The Brave Pedestrian

3rd January, 2019, Mumbai: In November 2017, we published an article titled, " Measure your flat, Lodha Group has cheated you ". Anil Kapur (name changed), the owner of a 1BHK studio apartment at Lodha Belmondo project, near Pune, took our advice seriously. He hired a chartered engineer & valuer to measure his flat. The engineer-valuer's report finding is that the actual carpet area is over 12 percent less than the 490 square feet mentioned in the registered agreement. The actual carpet area is 430 sq ft i.e. 60 sq. ft. less. Even if we count "exclusive terrace" and "exclusive balcony" area, the Belmondo flat is 30 sq. ft. less! What the valuer's draft report says: Based on the valuer's report, and also triggered by the builders' workers trespassing on his flat (detailed in this article ), Anil Kapur has filed a police complaint at Talegaon Police Station . Kapur hopes that FIR will soon be registered against L...

Mumbai, 8th April, 2018: This article is relevant to all home-buyers, although it is written for the 2500-odd victims of Bhagtani builders, i.e. the people who booked flats in Bhagtani Riyo (Mira Road), Sapphire (Dahisar), Serenity (Powai) and Savannah (Kanjurmarg). Bhagtani's victims have no registered agreement of sale; they only have allotment letters that looks like this specimen . Although they have paid well over 20% of flat's consideration value, the builders have deliberately avoided the duty cast upon them by MOFA (Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act) to execute registered sale agreements. Flourishing their allotment letters and a scanty understanding of their legal position, Bhagtani's cheated flat-buyers are approaching various legal forums. Over-dependency on lawyers is making some Bhagtani victims the victims of lawyers also. Due to either mental laziness or a subconscious fear of receiving bad news, people aren't asking the right questions. Some key ...

Mumbai, 16th November, 2017: Lodha Group's Application Form is like a bear-trap for prospective flat buyers. When you are preparing property papers and legal documents, every single word has to be clearly understood and agreed upon. But Lodha's customers are forced to make fatal blunders in the paperwork right in the beginning. The consequence of those blunders is that Lodha Group gets a crushing grip on your balls, which it squeezes whenever it wants. If you are a Lodha customer who tried to stand up for your own rights, you may have experienced this crushing grip. Lodha Group's insidious Application Form is not declared before MahaRERA. Lodha Group insiders never share a copy, but we have procured it. Click here to download . These are the papers you are sweet-talked into filling up in the euphoric afterglow of a site visit.   UNDERSTAND HOW THE FORM WORKS AGAINST YOU : 1. The Application Form reverses who is the promisor and the promisee. Lodha's...

Mumbai, 16 th September, 2017: If you are a flat-buyer looking for a new home for your family, or an property investor looking for good returns, be warned; Lodha Fiorenza is a trap. If you sign any papers or swipe your credit card at the Lodha Fiorenza sales office, you will be liable to forfeit lakhs of rupees very quickly, or make a regrettable investment from which there are only loss-making exits. The branding message of “interiors by Jade Jagger for Yoo” is a giant façade that hides an ugly mess of unverifiable claims, unfair dealings and badly planned towers that will prove extremely costly to maintain in the long run.  The advertising claims portray a stylish premium property, which is far from the ground reality. The designer interiors are flashy, mediocre and gimmicky. Half the flats have a view of the greenery of Aarey Colony, Goregaon, but this is marred by the continuous bass droning of day-and-night traffic on the Western Express Highway that permeates th...

Mumbai, 12 th February, 2017: Horizon Green, the prestigious new Borivali East project, has huge issues. No real drainage system – that's a  serious problem we have written articles about . But there's a more serious worry for flat-purchasers, namely, not getting proper title to the purchased flat at Horizon Green. The confusion on who's legally the builder of Horizon Green -- Raheja, Bhoomi or Prashasti -- is like three men claiming to have fathered one child. On the municipal corporation's records, K Raheja is the builder. But Prashasti Enterprise is claiming to prospective flat-purchasers that it is the builder. And in between Raheja and Prashasti, there's the ghost of Bhoomi Constructions, a partnership that has been dissolved.  On paper, Bhoomi Constructions got the development rights in 2003 from K Raheja for building Horizon Green, and in turn assigned these development rights to Prashasti Enterprise in 2008. But that's only on paper; in real life,...

Mumbai, 9th December 2016: Vineet Malik, a flat-buyer in Ekta Parksville aggrieved by the interminable delay in project completion and occupation certificate, received a pleasant surprise a few days ago. Ekta Parksville Homes Pvt Ltd sent him a letter that agreed to cancel the deal and refund the entire amount paid by him – Rs 25.24 lakhs – and additionally, interest of 9%. The total amount that Ekta World offered to pay is Rs 34.57 lakhs.  This letter was received in the wake of patient exchange of correspondence and meetings by Vineet Malik with CMD Ashok Mohanani, plus mainstream media and social media coverage (especially our blog ) and also my and Sulaiman Bhimani's meeting and negotiation with the builder's men on Vineet Malik's behalf. Ekta World's letter dated 3rd December 2016 proposed interest payment of Rs 9.32 lakhs to Vineet Malik.    At first, this seemed like an extremely generous offer, and any aggrieved buyer should be...