Chennai Realty – A brief excerpt

Please find excerpt’s interview of the real estate market scenario of Chennai realty:

What are the main market segments in Chennai?

Since, the middle class segment of the city is vast in the Chennai city, the mid-market segment has been a popular sector for the developers. The mid-market segment apartments are priced in the range between Rs. 40 and 80 lakhs. The high-end segment also has takers and is priced over Rs. 2 Crore. Grand luxury projects are proposed in upscale areas like Nungambakkam and Guindy with massive number of apartment units at elite prices. These apartments have world class facilities like business lounge, swimming pool, cafeteria, automatic car park etc.

What kind of market do we find in Chennai?

The market in Chennai is very robust. There has never been a crash in the past three decades in the real estate market. Therefore the Chennai market provides safe investment atmosphere with respect to real estate. The upscale segment is booming with proposed luxurious residential structures in the Central Business Districts like Nungambakkam, Poes Garden, Alwarpet etc.

Why are the prices going up in Chennai as opposed to other cities?

The main reason is to maintain the stability of the market. An erratic pricing scheme would only result in insecure builders and consumers. Early bird offers are offered with a percentage of deduction in the overall price. Apart from that every apartment unit is sold at a standard market price.

Is this a good time to invest?This is certainly a great time to invest in the housing segment. With the global market recovering from recession, there are many projects in construction at popular localities. Prices have stagnated for a while, so it is a good time to take advantage of this factor before liquidity.

To find and buy a property in Chennai, Please visit http://www.realtycompass.com/real-estate-in-chennai

Source: http://www.realtycompass.com/blog/category/advisory/

Bangalore – The Luxury, Mid-income and Affordable Housing Segment

Bangalore is among the fastest growing city in India. The Information Technology sector has played the major growth factor in the development of Bangalore realty. Bangalore is a unique city and is home to multi-cultural population that offers excellent social infrastructure and best educational institutes. The Outer Ring Road, Whitefield, Sarjapur Road and North Bangalore are some of the areas that are leading the race in the real estate market.

Luxury Market

Being the third largest region for high net worth individuals, Bangalore is easily home to thousands of millionaires. The reason is, most of the expatriates making a living in this city after their assignments in abroad. One can find well cultured people in this destination who have sophisticated taste. Lately, there has been an increased demand for luxury residential apartments in Central Business District, North Bangalore area, Whitefiled and Outer Ring Road. Moreover, the luxury market is expected to be steady on a short term basis.

Mid- Income Market

The Mid-income market is mainly driven by the techies in the IT and IT Enabled Services industry. Factors like good social infrastructure, nearby work places, physical infrastructure and access to medical and education facilities are strong driving factors to boost the mid income real estate market. There have been positive signs of growth as well as a steady demand in the mid-income segment in areas like Whitefield, Electronic city, ORR IT corridor and North Bangalore.

Affordable Housing

The affordable housing segment has been targeted at the price sensitive buyers, and is mainly developed in the suburbs of Bangalore. The suburbs such as the Mysore road and the Kanakapura road are witnessing high demand in this segment. Exclusive developers like Puravandara, Shriram Properties, Brigade group, Ozone group, Golden Gate and Nitesh Estate have ventured in this arena and meet the needs of the customers. Affordable housing is accomplished by reducing the unit sizes and compromising on certain civic amenities to fit within the budget. Further, the planned metro rail project and peripheral ring road have created demand for the outskirts projects.

To find and buy a property in Bangalore, Please visit http://www.realtycompass.com/real-estate-in-bangalore


Source: http://www.realtycompass.com/wp/advisory/

Paying Money to buy a Property in India by NRIs

Once you have decided to buy a property in India next question comes about the payments. An NRI / PIO make payment for purchase of residential / commercial property in India out of

(a) funds remitted to India through normal banking channels or

(b) funds held in NRE / FCNR (B) / NRO account maintained in India

Traveller’s cheque or foreign currency notes or by other mode except those specifically mentioned above, cannot be used to make the payments

Property buying is always a big risk. There might be cases when the deal does not go till the end. So the questions of repatriation arises. Is repatriation of application money for booking of flat / payment made to the builder by NRI/ PIO allowed when the flat or plot is not allotted or the booking / contract is cancelled?

The Authorised Dealers can allow NRIs / PIOs to credit refund of application/ earnest money/ purchase consideration made by the house building agencies/ seller on account of non-allotment of flat/ plot/ cancellation of bookings/ deals for purchase of residential, commercial property, together with interest, if any, net of income tax payable thereon, to NRE/FCNR account, provided, the original payment was made out of NRE/FCNR account of the account holder or remittance from outside India through normal banking channels and the Authorised Dealer is satisfied about the genuineness of the transaction.

In some cases NRIs might want to go for loans. In this case the NRI / PIO can avail of loan from an authorised dealer for acquiring flat / house in India for his own residential use against the security of funds held in his NRE Fixed Deposit account / FCNR (B) account. Such loans are permitted subject to the terms and conditions laid down in Schedules 1 and 2 to the Notification No. FEMA 5/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 viz. Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulations, 2000, as amended from time to time. Banks cannot grant fresh loans or renew existing loans in excess of Rs. 100 lakhs against NRE and FCNR (B) deposits, either to the depositors or to third parties. The banks should also not undertake artificial slicing of the loan amount to circumvent the ceiling of Rs. 100 lakh.

Such loans can be repaid in the following manner:

(a) by way of inward remittance through normal banking channel or

(b) by debit to the NRE / FCNR (B) / NRO account of the NRI/ PIO or

(c) out of rental income from such property

(d) by the borrower’s close relatives, as defined in section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956, through their account in India by crediting the borrower’s loan account.

NRI / PIO, can also avail of housing loan in Rupees from an Authorised Dealer or a Housing Finance Institution in India approved by the National Housing Bank for purchase of residential accommodation or for the purpose of repairs / renovation / improvement of residential accommodation.

But the loans are subject to certain terms and conditions laid down in Regulation 8 of Notification No. FEMA 4/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 viz. Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and lending in rupees) Regulations, 2000, as amended from time to time. Authorised Dealers/ Housing Finance Institutions can also lend to the NRIs/ PIOs for the purpose of repairs/renovation/ improvement of residential accommodation owned by them in India. Such a loan can be repaid (a) by way of inward remittance through normal banking channel or (b) by debit to the NRE / FCNR (B) / NRO account of the NRI / PIO or (c) out of rental income from such property; or (d) by the borrower’s close relatives, as defined in section 6 of the Companies Act, 1956, through their account in India by crediting the borrower’s loan account.

Another option for loans by NRI/PIO avail of housing loan in Rupees from his employer in India but subject to certain terms and conditions given in Regulation 8A of Notification No. FEMA 4/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 and A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.27 dated October 10, 2003, i.e.,

(i) The loan shall be granted only for personal purposes including purchase of housing property in India;

(ii) The loan shall be granted in accordance with the lender’s Staff Welfare Scheme/Staff Housing Loan Scheme and subject to other terms and conditions applicable to its staff resident in India;

(iii) The lender shall ensure that the loan amount is not used for the purposes specified in sub-clauses (i) to (iv) of clause (1) and in clause (2) of Regulation 6 of Notification No.FEMA.4/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000.

(iv) The lender shall credit the loan amount to the borrower’s NRO account in India or shall ensure credit to such account by specific indication on the payment instrument;

(v) The loan agreement shall specify that the repayment of loan shall be by way of remittance from outside India or by debit to NRE/NRO/FCNR Account of the borrower and the lender shall not accept repayment by any other means.

Source: http://www.realtycompass.com/blog

NRIs Should Beaware of Tax Before Investment in Property

There are few deductions which are applicable to Indian residences when they buy a property in India. An NRI / PIO also have the same deductions for the property.

Just like Indian residents the same deductions are applicable for NRIs. Municipal taxes paid during the year and housing loan interest payment are deductible. Standard deduction of 30 per cent of the net rent (gross rent less municipal taxes) can be obtained for repair and maintenance, irrespective of actual expenditure.
Housing loan principal repayment, stamp duty and registration charges are allowed as deduction from one’s gross income under the overall limit of Rs 1 lakh per year, under Section 80C.
Incase the NRI / PIO decides to give away his property on rent then taxes become applicable. When a certain threshold limit is reached rent received becomes taxable in India and NRI has to file a tax return in India in case the rent received along with other income exceeds the threshold limit.
The rent may be additionally taxed in the NRI’s country of tax residence. There may be some tax relief available under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) for NRIs who are tax residents in certain countries. This may allow one to get credit for Indian taxes paid.
How does one handle a vacant property?
Again, treatment here is similar to a resident. A property which is not rented out is treated as a self-occupied property and the taxable value is NIL. The only deduction available against such property is interest on housing loan up to Rs 1.5 lakh per year. When there are more than one property that is not rented, then the owner can choose one property as self-occupied and all the other un-rented properties shall be deemed to be let out, even if not actually let out. For these, the rent that the property would likely fetch is considered as gross rent and all other deductions as applicable for a rented property will be allowed.
Deduction for principal repayment on housing loan can be obtained on all property, whether it is rented, self-occupied or deemed to be let out.
An NRI is exempt from wealth tax on a property that has been rented for more than 300 days. Also, one vacant house property can be declared as self-occupied property and is exempt from wealth tax. The value (net of outstanding loans) of second and subsequent vacant properties would be subject to wealth tax, at the rate of 1 per cent on the value in excess of Rs 30 lakh, says Parizad Sirwalla, Practicing Chartered Accountant, KPMG.
NRIs are subject to capital gains tax in India, similar to what is applied to residents. They can get long-term capital gains rate for property held for over 36 months and can claim exemption by investing in another house property or specified bonds. Capital gains may also be taxable in the NRI’s country of residence. Relief may be available in the form of credit for Indian taxes paid, in case the NRI is a tax resident of a country with which India has a DTAA.
Limits and conditions for repatriation are different based on the funds used for buying property. If the property was acquired as per the foreign exchange laws, the amount of repatriation is restricted to the extent of the initial purchase cost of the property. For example, assume the purchase price was $100,000 (Rs 40 lakh, with an exchange rate of Rs 40) and the sale price was Rs 75 lakh. Assuming the prevailing exchange rate at the time of sale is Rs 60, one can repatriate Rs 60 lakh ($100,000).
Gains made on foreign source funded properties (Rs 15 lakh in the example above) as well as all proceeds from property purchased with rupee sources, can be repatriated under the general limit of Rs 10 lakh per financial year.

Source: http://www.realtycompass.com/blog/

Realtycompass wins “Emerging property portal of India 2013”

Chennai, 3rd October 2013: Realtycompass.com, India’s first ever property search engine was awarded “Emerging property portal of India” by Silicon India.

SiliconIndia is the largest professional networking portal of India largest featuring professionals from technology, Business, entrepreneur news, Best Jobs and career opportunities.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Nimesh Bhandari, CMO, RealtyCompass.com said, “We are very glad to be recognized as “Emerging property portal of India”. This award is a recognition of our efforts to be a customer centric property portal with the most accurate and exhaustive listing of new projects.

About Realtycompass:

www.realtycompass.com, India’s first ever property search engine with a path breaking idea which promises to give home buyers the unique benefit of getting information about every project in the city. The business idea is to give customers a “single window” for their home purchase.  The idea has 4 primary benefits namely,

1.Give home buyers option to strike a best deal in home purchase  by listing all projects                            

2. Find a home which fulfills each and every requirement

3. Provide Single window for home search

4. Give 10 times more projects than any other property portal

 www.realtycompass.com has already comprehensively listed 2500 projects in Chennai and Bangalore, 1100 projects in Hyderabad and 250 projects in Coimbatore, which is 10 times more projects than the nearest competitor in the online property portal space.

Check Some of our following links for your city to find property(Villa, Apartment, Land, House) in your city:

Buy a Property in Bangalore
Buy a Property in Coimbatore
Buy a Property in Chennai
Buy a Property in Hyderabad

Source: http://www.realtycompass.com/blog/

Tips NRIs could use to Buy a Property in India

In India, property prices have appreciated significantly over the past five years. However, for the overseas Indian, it has only been a marginal increase owing to the depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar. This has made investments in India’s real estate sector more affordable and extremely lucrative for overseas investors.
In fact at the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OFIC), every other investment query is regarding buying residential property in India. With the Union Cabinet approving the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, the sector should soon become more transparent and better protect consumer interest.

If you are an overseas Indian, adhering to some basic rules will help you navigate towards market for real estate India.

GROUND CHECKS
First, determine the nature of the property. As per the guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), an overseas Indian cannot buy agricultural land, plantations and farm land in the country.
Examine all the legal documents before buying the land. There have been cases of residential projects being built on agricultural land without securing approval from the government. In such cases, the investment will be deemed illegal, irrespective of who buys the land.
Therefore, ensure that you have seen the title deed, in original, and that it is solely in the name of the seller. If the seller is unable to produce the original and shares a photocopy, there is a possibility that a loan has been taken against the property. Initiate a thorough check to avoid the pitfall of the sale being challenged at a later stage.
Besides this, also ascertain that the property has secured all clearances required by law, such as environment and municipal clearances and the authority to transfer the undivided share of land to each apartment owner and the entire plot to the society upon completion of the project. Even for projects under construction, insist on these documents to ensure that your investment is safe.
It would be advisable to use the services of a lawyer in India to ratify the claims made and ensure that the builder has secured all the necessary approvals. This will ensure you’ve covered all legal aspects.
In case the property (irrespective of its nature) was acquired or inherited by you (the overseas Indian or NRI) when you were a resident of India, you can sell or build on the property without the approval of the Reserve Bank of India. However, if you wish to sell it, you must be a resident citizen of India.

THE PURCHASE
Having identified a property after due diligence and negotiation, you will arrive at a price at which the sale is agreed. Subsequently, a sale agreement must be drawn on a Rs 50 stamp paper, which will mention the final amount, advance payment, time limit to pay the due amount and details of installment.
Once the sale deed is completed, you need to get it registered at the sub-registrar or Sub-District Magistrate. The overseas buyer’s foreign address has to be mentioned in the sale agreement. He can appoint a representative in India (with a power of attorney) to act on his behalf. The power of attorney should be notarised with the Indian consulate in the buyer’s country of residence.
The property can be registered in the name of the NRI and the holder of the power of attorney can sign on his behalf by producing a copy of the document to the appropriate authorities.
The payment of purchase price, if any, should be made from either funds received in India through normal banking channels or funds held in a nonresident bank account. You could pay through rupeedenominated non-resident ordinary (NRO) or nonresident external (NRE) accounts and foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) accounts.

TAXATION MATTERS
Apart from the registration cost and stamp duty, a service tax is also levied on the transaction. It depends upon the property you are buying. If you want to buy a property in India that is being constructed by a builder, you will have to pay a service tax of 12.36% on 25% of the total price for apartments up to 2,000 square feet and 30% for bigger apartments.
For a built-up property or a single residential unit, stamp duty is to be paid on purchase of the property. The stamp duty payable varies from state to state and is different for properties in rural areas. There are three slabs for payment of stamp duty in Delhi-4% of the property value if the new owner is a woman, 5% if it is the joint property of a man and a woman and 6% if a man is to own the property. A registration fee of 1% is applicable for all property transactions.

Source: http://www.realtycompass.com/wp/advisory/tips-nris-could-use-to-buying-a-property-in-india/

New Properties in Chennai South Digest – 3rd October 2013

FindOut the List of new properties in Chennai South which are available for Sale. It includes Apartments, Residential Lands, Villas. It you are realty interested to Buy a Property in Chennai.

1. Green Park by Chandra Sekar Builders

This property is located in South Chennai and promises to provide comfort and luxury amidst the city. With 151 apartments Green Park is on its way to become the dream home for many.
Check out the amenities at http://www.realtycompass.com/property-view-green-park-by-chandra-sekar-builders-in-chennai-south

2. Sree Adithya Avenue by Avani Real Estate

If you are looking for a plot to build your own designer home look no further. The plots for sale at Sree Adithya Avenue are one of the popular Residential/Plot Developments in Padappai
More details available at http://www.realtycompass.com/property-view-sree-adithya-avenue-by-avani-real-estate-in-chennai-south

3. Meenaa’s by Stepstone Promoters Pvt Ltd

Luxury and comfort rolled into one, the project has 2 and 3 BHK apartment with Children’s play area. Ideal for your family it is a good deal in South Chennai
For your family check out this home at http://www.realtycompass.com/property-view-meenaasinglequotes-by-stepsstone-promoters-pvt-ltd-in-chennai-south

4. Hrish’s by Stepstone Promoters Pvt Ltd

Another property by the builders of Meenaa’s. As the builders promise luxury, style and comfort in each of their project even Hrish’s is developing to keep up the promise.
Find more details about the project at http://www.realtycompass.com/property-view-hrishsinglequotes-by-stepsstone-promoters-pvt-ltd-in-chennai-central

5. Harinivas by Stepstone Promoters Pvt Ltd

A homes of comfort to utilize the special amenities for modern lifestyle, daily needs which are conveniently provided with a blend of luxury and space for relaxation and sharing of precious moments.

For specifications visit http://www.realtycompass.com/property-view-harinivas-by-stepsstone-promoters-pvt-ltd-in-chennai-south

Source: http://www.realtycompass.com/wp/blog/new-properties-in-chennai-south/