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DLF sets stake sale in rental arm in motion: Blackstone, GIC among others likely to show interest http://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/commercial/dlf-sets-stake-sale-in-rental-arm-in-motion-blackstone-gic-among-others-likely-to-show-interest/52497446

DLF sets stake sale in rental arm in motion: Blackstone, GIC among others likely to show... DLF had said in October last year that its promoters would sell their 40% stake in the company’s rental arm, which is expected to fetch around Rs 12..

The home buyer needs to be protected, but...

It’s good news time for home buyers. The real estate regulatory bill in its new avatar, with all its provisions to safeguard buyer interest, has been cleared by the Cabinet.

The 20 new amendments that have been approved will bring in even smaller properties under the ambit of the regulator, improve the speed of dispute resolution, allows insurance of land title, defines carpet area more clearly and asks builders to deposit at least 70% of the sale proceeds from a project, including land cost, in a separate escrow account to be used only for construction of the said project.

All very good.

But there are a few alarming aspects that need to be highlighted about the bill. Yes, it does endeavour to protect buyers from unscrupulous builders who sell them apartments. But who protects the builders?

A builder can go to jail for delays in completion or handing over of a project to buyers. There could be builders who dela y just because of bad planning or other frauds and they should be punished. But what if the delay is purely because many of the government approvals that need to come after the project construction has started or when project is completed, do not come in time.

Should the approving authorities not be made accountable for this delay and be brought to book in such cases. And we have seen many such cases in the recent past.

If the project gets delayed for whatever reason, or if the builder is imprisoned, it’s eventually the home buyer who has to suffer. His wait for his dream home then gets longer. He just wants his house. Period.

So here’s a plan. The government has been talking about a single window for real estate project approvals for ages. It is even working on one as I write this and we know it’s easier said than done. So, why not put a single window structure in place first, test it out, streamline it and then think about bringing in a regulator.

The bill also proposes to ask all currently under construction projects to register with the regulators. How will that happen? Where will the manpower to process such vast amounts of information come from? Are they equipped?

While the bricks for the single window are being laid, why not work on creating a formal structure for a regulatory authority in the meanwhile?

Some planning and foresight at this stage will surely go a long way and will ensure that this new all-powerful body does not become another roadblock for the sector.

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/DexfwAUcnVTeChzI0Z0PJJ/Corporate-land-deals-a-bright-spot-in-sluggish-realty-market.html

Corporate land deals a bright spot in sluggish realty market Firms are looking to sell land parcels to keep the balance sheets clean, adopt an asset-light model and reduce debt

A must read: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tech-industry-fallacy-broker-less-real-estate-world-anshul-gupta?redirectFromSplash=true

The Tech Industry Fallacy: A Broker-less Real Estate World Finding a rented accommodation, good enough for your family is no mean task. Then it should also be within your budget, the property, suitably locate