7 Smart tips to avoid delay in moving to your new house
Buying an apartment or villa is a dream come true moment for an individual after 15- 20 years of hard work. It would be devastating for the buyer if they could not move into their new home at the last minute, after so much effort like visiting 40-50 builders and choosing one among them. Things might take a turn due to various reasons, for instance a pandemic (Covid), delays by the builder, etc. A situation such as this results in the buyers paying the extra cost, even though they are not to blame.
Let’s say the buyer is staying in a rental house of INR 30000 and they have taken the loan for which they have to pay Pre-EMI and the project is almost delayed for 1 year, can you imagine the extra cost the buyer has to bear? Buyers also lose the precious time they can spend at their dream home. So, in this article, we have listed out the most common challenges that buyers might face, and a few suggestions on how to handle them.
Delayed Handover:
Buying a flat or a house can be turned into nightmares and it can be very frustrating too when there is a delay in possession. It disturbs the household and the peace of mind of the buyer and leads to stress. It will be very hard for buyers to keep paying interest to the bank while they are staying on rental property. They will always have to run between the builders and the rental house owners. In such a situation the buyer should try to get the best out of the situation by negotiating with the developer. Buyers can also approach various forums like RERA, consumer forum, and NCDRC to claim interest and damages depending on the property value. It is very much necessary to check the credibility of the buyer before buying property from them.
Deviation from approvals:
During the construction of an apartment or villa, plan deviations are frequent, but their intensity becomes an issue. Deviations caused due to technical or architectural difficulties are unavoidable and unintentional. Deviations such as adding extra floors, exceeding the approved floor space index (FSI), etc., are mostly intentional and cause financial implications for buyers. In the case of such deviations in an under-construction project, the builder may not be able to obtain occupancy and completion certificates. Due to this, water and power services could not be provided. Without fulfilling the basic necessities the buyer will not be able to occupy the apartment or villa and thus delays.
To avoid such difficulties, buyers should ensure that the construction is as per the approval by doing site visits with the help of an architect. If they find any deviations, they should approach the developer to make sure that these deviations are included in the document they have submitted for obtaining the completion certificate. Otherwise, they can approach the authorities concerned for regularizing deviations by submitting all the necessary documents, including the original approved plan.
Quality of construction:
The quality of construction is an important criterion that will help builders to build trust. It has been observed that most developers, end up compromising on the quality of materials they use for construction due to a lack of funds. Lack of funds also delays the project completion and the inferior material choice by developers has made buildings vulnerable to structural and safety flaws. These flaws will become troublesome to the buyer after the occupancy or it might also cause a delay in occupancy in certain cases.
Usually, credible builders provide 1 year of defect liability commitment to buyers. RERA’s provision on a “5-year warranty against structural flaws” also helps buyers to claim compensation if there are any flaws. Therefore, it is always necessary to verify the financial credibility and the completed projects of the developer before buying a house.
Legal & Documentation Issues:
Legal disputes can become tiring and endless and occupy lots of time for the buyer if faced. To avoid any legal dispute the buyer should verify that the documents such as Sale Deed and Title Deed, Encumbrance Certificate (EC), Building Approval Plan, Commencement Certificate, Betterment Charges Receipts, Power of Attorneys (POA), tax paid receipts, Completion Certificate, Occupancy Certificate are in order during purchase. For developers obtaining these documents is a time-consuming process and might cause delays. Hence there is a chance that they might overlook certain things. It’s highly advisable that buyers always consult legal professionals to verify the above-listed documents. Contact the builder for any documents that are missing and always choose a builder who has a good reputation in the field.
Changes in Bank policies:
In most cases, buyers opt for housing loans due to various reasons like tax benefits, financial constraints, etc.,. While opting for a loan the buyer has to fulfill the bank’s criteria, and these policies may change overnight, resulting in a delay in the disbursement of a housing loan. For instance, let’s say a buyer got a loan from a reputable bank and 70% of property value has already been made, and the remaining 30% must be paid during handover. But a sudden change in bank policies prevented the loan amount from being disbursed. Without 30% payment, the builder refused to hand over the key until payment was made. By this point, the buyer had already vacated the rental house and would not be able to move into his own house too, thus causing delays and stress. Now the buyer has to run between the banker and the developer and also has to look out for a temporary stay or another flat for rent. To avoid these situations, the buyer should always stay in communication with the bank and builders to know whether there is any delay in payments.
Pre-EMI Interest:
The pre-EMI is an interest payment made by a buyer to a bank only for the amount of the loan that has been disbursed by the bank for an under-construction property. There is a risk associated with this option for the buyer. If the buyer faces construction delays or stalled projects, they will end up paying additional interest. Therefore the buyer should be very cautious while selecting the builder. It is very much important to take into account the developer’s track record and financial stability while choosing a developer.
Delays by Interior Designers:
In recent periods people are interested in doing interior designing for their dream houses so that the spaces are well utilized and to satisfy the aesthetic sense of the owner. This is where interior designers come into play. The owners will not be able to move into their house if there is any delay in the completion of interior works. Here the delays may be due to shipping or unavailability of materials or workforce, etc., With proper planning, these delays can be handled. Always have a cushion time in the plan to address any interior delays.
To conclude it’s always better to do enough research work on developers. While doing research buyers can consider criteria like financial credibility, reputation, and previous projects of the developers to evaluate them. With proper research, one can always identify quality builder like Isha Homes who not only build quality buildings, but also the one who meets their promises to customers.
