Vikas Rikhye, Real Estate Promoter and Blogger

In the recent past the Fast Growing Township of New Gurgaon has witnessed a
Massive growth in housing sector.

The well established real estate companies like DLF & Unitech have launched and delivered prestigious residential project. Comparatively new entrants like Bestech,Omaxe, Parsavnath Raheja & others got an opportunity to prove their competence.

All this as stated above “Township of New Gurgaon” came in to a light as a very
strong investment destination.

As it would have resulted, the investment wave in Gurgaon ,became stronger and stronger and the Secondary market shot up sky high. With all this , the basic participants in real estate game like Builders, Brokers & Investors found themselves in a Win - Win situation.

Yet there was another Important Segment of Actual-User, who had missed the boat due to unexpected increase in Real estate prices, was still awaiting an affordable housing solution.

The announcement of Master Plan 2021, gave a sigh of relief to this Important Segment of Actual-Users .But at same time it gave opportunity to many New Player to enter the real estate Game.

And now an interesting/ uninteresting era starts:

As many of The new Players started advertising launch of their new projects with luring advertisements & Broker incentives.

It has been observed by many real - estate experts that some of the projects falling in Master Plan 2021 are being launched ,where at present the basic infrastructure like roads, water, sever, provision for required Power etc. is missing.

While some of the Promoters are asking for 25% of the amount within in 45 days of booking & balance is construction linked . Even we feel every thing in fairness, yet, it raises following queries in mind:
• What is the reliability level of “Unheard of as Builders”
• Transparency level of commitments.
• Experience for delivering committed project .( for those who have not delivered any Project in the past )
• Inventor’s Risk coverage.

For a while let us be Optimist that in all the fairness the project is delivered , Yet another question mark nags the mind that will there be basic infrastructure like roads, water, sever, provision for required Power etc. where presently nothing is visible on the ground except open fields & in some cases abandoned uneven patches of land.

Will somebody guide me to clear my doubt as well of others who agree with as stated above.

Vikas Rikhye,Real Estate Blogger

This time we are not taking about Sky high real estate prices or inflation in Gurgaon ,but sky high forthcoming buildings in Gurgaon.It is understood from authentic sources that Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has removed height restriction for all future group housing & Commercial projects in the new sectors that are a part of Gurgaon Master Plan 2021.

According to the sources, the height limit till now was 90 meters. However, the Builders/ Developer aspiring for skyscrapers will have to take permission from other competent authorities like Airport Authority of India, Fire Authorities and other government bodies, governing Safety Rules.

It is further understood from the sources that this policy has been framed , keeping in mind the National Building Code (Part-4) that allows the removal of height restrictions on the buildings if the modern / latest technologies are used for structural design & fire fighting.

The news seems to be very encouraging & interesting, but, it raises in mind, a big Question Mark, that:
Will the present infrastructure in Gurgaon , be able to take the load of this Unexpected growth ?

 

Vikas Rikhye,Real Estate Blogger 

1st Step towards Commuting Comfort, has been taken by authorities
in Gurgaon as the official sources have announced the commencement
of City Bus Service.It is understood from sources that to begin with the Bus- service will
start with 10 (Ten) semi-low floor buses, that would ply on seven
different routes.

The semi-low floor buses will have a sitting capacity of 44 passengers.

The sources add that thelaunching of semi-low floor buses is part of
multi-model transport solution in major cities of Haryana

 

Vikas Rikhye,Real Estate Blogger 

Earthquake Do’s & Don’ts*

Disaster is a sudden calamity that brings destruction, damage, devastation (3Ds) that results loss to life and property. Natural disasters are often frightening and difficult for us to understand, because we have no control over when and where they happen. Disasters usually have following features:

• Unpredictability
• Sudden
• Unfamiliarity
• Shock reaction
• Confusion
• Panic

God forbid, Natural disasters sometimes appear in the form of Earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions,landslides, Floods, Storm surge, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Drought etc.

While the repercussions of disaster completely disrupts the normal day to day life, sometimes it also negatively influences the emergency systems like rescue operations & providing/arranging normal needs and processes like food, shelter, health, etc.

Earthquake is one of the most unexpected/unpredicted frightening and destructive phenomena of nature is a severe earthquake and its terrible after effects. Earthquakes have varied effects, including changes in geologic features, damage to man-made structures, and impact on human and animal life. Most of these effects occur on solid ground.

According to experts, “An earthquake is a series of vibrations on the earth’s surface caused by the generation of elastic (seismic) waves due to sudden rupture within the earth during release of accumulated strain energy”.

For the interest of community, with my personal experience (at the age of 55 yrs.)* I suggest some Do’s & don’ts during an earthquake*

DURING THE QUAKE

If you are indoors, stay calm. Always protect your head and face.. stand in a strong doorway, or get under a desk, table or bed. Move away from outer walls, windows, glass doors, heavy mirrors, pictures, bookcases, hanging plants and heavy objects. Look out for falling plaster, bricks, lighting fixtures and other objects.

If you are outside get into the open, away from buildings and power lines. & If you are driving, you should safely bring the vehicle to a stop away from electricity poles and overhead wires. Remain in the vehicle.

DO NOT panic, Don’t run, Don’t use elevators, Don’t try to hold your pet during a quake

AFTER THE QUAKE

• Check for fire
• Turn off the water, gas and electricity
• Do not walk around the streets to see what has happened,keep the streets clear for   the passage of emergency and rescue vehicles.
• Do not light a match or turn on a light switch. Use a Torch light instead.
• Check your house for serious damage and evacuate if it seems likely to collapse
• Look for electrical system damage. Turn off the electricity at the main fuse box if you see sparks or broken or frayed wires.
• Do not re-enter badly damaged buildings and do not go near damaged structures.

*Since these Do’s & Don’ts are based on my personal experience therefore it should be re- -confirmed from Disasters Management Experts

Author : Past President Rotary Club of Gurgaon South City ( R.I. District 3010 )

 

Vikas Rikhye ,India Real Estate Blogger

Steel tycoon Mr. lakshami Mittal ,56 yrs old NRI living in Britain, rose into focus, when he was named the third richest person in the world with net worth of US$ 25-billion, by Forbes’ Magazine.

The “Super-Star’ Mittal, was born June 15, 1950 in village Safalpur Rajasthan, graduated from St. Xavier’s College in Kolkata After finishing his Bachelor of Commerce degree in business and accounting with first class, he began his career in his father’s steel firm in the early seventies. Mittal moved to Indonesia in 1976 and with his father’s backing founded a steel plant, Ispat Indo and made the company a success. It is understood from sources that in 1994, he branched out on his own, taking over the international operations of the Mittal steel business. Lakshmi Mittal , known , for Vision & Commitment, never looked back.

It is known to all that , since 2005, Mittal has been richest person living in the UK. He is the President of Board of Directors & CEO of ArcelorMittal the world’s largest producer of steel, having assets in France, Belgium ,Romania, Bosnia, South Africa, Poland, Czech Republic, Indonesia ,Kazakhstan, Canada, & Mexico.

Mittal is, famously generous and charitable, although Mittal has given millions of dollars without fanfare to tsunami relief and other causes. Mittal is an active philanthropist and a member of various trusts. It is also understood from sources that Benevolent Mittal has set up Mittal Champion Trust with US$9 million to support 10 Indian athletes having “Outstanding potential”.

According to Hindustan Times Business,Dated 21 April 2008 :

ARCELORMITTAL,the world’s largest steelmaker, plans to bankroll a string of health centres in India in a bid to reduce infant mortality in the country.

The steel gaint is powering into India now and considers it as the No.1 priority while China is the next big Target. Mr. Aditya Mittal Chief Finance Officer of the company and son of NRI steel tycoon Mr. Lakshami Mittal, said in an interview published in The Sunday Times.

According to the report , ArcelorMittal has “plans to bankroll a string of health centers there to reduce the infant mortality.” Mittal’s wife, a former Goldmans Sachs banker will co-ordinate the project.

The 32 year-old also indicated that at a later stage he might dedicate his life to philanthropy

That’s shows the Mittals’s love for India

 

Vikas Rikhye,India Real Estate Blogger

Gurgaon is a city that is rapidly moving towards Globalized economy, but it the city requires, an effective planning for improvement in basic infrastructure to truly transform into be “world-class city” in coming years.An effective Transport system is the base for any infrastructure development.

Although eight lane toll expressway between Gurgaon and New Delhi, that provides non-stop connectivity to the I.G.I and the Domestic Airport and to Dhaulakuan in Delhi over a distance of 28 kilometers (18 miles), and includes 7 flyovers and 5 underpasses along the stretch, has made a remarkable comfort level to the commuters, still for main city of Gurgaon , a well planned efficient surface transport planning seems to be the basic need of the day.

While the road layout in the city is quite well-planned, but a drives to improve the condition of roads is very badly required.

Besides roads, the main problem of the city is its virtually non-existent city public transport. A handful of local buses plying on a few routes & besides cycle rickshaw the only other form of public transport is shared auto- rickshaw which are generally overcrowded.

Mainly Taxi service in Gurgaon is limited to Airport/Railway Station dropping/ picking. Besides taxis for the use of the ever growing call center and information technology industry. Gurgaon currently has 5 types of taxis. Normal Black top yellows taxis, auto rickshaw(the cheapest form of taxis in Gurgaon), tourist taxis, radio taxis and white taxis.

Generally, people in Gurgaon prefer cars to two-wheelers because of the dusty nature of the region, extreme weather condition, and frequent two-wheeler accidents. Most of the people in new township, own cars as the cream of the delhites have moved to Gurgaon. But an average white collar job person is desperately looking forward to improved means of transport system.

There seems to be only ray of hope when “Delhi Metro Rail Corporation” starts its operation to Gurgaon as expected by January 2010.

To be continued…

 

Vikas Rikhye,India Real Estate Blogger

Water is one of the most important natural resource, it is the most basic need for all living beings as well as a very valuable national asset.

In India, Water availability per capita is on decline with most obvious reasons as increasing demand for water with increasing rate of population. Moreover the rivers are getting dried up, groundwater is depleting and canals are polluted. Other factors influencing /causing water shortage are felt as under:

1.Massive urbanization/ industrialization throughout the country

2.Increasing construction/ infrastructure development Activities

3.Depleting of natural resources due to changing climate conditions

4.Lack of implementation of effective water management systems

The increased demand has not been matched by efforts to conserve and better manage water supplies, meaning that the resource is being depleted faster than it can be replenished.

Considering the present circumstances ,India faces a bleak water future. India might face a severe water crisis within the next two decades, Unless water management practices are changed/ improved on priority basis.

India is blessed with adequate rainfall as a whole, yet there are large swathes of dry, drought prone area. In many other places the quality of groundwater is not good. In such places rainwater harvesting can provide lifeline water for survival and more.

Rain Water Harvesting as a method of utilizing rain water for domestic and agricultural use is already widely used throughout the world. It is a method which has been used since ancient times and is increasingly being accepted as a practical method of providing potable water in development projects throughout the world.

Rain water harvesting is regaining its importance as Government is exercising special efforts to promote the same supported by the efforts of NGOs like Rotary International who trying their best to create awareness in society to understand the significance of Rain water Harvesting (RWH).

It is understood from sources that Water Resource Ministry of India has adopted Target/Result oriented approach to deal with this alarming situation.

But more important is “Each one of us to learn as how to save even a drop of water”

To be continued…

 

Vikas Rikhye,India Real Estate Blogger

Gurgaon ! privileged status of “Cyber City” battling a power crisis that has seen power cuts over 12 hours , there is no immediate relief in sight.

Most of the people who moved to Gurgaon for a better quality of life, they , now feel cheated & cursing the day they moved to Gurgaon.

The life becomes miserable, when the whole town plunges into darkness in peak of summer, as one has to surrender to the invertors and then to generators, an expensive proposition besides being unfriendly to the environment.

Students in the city are invariably the biggest sufferers. Long hours of power cut and exhausted inverters have made their lives harder.

A common man is in total confused state of mind as the electricity “Complaint telephones “are usually un-attended or give a busy tone. Personal complaints lead to no results, With repeated assurances of officials, consumers have learnt the hard way not to trust officials.

Tired of long & frequent power cuts and false promises of improvement, created almost a situation of riots in the city as News Headlines of Hindustan Times dated May 7th 2008 read as “Power riots erupt in city, Gurgaon” it further added “People stone power offices”

Is that the “Millennium City” we dreamt of ?

Vikas Rikhye , India Real Estate Blogger

India’s inflation rate has more than doubled in the past four months amid soaring commodity and food prices, India’s inflation rate was 7.14 percent in the week ended April 5 from a year earlier, after gaining 7.57 percent in the previous week, according to the source economists had expected a 7.23 percent increase.

Since the wholesale price index (WPL) based inflation rate has shot-up unexpected heights in last few weeks, therefore , authorities have taken series of fiscal & monetary steps.

The Government has banned export of certain basic items like rice & lentils and also reduced the Custom duty on the import of commodities influencing inflation.

India’s monsoon rains are expected to be sufficient this year for farmers to plant rice, wheat and oilseeds, There may be some relief from rising prices if the monsoon forecast is borne out.

The authorities feel the measure may take a while to have an effect on prices therefore, “Don’t expect miracles, must be patient” , “It will have a moderating impact on prices. It will take some time.”

Vikas Rikhye,India Real Estate Blogger

In one of my articles I had mentioned that we never seem to hear about real estate investors who go bankrupt.I had also cautioned that it does not happen very often unless the decision is rash or it is due to lack of basic relevant information and facts.

But I am sorry to state that in the recent past many innocent investors have been trapped by the” Rosy pictures painted” by some of the masterminded Broker Turned Builders (BTBs) who wanted to enter the real estate market as New Players for New Real Estate Projects.Neighbor’s prosperity, News paper &,T.V. advertisement backed up with lucrative assurance of their neighborhood broker was good enough for them to be tempted them to get ready for a Bright & Prosperous future through investment in property.

The new investor having lured by “Real Estate Prosperity” all around got eager to join the “Prosperity Race”. It is understood that while some had
put in their life time savings ,others managed to raise funds at a very high rate of interest & some had raised funds to invest in property by selling their personal belongings as well as inherited gold ornaments.

In 2006-2007 as we all know that “Unheard investment destinations” were being advertised with New Townships besides NCR townships with:

1.Pre-launch offers

2.Rock bottom Prices

3.Assuring heavy return on investment

4.Costly Sales Brochures depicting Quality of life matching International Standards supported by strategically designed marketing techniques

5.Heavy commission to Brokers

6.Cocktail Dinners on Pre-launch (In ***** Hotels)

7.Luxury Cars as gifts on achieving Sales Targets

All this as stated above was good enough for these investors to have the direction, they had in mind.

I often use to wonder ,that how would a builder be able to bear such expensive cost of marketing and yet would be able to deliver the promised project.

I could feel very close to the answer, when I remembered my Business Guru’s saying ‘The Brower who pays 10% interest never returns the original capital”

As I understand almost same thing happened, as while many of the smart investors made a quick buck at the same time where “Fly by Night Operators “have disappeared or Builder/ Promoter has failed to deliver the project, many of the victims are either running from pillar to post for refund or some accepted it as a bad luck/wrong decision .

At the same time some of the ‘Stay Back’ Builders are asking for future installments without any visible progress as the payment plan seems to be time bound & not construction linked

In Gurgaon after master plan 2021 has earmarked 58 new Sectors,
I understand from news paper advertisement that some of the new Developers are offering apartments in remote locations at a lesser price ranging 2200-2500 per sq.ft with 15% Cost along with application along with a 45day PDC of 10%, which means that with 25% of the selling cost builder receives almost more than 40% of his cost ,without even starting the construction & since the remaining payment is construction linked, therefore apparently the developer has already got his chunk of profit and yet stays in the business at the cost of his investor’s money having a stake free existence .

Secondly, even if the builder delivers the project in time in these remote locations, how would that become livable in absence of basic infrastructure like Public Transport , Sewer, Electricity ,Water etc.

Whereas , so called booming almost 12 years old “New township of Gurgaon” still is awaiting its “Infrastructure dream” to come true

It is also noticed that some of the better known builders are selling Builder floors , which as per present rules do not enjoy a clear title on secondary sales ,where, in some of the cases the builder has already taken more than 25% of the price, without any visible progress

I very frequently get, desperate phone calls from some of such investors, that they would like to get rid of their investment at any cost in some cases they are ready to sell out the booked property below cost

The scene of the Gurgaon shopping malls is no less gloomy as few of the specialized malls give a deserted look awaiting the occupants & investors/owners are asked to pay Maintenance charges, while others Malls which are under construction have slowed down the construction process with a fear of lack of occupancy.

IT office space / IT Parks ( victim of overtrading) had become an investor’s craze , who are continuing to invest ,without realizing the Government’s Plans & Policy.

To me it seems “Some can not think due to lack & greed of money others
Can’t think due to overdose of money”