Living as a Society!

--

“Home is more about people than a place” …  Caragh M. O'Brien

Caragh M. O’Brien is the author of the Birthmarked trilogy, a series of young adult, dystopian novels. Her books take place in a world destroyed by climate change. No wonder, she can explain Home in such simple words, as a person who thinks about the impact of climate change on the world surely knows what is more important for building a strong & good home! After many days I have come across something which is about real estate & interesting as well not much has been shared about this aspect. Best part of being in real estate (there are some good things about this industry still) you come across the widest spectrum of society during your work & if you keep your senses alive (read as open) then everyday you learn something new & that’s one sure way to improve! As your client can be a teacher, an IT young couple, some NRI or even a successful business man or high position bureaucrat as all of them need a home which is a common platform. And more wonderful thing is all these people come to live in a building which hosts their homes which is built by you (read as your team) & its all such families which makes a society. Some of my best times are visiting completed societies (I never like to call them buildings, yet for understanding ease I will use the term buildings) without revealing my identity & just feel the way residents move in & out of the building & observe the way they use the services which has been provided by us, & listen to their experiences about living in the buildings we have built!

It helps me understand flaws as well plus points of our planning & execution as well where to improve in our next project.

In one such visit to our recently completed project I got to meet the Chairman of the society & he was complaining about water being flowing on the surfaces on side driveways which is the outcome of the attached terraces washing. It contained soap froth & he was worried that it would pollute the bore well water of the society! I told him that there was no need to wash the attached terraces in this way as all you have to do is wipe the floor with wet mop & then with dry cloth, is what society has to tell the residents. As well with this much volume of water the bore well won’t get polluted as this water will get percolated in the rain water drains, & then via filters it will go down in the earth & from there it may become part of bore well water & during the process it gets naturally filtered as flowing through so many layers yet if all the flat holders started allowing such water to flow on side margins, then yes, there is chance of bore well water contamination! But for that also we have kept the compartment of water storage separate is what I explained to him! On this, he said, why I (me) don't I make a book of Do’s & Don’t for the residents, which will help in a big way. I laughed at the thought but it lingered in my mind & the book may be a big thing or a long term thing but at least I must write down a few basics is what I felt & so this sharing! And just to prove the need of such writing on one of our another completed project’s residents whats-app group (well, that’s one good habit we have followed for all our completed projects) where one of the residents has posted a snap of garbage being stacked in the staircase lobby & appealing to others keeping the surrounding clean!

This made me realize at least I should pen down some very basic rules of living together & fun is we all know these rules but just the way we ignore applying seat belt or wearing helmet while driving we ignore & not just ours but entire society’s life, becomes bad! And then, with due respect to our Indian Patriotism, when it's civic sense we are really bad on that scale & there are enough proofs to support my observation but about that sometimes later. As well, how we maintain our building & not just our flat, is what defines whether we are a society or just a bunch of primates living together out of necessity, right?

So, coming to simple Do’s & Don’ts while you stay in a building (in you bungalow do whatever you want), just do mind you are sharing the space with other families & only with collective efforts you can make your own life a shade better by following some basic rules, to acknowledge this fact is the first rule of Do’s in a society as once you have understood it then things are much simple & easy! Then, categorize the things which can hamper other residents peace of mind & tag them under Don’t & these also can be further specified such as civil works in your flat. Don’t do any civil work in your flat, however small it may be, without informing your society as well neighbours. Because a small action of changing tiles on your kitchen otta or in bathroom can create waterproofing or leakage problems in your adjoining flats. As well, even fixing a nail in a wall which is common with other flats, if you use a hammer, it can form cracks on the other side of the wall which can be your neighbour’s living room! Instead use a drill & then use a hammer for just final fixing of frame or any painting for which you are using the nail. Don’t ever wash your flat by flooding (read as pouring) water on the floor as first the rooms are not water proof & second the water may seep from tile joints & as the flat dry areas (rooms) flooring is not fixed in slope this water will remain accumulated below floor & someday it will leak in the flat’s ceiling under your flat! Don’t use acid to clean your toilets or traps (drains) as it will erode jointing material & again leakage will start! Don’t ever use electric appliances without studying the load capacity of your electric meter as well as wiring as it may cause overloading & short circuit! In short, before carrying any work in your flat, take detailed information about workmanship of your flat's construction and take help from your builder for the same( I know it’s difficult but doable). Don’t ever change the windows or outer walls of your flat, as that will cause for sure seepage in your flat in monsoon as well in flat adjoining, as the breakage of outer wall will create cracks in the plaster surface all along the outer face of that wall, as it’s just like your skin! Don’t ever put your plant pots hanging away from your terrace or balcony or window as the water will drip on the walls below as well there always is danger of that planter pot falling down on top of someone in the driveway!

If the above are a few pointers for your flat then there is a list of Don’ts for common areas of the building & these are more important as well all know how careless we are for public places. Right from spitting to pushing our flat’s garbage in the common area so many Don’ts are there to follow! Most important is security Don’ts as they are directly related to your safety & valuables. Don’t compromise on two things, one is cheap security service & cheap maintenance contact providers of common services such as Lift, Generator mainly! Remember CCTV, Thumb Access all these things are good but a good watchman is the best preventor of any theft or accident around the building & most societies fail on this front just to save a few rupees. Same way for a particular service such as lifts or generators or solar or fire system, give maintenance contracts to only the authorized service company of that brand even if they are costlier (they usually are) than other companies but it's worth it in case of major failures of such systems & spare-parts replacements! As I have seen many societies proving the phrase “Penni wise pound foolish” right, once again just to save few rupees on maintenance contracts of these services. One more aspect of Don’ts while you live as a society is don’t ask security people to carry your personal or common tasks such as car washing or gardening as that will become excuse for  them (and a genuine too) in case of any theft or security breach in the building or flat! Most important, Don’t allow small kids (below 9 years age) to use lift or to their access to common terrace on the roof of the building on their own. Even within the flat also follow this rule with balconies as well attached terraces & don’t ever keep such places unlocked, when kids are around!

That way the list of Do’s is very small & the first item on its agenda is to make a list of Do’s & Don’ts & post it on all the lobbies as well society notice board & see that every resident follows the same! In the queue of Do’s, make a contract of maintenance for every service as well see that it's being renewed in time. As well on your own get the inspection of plumbing & electric lines done at least yearly (preferably half yearly) as periodic checking of these services helps to save a lot of money in the course of time! Make a whats-app group with your builder’s team as managing committee of the society for any issues related to the building’s construction as well as legal fronts. Do request (or force) the builder if he or she is not keen on such things & explain to him that formation of such a group will reduce his stresses also! Do keep updates about essential contact details related to the building, may it be a nearby police station or MSEB or PMC ward office as well service providers & display such contact numbers. Do keep proper record of all the communication in the society office along with copies of all the drawings, nocs’ from various depts, working as well sanctioned, it does help. Keep record of all periodical permissions required from the concerned govt depot such as lift noc or fire noc, at least inform from your side on record to the concerned dept for demanding so or compliance from your side has been done. As well, do have an observant eye & ear for what you see & hear while you move around your building premise, right from any suspicious person’s movement to your neighbour’s flat’s door, every small detail is important.

Last but not least, a major concern for all the completed projects off late is lack of interest of the residents regarding society’s work; so, do take lead instead taking back seat (continentally) for society works, as do mind your home is not just what your sale agreement says & the carpet area you have paid for, but it starts from the entrance gate of your building & you only are responsible for keeping it in best shape, adios with this note!

Do ask for any assistance on this front at… sales@sanjeevanideve.com / smd1568122gmail.com

-

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/2023/01/defining-good-home-real-estate-in-2023.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-post.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..

https://secure.mygov.in/

Think Green, Think Life