer life. Which is why it is important to have a home in a place that helps us lead a healthy, wholesome lifestyle. A place that assists you to perform to the best of your ability, in every sphere of your life.

Here are some of the things you can consider while choose a place to reside, so you can maintain a healthy, happy lifestyle – no matter what stage you life you may be in:

Swimming pool: Swimming is a great workout because it keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body.

Indoor games Room: Games are a good hobby as they can help you relax after work or on weekends and take away stress.

Modern, well-equipped gym: Going to the gym every day puts you in contact with people on a regular basis and enhances your social life as well as the way that you feel about yourself. You will stay fit, in shape and sleep better if you exercise each day.

Kids play area: Don’t underestimate the importance of children’s playtime. It may look like leisure time, but when children are playing house, fighting imaginary dragons or organizing a game of hopscotch, they’re actually developing crucial life skills — and preparing their brains for the challenges of adulthood.

Sports facilities like lawn tennis, cricket practice net, basketball court, etc.:Sports stress on the positive effects of participative learning, the important life skills of goal setting and time management combined with enjoyment; the development of a strong sense of morality; and appreciation of diversity.

Skating ring: Skating is a great way to participate in a fitness activity that benefits both your body and your mind.

Jogging tracks: Jogging is a popular form of physical activity. Regular running builds strong bones, improves cardiovascular fitness and helps to maintain a healthy weight.

Landscaped parks: You may find stress relief and healing when interacting with nature. Plants lower blood pressure, reduce muscle tension related to stress, improve attention and reduce feelings of fear and anger or aggression.

Importance of location while buying a house!

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Anukampa

Whether you are purchasing your home as an investment, a lifestyle upgrade or both, one of the most important decisions you will make is where you want to live. Your home’s location will help determine not only the future value of your investment, but also many aspects of your everyday life.

Here are some factors you should consider carefully when selecting a location.

Geographic Location

The part of the city you choose to live in will have a major impact on your lifestyle. Particularly if you want to stay in your home for a long time, make this decision very carefully, taking into consideration the factors that are most important to you, like proximity the city centre, connectivity, distance from airport / railway station, etc.

Neighbourhood

Within a particular area, different neighbourhoods will have different characteristics. You’ll want to pick the one that is the closest fit to your lifestyle and personality – a place where you’ll feel comfortable and where you are likely to get along with your neighbours. You’ll also want to try to live close to the places you visit frequently, like grocery stores, your job (if you plan to keep that job long-term), and, if you have kids, the schools you want them to attend.

Safety

For most people, safety is a top consideration. You’ll often pay less to live in an area with higher crime, but if you’ll have to live in fear or if you one day become a victim no price discount will be worthwhile. It may also be harder to resell your home or get a good price for it if you decide to sell.

Proximity to Work

The length of your daily commute can have a significant impact on your disposable income, quality of life and how much time you get to spend at home with your family. How long of a commute can you endure? Are you planning to stay at your current job long-term or do you expect to switch jobs in the near future? If you plan to stay at your current job, how close to work do you want to live? If you plan to switch jobs, what are the job prospects in or near the area where you’d like to live?

Proximity to Friends and Family

The best home may not feel very homey if you live too far away from your friends and family to see them on a regular basis. On the other hand, your friends and family might end up moving at some point, so make sure this isn’t your only reason for choosing a location.

Proximity to Leisure Activities

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? If you love to go out to eat, you might not be happy living somewhere with few restaurants. On the other hand, if your favourite thing to do is stay home, you might have more choices available to you when it comes to this aspect of choosing your location.

Visit During the Day and at Night

What a neighbourhood looks like on paper and how you feel when you’re in it is not necessarily the same thing. Sometimes little details can make a big difference. For example, some neighbourhoods have narrow roads, lots of cars parked on the street or distinctive architectural features that may not suit your taste. If these things aren’t what you envisioned in your ideal neighbourhood, you may not want to live there no matter how great the statistics may be.

How to apply for home loan?

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Anukampa

Now that you are well aware of the types of loans and EMI options and have decided on the one that’s best suited for you, let us take a look at the procedure to apply for a loan. It is fairly simple and quick:

Step 1: Submission of loan application form with relevant documents.

Step 2: Verification of the respective property and its supporting documents. This step takes 5 to 7 working days.

Step 3: Around the 7th day, the loan is sanctioned, if all criteria are met and documents are in place.

Step 4: Original property documents to be submitted, followed by which the loan agreement is signed.

Step 5: The loan cheque is disbursed in 10 to 15 working days.

The important documents to be submitted for approving the home loan are:

•Identity proof

•Residential proof

•Properly filled loan application form

•Photograph

•Sale agreement

•Last 6 months bank statement

•For business applicants documents describing the type of business, and IT returns.

•For salaried applicants last 3 month’s salary slips and From 16A.

Costs incurred while applying:

For a Home Loan, the basic registration charges, transfer charges and stamp duty costs are added to the cost of the home.

Some other charges include:

•Processing charge or booking fee – paid to the lender when you apply for the loan. It could be fixed or a percentage of the loan amount.

•Pre-payment penalty – if the loan is repaid before the agreed duration, some lenders may charge a penalty, up to 2% of the amount pre-paid.

•Miscellaneous costs – there could be a documentation or legal fee, also known as “application fee”.

What is Pre-EMI interest? What mode should I choose to pay my home loan?

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Anukampa

Pre-EMI is the interest portion on the disbursed loan amount that you pay until the full disbursal is done. i.e., your home loan behaves like an interest-only loan on the disbursed amount until the completion of construction. Your EMI payments start after the pre-EMI phase. Until then, your money does not reduce even a paisa of the outstanding loan amount.

Now you may wonder which is a better course to take while making loan repayments – EMI or Pre-EMIs?

The selection of full EMI repayment mode is deemed as beneficial in the longer run as borrower of the loan starts paying the principal amount from day one itself. So, in this case the total outstanding principal amount by the time the property is taken possession of, is reduced manifolds. However, in case project completion gets delayed, loan borrower may end up paying more than the principal loan amount even before getting possession of the property.

So, in all EMI mode can result in hefty payouts on the part of the borrower as he pays the interest amount during the loan tenure in addition to the term before the final disbursement of the loan. However, Pre-EMI may turn out to be a better loan repayment mode in case the homebuyer wishes to sell the property soon after getting the possession.

Things you should know about Pre-EMI home loan repayment mode:

Though pre-EMIs seem to be less burdensome at first as only the interest component on the loan amount disbursed is required to be paid until the final loan amount disbursement, it results in more number of payouts. In contrast, opting of full EMI mode results in lower tenure with the decrease in principal amount.

Pre-EMI interest amount paid when the property was under-construction does not qualifies for tax deduction with respect to the principal amount repaid. However, loan repayment either in pre-EMI mode or EMI in taxation terms is treated without much difference and in fact tax deductions are only allowed on the interest paid post the completion of the project. The interest amount paid is divided into five equal proportions and allowed for tax deduction once the project is completed.

Thus, before choosing the mode of home loan repayment, you must consider your purpose of buying the property, expected time for project completion and taxation factors.

What are the types of Home Loans available?

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Anukampa

Land Purchase Loans: Land purchase loans are taken to buy a plot of land on which a borrower wishes to construct his house. Most banks offer up to 85 percent of the price of the land. These loans can be availed for residential as well as for investment purposes. Almost all leading banks offer this loan.

Home Purchase Loans: The home purchase loans are the most popular and the most commonly available home loan variants. These loans can be used to finance the purchase of a new residential property or an old house from its previous owners. In this type of loan also, lenders usually finance up to 85 percent of the market value of the house. These loans are provided either on fixed interest rates or floating interest rates or as hybrid loans. All banking institutions and housing finance companies provide this type of loan.

Home Construction Loans: These loans can be availed by those individuals who want to construct a house according to their wishes rather than purchasing an already constructed one. The loan application and approval process for home construction loans are somewhat different from those of the commonly available housing loans. The plot of land on which the borrower wishes to construct the house should have been bought within a year for the cost of the land to be included as a component for calculating the total price of the house. If the plot has been purchased more than a year ago, then the above clause is not applicable. The borrower has to make a rough estimate of the cost that will be incurred for the construction of the house and then apply for the loan with the same amount. The lender then takes over from there and analyses the application to decide whether or not to sanction the loan. The approval or disapproval of the same is intimated by the lender to the applicant. The loan amount may be disbursed at one go or in several installments according to the progress in the construction of the house.

Home Expansion/Extension Loans: Home expansion or extension loans are useful in situations when people want to expand their existing house. Expansion includes alteration in the current structure of the residence to add extra space such as constructing a new room, a floor, a bigger bathroom or enclosing a balcony. Though many banks provide loans for these purposes as part of home expansion loans, some banks lend for the same purposes as part of their home improvement loans. It depends on how a bank has categorizes its loans.

Home Improvement loans: Home improvement loans are availed by individuals who already own a house but lack the funds to renovate it. All kinds of renovations and repair works can be financed using this variant of home loans such as internal and external painting, external repair works, electrical work, waterproofing and construction of underground or overhead water tank etc.

Home Conversion Loans: Those borrowers who have already purchased a house by taking a home loan but now want to buy and move to another house opt for the home conversion loans. Through these loans, they can fund the purchase of the new house by transferring the current loan to the new house. There is no need to repay the loan on the previous home. Though useful, this segment of home loans is accused of being quite expensive.

NRI Home Loans: NRI home loans is a specialized home loan variant which has been developed to assist non-residents in acquiring housing finance to buy residential property in India. These loans are meant exclusively for the non-resident Indians. The formalities of availing this segment of home loans is similar to the regular home loans, which are offered to residents, only the paperwork is a bit elaborate. Almost all public and private sector banks provide NRI home loans.

Balance Transfer Loans: Balance transfer option can be availed when an individual wants to transfer his home loan from one bank to another bank. This is usually done to repay the remaining amount of loan at lower interest rates or when a customer is unhappy with the services provided by his existing lender and wants to switch to another lender.

Stamp Duty Loans: Stamp duty loans are provided to pay off the stamp duty charges on the purchase of a property. The amount from this loan can be used solely for this purpose. This segment of home loans has yet not gained much popularity.

Bridged Loans: Bridge loans are short-term loans, which are meant for people who already own a residential property but are planning to buy a new house. It helps borrowers to fund the purchase of the new house until a buyer is identified for the old house. It is extended for a period of less than two years and requires the mortgage of the new house with the lender.

What is a Home Loan? Can I apply for it?

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Anukampa

Home Loan is a secured loan taken by a borrower from the bank issued against the property/security intended to be bought on the part by the borrower giving the banker a conditional ownership over the property i.e. if the borrower fails to pay back the loan, the banker can retrieve the lent money by selling the property.

If you are planning to buy your own house, it may be a good idea to apply for a home loan, rather than trying to arrange the entire purchase amount at once. It is also a good way of tax planning. And if you’re wondering whether or not you’re eligible for a home loan, please go through the following guides. Please note that the guide is only for assistance and may not be absolutely exhaustive, as criteria may differ slightly from one financial organisation to another.

Any adult individual with a source of income can apply for a Home Loan, if he/she meets the criteria of the Banking Financial Corporation / Non Banking Financial Corporation norms and eligibility criteria of the same.

You may NOT meet the criteria for getting a Home Loan if any of the following is true:

Suite filed or written off cases reported in the Credit Information Report [CIR]. This is indicated in the ‘Account Status’ section of your CIR.
Payment history trend – if there has been any default or amount overdue. This is indicated in the ‘Days Past Due’ [DPD] field of your CIR.
Company profile where you work – the banks generally have an approved list to whom they extend loan / credit card.
EMI to Income ratio: if your current total EMI exceeds your monthly salary by more than 50% then chances of getting a loan are reduced.

What is Agreement to Sell, and when should it be executed?

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Anukampa

It is an Agreement executed between the Buyer and Seller at the time of purchase. It is different from the Sale Deed. Generally, the Sale Deed is signed after the transaction is deemed to have been completed, i.e. before handing over the premises to the purchaser / at the time of registry.

An agreement to sell is an important document in the process of sale and purchase of property. This agreement contains the terms and conditions agreed upon between the parties, and bind them. An agreement to sell is the basic document on which a conveyance deed is drafted.

It is always advisable to have an agreement to sell in writing. It precedes the execution of a sale deed. This agreement is signed and executed by the seller and buyer on a non-judicial stamp paper. It has legal value and if need be can be produced as evidence in a court. The agreement specifies the procedures to be followed leading to the execution of the conveyance or sale deed. It records the understanding reached between the parties, and is binding on both.

The main clauses in an agreement to sell are:

Names of parties with age, their residential addresses, date and place of execution of the agreement, competence of parties to enter into the agreement, their rights and liabilities, brief narration with details of documents on how the seller got the property, exact location and description of the property, consideration amount, and mode and time of payment, timelines for various acts to be completed and responsibilities, production and inspection of title deeds, period of completion of transaction, expenses to be met and who will meet the cost of transfer, penalty and forfeiture clauses in case of default, conditions for delivery of possession, declaration by the seller that the property is not subject to any government acquisition.

The execution of an agreement to sell needs to be witnessed by two persons capable of entering into contract. It is advisable that the witnesses be from the sides of both parties – one from the purchaser’s side and one from the seller’s side.

The agreement is a pre-requirement for sale of property. Generally, the purchaser pays some token amount as advance earnest money to the seller, which is acknowledged by the seller in the agreement itself. An agreement to sell is required to avail finance from a bank. It also binds the parties to perform their parts of the agreement as agreed upon. It pens down the intent of the parties on paper and makes them legally obligated.

What is rainwater harvesting? Why do you need it in your building?

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Anukampa

Rain water harvesting

Rainwater harvesting is a technology used for collecting and storing rainwater from rooftops, the land surface or rock catchments using simple techniques such as jars and pots as well as more complex techniques such as underground check dams. Commonly used systems are constructed of three principal components; namely, the catchment area, the collection device, and the conveyance system.

Why do you need it?

Buildings with the facility of rainwater harvesting seldom face issues in water supply. The technique provides an independent water source used to supplement the main supply. It does not only provide water in case there is a short supply, but can also help mitigate flooding of low-lying areas, and reduce demand on borings and wells, which may enable ground water levels to be sustained. It also helps in the availability of potable water, as rainwater is substantially free of salinity and other salts. Thus, it helps you live in an eco-friendly, sustainable environment.

Advantages

Rainwater harvesting is an accepted freshwater augmentation technology in Asia. The bacteriological quality of rainwater collected from properly maintained rooftop catchment systems, equipped with storage tanks having good covers and taps, is generally suitable for everyday use, and frequently even meets WHO drinking water standards. Notwithstanding, such water generally is of higher quality than most traditional, and many of improved, water sources used in our cities. Contrary to popular beliefs, rather than becoming stale with extended storage, rainwater quality often improves as bacteria and pathogens gradually die off.

As a residential society, buildings often execute higher pressure on the regular water supply in that area. Thus, making sure the building you live / move in has an alternative clean water supply system of its own, such as rainwater harvesting, assures an uninterrupted supply of fresh water throughout the year.

What are Maintenance Charges? Why should I pay them?

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Anukampa

In real estate, the residents or owners of a property in a specific area are charged for maintenance and operations of the commonly owned property areas. This charge is called maintenance charge.

Maintenance charge is generally levied periodically. It is required to fund operations related to upkeep, maintenance and upgradation of such areas, which are not directly under any individual’s ownership.

The main charges levied by the society can be categorised as -

(i) Property Taxes

(ii) Water Charges

(iii) Common Electricity Charges

(iv) Contribution to Repairs and Maintenance Fund

(v) Expenses on repairs and maintenance of the lifts of the society, including charges for running the lift

(vi) Contribution to the sinking fund

(vii) Service charges

(viii) Car Parking Charges

(ix) Interest on the defaulted charges

(x) Repayment of the installment of the loan and interest

(xi) Non-occupancy charges

(xii) Insurance Charges

(xiii) Lease rent

(xiv) Non-agricultural tax

(xv) Other charges.

How are Built-up and Super Built-up Areas calculated?

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Anukampa

In our blog last week, we defined the calculation of the carpet area of a property, which is essentially the area between the walls of a property.

Built-up Area or BUA consists of this carpet area along with the area covered by walls (thickness of external walls, internal walls and columns) and additional areas mandated by the authority such as flowerbeds, dry balcony etc. It is typically 10-20% more than the carpet area and is also sometimes known as the plinth area.

Super Built-up Area or SBUA consists of BUA and the proportionate area under the common spaces of a building. This includes area covered by common amenities, such as the area of lift shafts, lobby, and corridor, proportionately divided among all flats using those amenities. The common usable areas, such as a swimming pool, garden and clubhouse, may also be included in it.

Image: Anukampa Platina Terraces

To calculate the cost of a property, per square foot rate quoted by the developer is typically applied on the super built-up area. This is the reason super built-up area is also sometimes referred to as the saleable area.

A builder can place anywhere from 65%-85% of the super built-up area as carpet area. That means, if the price is quoted as Rs.1000 per sq. ft. super built-up area, the carpet area could be anywhere from Rs.650 per sq. ft. to Rs.850 per sq. ft. If this break up is not mentioned in the agreement, demand that the vendor/ builder mentions it in the sale deed.

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