Importance of Home Insurance

Why Is Home Insurance Essential?

How many times have you heard of or seen on the news channels about natural disasters like cyclones, earthquakes and floods damaging entire cities? Or have you heard of a burglary, fire or electrical breakdown in the neighborhood? God forbid any such thing happens to you where your house or essentials are damaged or taken away from you. But, it is essential that you be prepared for any such events to unfortunately occur. Now you may ask what we mean by ‘be prepared’. One of the most essentials ways is by having your home insured.

What is home insurance?

There isn’t much we can do against natural disasters. But, we can definitely take steps to reduce some of the hardships faced during such times with the help of a home insurance that protects your home and valuables against any damage. Basically, a home insurance policy covers damage caused by fire, lightening, flood and storm. You can get protection against earthquake by paying an extra amount for it. Home insurance policies may also cover burglary, mechanical breakdown and electrical breakdown. Other policies may also include protecting everything within your home including furniture and fixtures. All of this depends on the insurance company and its rules. If you invest in a great home from a reputed developer, you can approach the best insurance companies and have your policy request approved. One such prestigious name is Adisesh Projects who provides the best villas and Flats in Hoskote around Bangalore.

Why is home insurance essential?

Home investment is a big investment

Investing in a home is a huge one-time investment for many. Investing in a car or large appliances is also a significant investment but, such possessions start depreciating in value as soon as you start using them, while the value of a home tends to increase over time. Having a home insurance policy to help retain your investment funds should be at the top of your priority list.

It brings peace of mind

When you have your home insured, it brings you peace of mind. You can obviously not prevent disasters like floods and earthquakes coming but, you can rest assured that even after all these disasters affect your home, you have a safety net between you and the calamity, which is the home insurance policy that will cover for all the damage you have faced thus, helping you to maintain the same financial status level even after being hit badly by the ruins.

Replacement of valuables

Home insurance policies not only cover damage to your home but also to the valuables within your home. So, for any damage done due to burglary or theft, home insurance pays for your belongings. Similarly, in case of fire or any such calamity too, the policy will help to pay for repair or replacement of your expensive belongings. Thus, if you have a home insurance policy, you can rest relaxed in case of any burglary, theft, fire, etc.

Home loan lenders ask for it

If you are looking for a mortgage of refinance, the lender will ask you to provide proof which shows that your house is effectively insured. They want to make sure that their financial stakes are protected. Nobody will want to take a risk at lending money. If you don’t have a home insurance and don’t purchase one within a given time frame, the lender has the right to cancel the deal or purchase insurance for your home while adding the premium to your monthly payment. But, it is always better to purchase a policy on your own base d on your needs and budget rather than leaving it in the hands of your lender.

How To Give Your Home A Pocket-Friendly Makeover?

Do you want to give your home a make-over but, are postponing your plan because you don't have the budget yet? There isn't any need to postpone! You might have seen your friends spending a whole lot of money on redecorating their space. This is what scares you and has you turn off your plan of renovating at the moment. But, do you know that you can get a renovated home without breaking the bank? Here are some easy, quick and affordable tips and tricks that would help you redesign your rooms, if not renovate them completely. Let’s take a look at how you can renovate every individual room.

Living room

There isn't any need to buy new furniture and spend a wholesome to make your living room a beautiful place to invite your guests to be seated. You can get your furniture exchanged or buy second-hand furniture that is still good enough to invest in. Or at the least, get the furnishings and covers changed. Throw some vibrant colored cushions on your couch for a new and fresh look. Get off with your old drapes but, don't buy new ones. Use some of the extra bed sets or any other fabric you might be having and sew new drapes on your own. Place fresh or artificial flower vases around the room to complete the look.

Bedrooms

Paint your wooden furniture in a different color. Use new bed sets. Just like the living room, sew new drapes for your room and line up one side of your bed with some vibrant cushions. Make a beautiful new quilt by using old clothes, used tablecloths and faded curtains. This will not only bring you a new quilt but, will also have you utilize your old and unnecessary essentials.

Kitchen

Make your kitchen an artistic one by crafting a shelf on one wall and placing vintage items, painted plates and any such other beautiful crockery items lined up beautifully on it. You can also put up beautiful glass frames painted in oil paint on your walls. If you have a dining table in the kitchen, cover it with an easy-to-clean oilcloth. Change the handles of all the cupboards and drawers by fixing those that are the latest in trend. It might seem like a very tiny thing but, it will add up to the beauty of your kitchen.

Bathroom

Make your bathroom look bigger, brighter and cleaner by painting it white. Hang wooden blinds in your bathroom, which are inexpensive yet stylish as compared to curtains. If your bathroom has a separate shower area, you can add a shower glass to give a bigger look to your bathroom. Add a beautifully designed large wall mirror.

Do-it-yourself

Renovating your home can be made more affordable if you do all the possible things yourself. You know how costly it gets to hire a painter, carpenter, tailor and other home decorators. Try doing as much as you can yourself. Take help from all your family members. After all, it is every member’s duty to do so. Do the painting, artwork, sewing, changing the handles, etc. yourself.

Work smartly and design your home beautifully and stylishly while staying within your budget. Happy renovating!

Is it Better to Rent a House or Buy one?

Has the time come to fulfill your dream of buying a house? Are you  sure you want to buy a house? Do you have enough savings or are you planning to get a home loan? There may be many questions arising in your head. Purchasing a property is a decision to be made after a long analysis and thinking. Go through this article to know if your decision of buying a house is correct or not, or is it preferable to rent. Although the decision depends on personal choice and financial conditions but, here are certain general points to consider.

Advantages of renting over buying

•    A house on rent requires no special maintenance from your side. If something goes wrong or needs to be fixed, it is the headache of the landlord. You just need to call him to get a plumber or electrician repair the damage. Thus, you don't have to worry about huge costs required for maintenance. However, you definitely need to have a budget for small costs that you would have to take care of personally for your home. Buying, on the other hand, will require you to be responsible for all the damage and the costs incurred for them, for which you need to save quite some amount of money.

•     When you buy a house, you need to make sure you are going to spend a couple of years there because home ownership is a long-term commitment. You cannot simply decide on shifting to a new house so easily. While, if you are staying on rent, it is easier for you to move to a new place whenever you wish to. If you have a change in job, you might have a change in location too. You can easily relocate near your workplace if you stay on rent, which cannot be done if you own the property.

•    If at all, you really have to move away, the biggest hassle you have to face is selling your house, which is not an easy task. It might take months and also years together to sell your house. Even if it sells out early, you can't be sure you would get the best price. The market price of selling a property might have depreciated when you want to sell it.

•    You would prefer staying near your workplace. Finding a house in your preferred locality might be costly in terms of purchase but, the same might be reasonably-priced for rent. So, you can always start by staying on rent and if at all, you find the place suitable and you plan for a long stay in the locality, you can always consider buying it later.

•    Buying a house requires upfront payment and other costs like documentation, registration, closing costs, insurance, etc. All this is not required for a rented house.

Advantages of buying over renting

•     First and foremost, a rented home can never be your own forever. It is yours only till you pay for it. Thus, it cannot be your asset and the money you give for it every month is all gone - paid to the landlord - something you won't be seeing again. While, a house you buy can bring you benefits, even if you want to sell it later. Residential properties on an average rise in value between 4 to 6% every year.

•    Just as the price of properties is rising annually, even the rents increase. Once your annual agreement is over, you must be prepared to pay a higher rent the next year. The rising property rates do not affect you once you have bought a house.

•     You cannot design your house as per your choice if you stay on rent. Even for making slight changes, you will require the permission of your landlord. You will not be sure if your requests are approved. It might be a long procedure. Also, if you want any urgent repairs made, you cannot be sure that the landlord will get it done immediately. While, your own house gives you the liberty of making any kind of and any number of changes, without anyone's consent or permission.

•   A home ownership can help you get deeper involvement with the community around. You know you will be staying there for atleast a couple of years. This will help you know one another well and build up better relationships with the people around.

Now that you know what the advantages and limitations of buying and renting a property are, it is for you to decide which is a better option for you after weighing all the pros and cons, and analyzing your financial situation. If you are planning to invest in a property in Bangalore, you should consider Adisesh Green City, which is located near Hoskote, and provides a great healthy and pollution-free atmosphere to live in since it is close to nature, with greenery surrounding the property.

How Green is your Property?

With the population in India rising drastically from time to time, and the urbanization also rising up, there is a radical growth in power consumption. It has become very necessary to conserve power and energy, due to which eco-friendly or 'green' buildings are coming up in various parts of the country. At present, India has around 267 certified green buildings, and the government is supporting the plan of more eco-friendly buildings to be built up in the country.

How Green Is Your Property

A green building is one that conserves natural resources by using less water and reducing the use of plastic and waste material. It reduces water consumption by 30-70% and energy consumption by 30-50%. Green projects include water treatment and waste treatment plants, rain water harvesting system, solar air-conditioning, solar heating, good ventilation and strategically planted trees. Hence, they optimize energy efficiency, generate less waste and provide healthy spaces.

These days, there are many builders who tag their buildings as 'green' only because they provide landscape gardens or lawns. But, this is not right. In order to tag your property as eco-friendly or green, you need to have specific certifications by certain committees assigned for the duty like Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), who give certifications or ratings based on parameters like design, construction materials, ventilation, lighting, water management, waste management and energy efficiency. Let us see how.

Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)

The IGBC has rating programmes for both residential as well as commercial buildings. For residential properties, it gives ratings based on the following categories.

·        Site Preservation & Restoration

·        Site Planning & Design

·        Water Efficiency

·        Energy Efficiency

·        Materials & Resources

·        Innovation & Design Process

For commercial or factory properties, the following categories are considered.

·        Soil erosion control measures in future

·        Changes in design to accommodate requirements like lifts, rest rooms, etc.

·        Change to low flow water fixtures

·        Rainwater harvesting

·        Limit turf areas

·        Policy for use of green materials in future

·        Minimum fresh air ventilation

·        Comfort conditions

·        Eco-friendly housekeeping materials

Here is a summary of how IGBC rates residential and commercial properties.

Certification                      Context                                Projects with                     Projects without              Factory

level                                                                                      interiors                              interiors

                                                                                                (for owners)                      (for builders)

Certified                              Best                                       32-39                                     30-36                                     51-60

Silver                                     Outstanding                       40-47                                     37-44                                     61-70

Gold                                      National excellence        48-59                                     45-55                                     71-80

Platinum                              Global leadership             60-80                                     56-75                                     81-100

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)

The BEE is an agency that was created in March 2002 under the provisions of India's 2001 Energy Conservation Act. It has been created to develop programs which will increase the conservation and efficient use of energy in India. As far as properties are concerned, it is applicable for those buildings that have a connected load of 100 KW or more. The ratings are done on a 1 to 5 star scale, with 5 star labelled buildings being the most efficient. This rating is applicable only for a period of 5 years from the date of issue. The ratings are done based on the use of the building, hours of operation, climatic zone and the space.

Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA)

GRIHA is conceived by the Center for Research on Sustainable Building Science (CRSBS), TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi) and developed jointly with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It is currently operating under ADARSH (Association for Development and Research on Sustainable Habitats) and is supported by the National Advisory Council (NAC) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The GRIHA certification is eligible for buidlings that are spread over 2500 square meters or more. GRIHA rates the buildings from 1 to 5 stars, based on 34 parameters, which are divided into four groups, that are -

·        Site selection and site planning

·        Building planning and construction

·        Building operation and maintenance

·        Innovation

Let us see how buildings are rated by GRIHA.

Points achieved          GRIHA ratings

            50-60                         1 star 

            61-70                         2 stars

            71-80                         3 stars

            81-90                         4 stars

            91-100                      5 stars

Now that you know quite a bit about certifications of green buildings, when you think of purchasing one, do ask for the right certification from the builder or owner of the property and then decide on how eco-friendly the property is. One of the best green projects in Bangalore is the AdiseshGreen City, which is spread over 60 acres of land and is built in a non-pollution zone of Narasapura, with a wide range of amenities including water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants and rain water harvesting. You can also check for other properties by Adisesh Projects around this beautiful area like villas in Hoskote, Malur and Devanahalli.

What Rules do NRIs have to Follow to Invest In Real Estate in India?

With the decrease in the value of the “Rupee”, NRIs are more interested to invest in real estate in India. It is not as difficult for NRIs to invest in Indian properties as it was earlier. Previously, the NRIs had to run around the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for approvals. But now, the rules fall under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the paperwork has considerably reduced. Hence, the task has become easier, which is leading to more and more NRIs coming in to purchase properties in India.

Rules For NRI Investments in Indian Real Estate

 Adisesh Green City in Hoskote Bangalore provides some of the best properties for NRIs to purchase in India. Its 30 acres land in a non-polluted zone, surrounded by top MNC’s and automotives like Honda, Mahindra, Volvo and Benz makes it the perfect place for investment.

Though there is less paper work and approvals required, there are still many rules to be followed, which are as under.

·        A citizen of India, that is an NRI who holds an Indian passport, need not need any approvals. Also, PIOs need not require approvals, unless they are citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal or Bhutan.

·        The buyer needs to submit some documents for purchasing the property that include PAN card, address proof, passport size photographs along with passport in case of an NRI and an OCI/PIO in case of an OCI/PIO.

·        They can make their payments either by transferring funds to India through regular banking channels or by debit to any of their non-resident bank accounts like Non-Resident Rupee (NRE) or Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee (NRO) or Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR). But, they need to pay only in Indian rupees. No other forms of currency or Traveller’s Cheques are applicable.

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·        NRIs can take a home loan for purchasing a property in India upto 80% of the total property value. The remaining amount needs to be funded by the NRIs themselves. The loan can be granted to them on the same criteria as those to resident Indians. The only difference is that a resident Indian can claim a deduction only up to Rs 1.5 lakhs for home loan interest. But, there are no limits for an NRI to claim deductions. The loan, however, needs to be paid back in Indian Rupees only.

·        NRIs do not have any restrictions on the number of residential or commercial properties that they buy. But, they are not allowed to purchase any kind of agricultural land, plantation property or farm house. They can only have possession of such properties if the owners of such lands want to gift these properties to them or if they possess them through inheritance.

·        Repatriating the money that is made through real estate investments requires permission from the Reserve Bank of India. It should fulfill the terms and conditions of the bank and prove that the property was taken into possession in conformity with the foreign exchange law in force at the time of possession.