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“The biggest problem
in solving any problem is, first we have to accept that there is a problem” …
No big or wise name has
said above words but I myself & couldn’t stop using my own words (a rare
thing I do) but such is the subject of sharing i.e., hurdles in front of the
real estate industry. Actually, the problem starts right from the term Industry
when its real estate as we (read as the builders) calls ourself an industry but
barring us nobody else calls or considers real estate as the industry &
outcome is leave apart respect, this sector is like an orphan especially when
it comes to deciding policies & the seen is same from “Galli to Dilli” i.e.,
local city level to central govt i.e., Delhi! And if you feel this is usual
builder’s cry the I won’t blame you as that’s how the image of the builders has
been painted by the media & the govt too! Well, one more year is at end and
by now most of the people (read as builders) hopefully have realized or say
understood the trend of real estate ahead as indeed its still a money generating
business but for whom, is the aspect which the builders (existing as well aspirant
ones) should look at carefully in the year ahead!
And then just when things
were looking settled down from the 2020 lockdown & its De Ja Vu in 2021,
again the threat of lockdown started looming on entire society while I have
started this sharing. Too early to comment anything about the impact but the
fear & panic are the main enemy of the businesses than actual damage of
lives, is what we have been observed! And like
“with great powers comes great responsibility” philosophy (who else but
Spiderman), the industry (or the business) with more money has to suffer more,
which real estate has witnessed in the recent past & should gear up again. Indeed, this lockdown thing & virus threat is
in nobody’s control but the real estate doesn’t have just these as the enemies
(or say hurdles or obstacles) but there is “Mai Baap Govt” i.e., policies it
makes, the recent trends in the means of selling the homes, last but not least
the fellow builders & the way they (read as We) do the business, all these
combinedly is what making the life of builders only miserable, is a fact! Let’s
see how all the above aspects are affecting the real estate as many will say
what’s new in it, wasn’t these three factors were always against the real
estate, it was, but then the ever-rising land rates (and profit margins) used
to cover or say heal all the wounds which is not a case now!
To
start with, recently I was in meeting with my architect for planning of a small
building which we are proposing on a plot of some 10,000 sft in a better placed
wester suburb of Pune. And trust me, he was furious not with the client’s
demands i.e., “Me” (thankfully) but with the govt at large mean planning
authority or whatever we call it. When I asked, what’s so irritating, he said
why these guys can’t make simple & plain rules which will ease out planning
a good home & he penned down few hurdles to explain me what’s bothering to
him & do mind I myself am an engineer & have 30 years’ experience in
planning & even I was speechless when I got what’s his problem! First is, there is a rule coming (from 1s t Jan 22)
that on the roads with width 9m - 12m the height of the building will be
maximum 24 meters, which means only 7 storied buildings will be allowed on such
roads & do mind parking if not considered in the height of the building, by
the permission dept, it’s been considered by the fire dept, wow, first bullet
hit! Means one dept of PMC (or any planning authority) if it says this building
is of 24 m high & it doesn’t count parking floor height then the same
authority's other dept says this building is 30 m high with parking & don’t
give NOC, lol! Ok, don’t ask the logic why this rule is coming as there is none
such logic. And joke is on 9 m width road FSI granting is if 2 then on 12 m
width road its 3 times yet the building height is same, super!
Then in the TOD zone (well sorry but one more
blunder) i.e., in the so-called Metro (it’s a local rail) corridor the
building height will be H/4 means whatever distance you leave from the building
line to the plot boundary should be 1/4th of building height which
in normal case i.e., building which don’t come under Metro corridor its H/5. Ok
for a common man, if building height is 24 meters, then in Metro corridor the
side margin from building line to plot boundary must be 6 m which in other
building can be 4.8 m, again no logic!
And then in the TOD Zone there has to be 50% flats with area less than
60 sq m, why? The logic is to increase tenement density so to increase Metro
footfall (Commuters) but by doing this we are increasing central city area
density as most Metro (at present is going through the main city) this can be
the rule beyond the Metro terminals i.e., end the routes, right? At the same
time, try selling flats without a car park, so more number of flats means more
car parks & even if by laws you don’t need car parks in Metro corridor
buildings, the flats are not being sold by DC rules but by customers needs
& till the Metro corridors doesn’t get completed in the city or say the region
like Pune people are dependent on private cars is a fact we can’t ignore,
thanks to our PMPML network! And to add
salt on the wound, there is need of 2 staircases in the buildings with height
more than 7 floors, lol again as that means loss of the space as most smaller
plots already has problem of consuming the FSI itself with all height &
margin restrictions & you add one more staircase in it, cool! Ok, the list
is endless like in fringe villages still there is a tussle going on about who
is boss, PMRDA or PMC & proposals are held up as well the rules. I think
high time the Govt should look in the rule things & fast if not for
builders but for its own revenue! This reminds me a joke from Bollywood,
Ajit (the villain) : Michele, isse
liquid Oxygen me daal do…
Michele
(the goon): Boss, liquid Oxygen me ku?
Ajit :
bade bewkuf ho tum Michele; liquid Oxygen me isliye; liquid isse jine nahi dega
aur Oxygen isse marane nahi dega!
(Do I
need to explain who is Ajit, who is the goon & who is the guy being thrown
in the liquid oxygen, in the real estate at present!)
Then comes the recent “dark side” of real
estate i.e., means of selling the flats, plots or commercial premise & it’s
called as Channel Partners! Ok this has nothing to do with TV Channels this is
just like calling Developers as Builders seems bad or rude. So, the real estate
agents or brokers now called as CP i.e., Channel Partners! Well, for ages real
estate & brokers has been working smoothly but suddenly the moment margins
started dropping & production volumes started increasing, builders started
needing some entity which will assure them sale & fast sale & CP entity
has risen out of this need! I am no authority on the subject but every builder
if on one side needs CP then on other side secretly despises them for the bite,
they took in return for getting fast bookings! And the game has become dirty to
such extent that if you are not giving your project for sale to the CPs’ your
project is tagged as doomed or a bad investment making you surrender to some CP
or a bunch of them! I personally don’t have any objection of giving any % as
commission to sale the flats as that’s solely the builders discretion but in
the end the methods used to sale those flats are going to affect entire market,
is something one shouldn’t forget as world is round & whatever you throw at
others, comes back to you one day, is the law of the nature, mind it builders
& CPs’ too!
Lastly, the builders themselves are the
biggest enemy of their fraternity as well of the entire business & if you don’t
trust me speak to any builder one on one & ask his or her opinion about the
competitors (read as, fellow builders) he or she is facing! May it be dealing for a plot or redevelopment
proposal or getting projects sanctioned, do mind if you quote or feed wrongly
then you are giving birth to the man-eater (read as real estate eater) every
day, with your such deals! If my words hurt then open your eyes (and senses
too) & then you will realize from where the real pain is coming from for
doing this business of real estate! As all these
aspects reflects in the way the customer looks at our product i.e., the home
& the way he or she negotiates with the builders, & no wonder customer
is the one which ends up as a winner taking advantage of the situation & I
don’t blame the customers! But in any game, someone’s winning doesn’t mean
others death or end, right? Which is happening in the game of the real estate,
& if you don’t want to end on wrong side of the game then start acting
accordingly from right now! I don’t mean there should not be a competition or don’t make money while
you build the homes but in doing that what you are generating along, just do
mind as that’s what is going to define the future of the entire real estate in
which your next generation is also part of! With this, all the best for a New-Year
ahead, this still is a wonderful business as it has got creativity & it’s
in these homes, we build families are going to prosper & make a better
society, I think that’s the best part of being a builder for me, at least up to
until!
-
Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at You Tube link
below...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4xX7eopH5o&t=5s
Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home
buying!
https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2021/09/choosing-right-home.html
http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2021/09/blog-post_21.html
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345
For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below
www.punecorporation.org
Take your issues to Hon PM at link below...
Think Green, Think Life
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