What are the landlord’s rights and what precautions a landlord shall take before renting out a property?

Author: Sachin Gupta | Find me on Twitter Follow @sach_gupta

Real estate is a lucrative investment class. Not only it gives you capital appreciation gains but at the same time one can earn rental income from his/her property. Whether the property you own is commercial or residential, one can rent the property to earn stable monthly income. However, as easy as it may sound, there are always issues when it comes to renting out a property. What if the tenant does not pay the rent on time? What if the tenant mishandles the property? What if the tenant doesn't pay the utility bills on time? These are some of the questions a property owner is confronted with and therefore taking precautions at the beginning of renting out a property will make sure that the property is rented out to good quality tenant.

At the same time, a landlord enjoys legal rights as laid down by the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. These are ‘Right to timely accrual of lease amount’, ‘Right to know about the condition his property is in’, ‘Right to know of any changes that the tenant might want to make’, ‘Right to notify the tenant of an intention to increase the rent’, ‘Right to be informed of any disclosures’, ‘Right to get back his property on repossession’, ‘Right to repossess the property complete with all fittings and furnishings’, ‘Right to claim all the charges for supplies’.

Therefore, before one rents out or leases his/her property to a prospective tenant, make sure to go through the following document about ‘Precautions before renting out’ and ‘landlord's rights’.

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Why You Don’t Need to Leave Your Home to Find a New One

House hunting isn’t for the faint of heart.

No matter how structured your city is or well paying your job might be, you might still be short of a decent place to live in. A house hunt takes seemingly countless hours of neighborhood tours and location drive-by to finalize that decision on ideal property. If your weekdays are packed, chances are that you would also have to compromise on your weekends to go property hunting with your broker.

As if putting up with your broker isn’t enough, these incessant trips to different localities will also leave you physically and financially drained. Opting for an online realty search, you get to check out countless listings, be it rental or lease apartments, without even having to step out of your home.

Image: Pixabay

Here’s how taking your house hunt online can take a load off your shoulders.

• Saves Time and Energy 

Visiting each flat for rent personally would take up a lot of your time and energy. Additionally, you’d have to cough up parking and fuel charges if you plan on taking your own vehicle to new localities. Getting stuck in traffic for hours can also leave you frustrated.

When you search for properties online, you save yourself from all these unnecessary hassles. You can simply surf through numerous sites that give you a virtual tour of the property. You can make a list of a couple of properties that you want to check out personally, and pre-book a visit before you zero in on a particular piece of property.

• Eases The Documentation Process

Unlike conventional processes where the broker would be in charge of the situation while you were in the dark, you would take the lead here. You’d be aware of the proper pricing and wouldn’t be taken advantage of. Some of the real estate sites even help you understand the documentation process.

• No Brokerage Fee

When you opt to search for flats without brokers online, you directly interact with the owner and avoid having to go through any intermediate. This helps you in getting to know the owner and learning more about the property first-hand. You also free yourself from paying a brokerage fee and all that unnecessary running around.

• Refines Your Search

One of the best parts of searching for a property online is not having to go through hundreds of random properties to get what you want. Filtering your search according to the locality, specification, amenities, or the budget you are going for will help you streamline your search.

You can get your hands on the best deals when you compare different properties and their rates online. Doing your homework on the current real estate scenario across different neighbourhoods also helps you build confidence in your ultimate decision.  

• 24/7 Availability

Round-the-clock realty portals let you access different properties throughout the day. With just a PC and phone at hand, you can check out properties online without the even needing to get out of bed. You can get all the contacts and listings you need within the comforts of your home.

This means that you don’t have to compromise on your leisure time. Using this method, you can shortlist a few prospects before you shift into a new home in a different city.

You can now find the home of your dreams without giving up on daily activity. Comment below to let us know how online realty portals have helped you find the right place, and/or if you have a better suggestion!


This is a guest post by Sudarshan Purohit

The 5 Craziest Haunted House Stories of All Time in India

Bam! A thunderstorm roars with scary intensity, seemingly taking the electricity with it.

Backup generators stop functioning and the temperature in the room seems to drop by 10 degrees, making it unnaturally cold. You know you are all alone in your apartment. But you get the sneaky feeling that you aren’t.

Sounds like the clichéd (and poorly written) horror movie plot, right?

Wrong!

These are some of the stories from people that have lived in or around some of the haunted houses in India.

But where are these houses, you ask? Here are the tales of some of the craziest haunted house stories the internet has heard of so far.

• The Vrindavan Society - Thane

Constructed by Raheja Developers, The Vrindavan Society is a luxury apartment complex with over 100+ apartments in the Thane region of Maharashtra. To this day, all the houses here are occupied (thanks to those irresistible ‘flats for rent’ placards). However, people here live in constant fear and are even worried to step out of their homes after dark.

Curious to know why? It was reported that a man living in this complex committed suicide. Ever since that fateful day, residents and night watchmen claim to have witnessed some paranormal activity almost every day of the week.

In fact, one of the night guards has a strange incident to narrate: during one of his late-shifts, while he was nodding off in his chair, a tight slap jolted him back from his sleep, almost toppling him off his chair. He summoned a few of his colleagues to check if an intruder had entered the premises.

However, after searches proved futile, residents concluded that this was the handiwork of the unnamed man that died within these quarters.

• House No. W-3, Greater Kailash, Delhi

As the legend goes, two elderly couples used to live in this rental property. Unexpected events saw them being murdered in cold blood by unknown assailants. But even after their death, the couples’ spirits have supposedly lived on in this place.

Passersby and other locals have complained that they’ve often heard muffled laughter, strange voices, and soft whispers coming out of the house; this has left the witnesses baffled and very, very scared.

• D’Souza Chawl, Mahim, Mumbai

Among the many haunted places in Mumbai, D’Souza Chawl takes the cake, and has even been reported several times in the media. According to local lore, the spirit of a deceased lady roams the corridors of D’Souza Chawl at odd hours of the night.

Supposedly, the lady fell in the only fresh-water well in the vicinity and succumbed to death and hasn’t found the peace she was looking for.

• Grand Paradi Towers, Mumbai

Located in one of the poshest areas in Mumbai, this complex has sadly played witness to over twenty suicides over the last decade. These unnerving stories begun with the suicide of a couple, followed by the jumping of their children and grandfather a year after that.

Ever since then, there have also been reports of maids and children falling to their deaths on multiple occasions. Just what the reasons behind this are, we don’t know.

• GP Block, Meerut

A lot of haunted places are abandoned, and GP Block in Meerut is no exception. This place has been so unnerving that people have supposedly even stopped passing by the building. According to reports, several of the locals have witnessed the sightings of ghosts: 4 drinking men illuminated by the presence of a single candle.

Initially, the story was discarded but upon further prodding by some youngsters, it has become apparent that the 4 men were in fact spirits and not a group of friends. There have also been tales of a woman in a red sari who accompanies these men and walks around in the dark.

So, next time when you are looking to lease flats be sure to do a recon and verify that the building doesn’t have an eerie, dark paranormal story behind it. Better yet, pick one of the convenient property management services, or log on to zenify.com to find the house of your choice.

• References:

http://www.holidify.com/blog/most-haunted-places-in-india-asi-list/

• Image References:

https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2013/10/24/01/45/haunted-house-corner-200065_960_720.jpg



This is a guest post by Chandni.

What landlords need to know about renters given the sluggish real estate market?

Author: Sachin Gupta | Find me on Twitter Follow @sach_gupta

If you’re a landlord owning a residential or commercial property for the purpose of renting it out, then you’re probably well aware of the rental market. Demand is limited but there is ample supply of real estate including the office space properties and residential houses. So, your property would fetch less. Except for the markets of Bangalore, and Pune, rental market is sluggish across all other cities in India.

A look at the commercial office space market in Gurgaon. See how rents have fallen across micro markets during the period of July - September 2014.

source: Magicbricks


It’s a buyer’s market to say the least. As renters sit comfortably in the driver’s seat, here’s what else they are up to:

• Saving money:

Renters who are looking to rent out office space or residential houses are able to save more in current market scenario. Barring the places like Pune, and Bangalore where there is steady demand for real estate, all other markets across the country are in downturn. Renters are getting office space or residential property at a substantial discount, thereby, able to cut their operating expenditures.

• Negotiating harder:

Renters are able to negotiate hard with landlords. Whether they are looking to rent office space or residential property, tenants are taking their time, sometimes months to finalize the deal. By doing so, they are being able to get substantial discounts on rent paid to the landlord. Many well settled tenants have also moved out of their existing properties to get new spaces at lower rates.

• Getting lucrative deals:

A rent deal these days is not just about rent and maintenance charges. Tenants are having a considerable say in the use of common facilities of the building. In addition to getting price cut on rent, tenants are bargaining for free car parking spaces, shorter lock-in period, and less upfront money which goes out in form of security deposit & advance rent. For example, a typical office space deal in past would have standard lease terms of 3 years lock-in period, 6 months security deposit. However, tenants are now negotiating hard for 12 months lock-in period and security deposit of just 3 months.

• Getting posh facilities:

Common facilities such as toilets, corridors, parking spaces, reception, signage boards, etc. are being renovated by the landlords to attract renters. In some instances, landlords are going out of their way to provide high quality interior work for furnished office spaces and residential properties.

Keeping all these factors in mind, many prospective buyers are also evaluating the pros and cons of renting versus owning. And in many instances, buyers are postponing their decisions to buy real estate and instead they are opting for lucrative rental deals.

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