Call to turn vacant flats into quarantine centres

Many eady-to-move-in flats in the city are lying vacant as there are no takers. So why not convert them into quarantine units, is a suggestion from many people. Realtors from across the city, real estate associations, and even RERA-K officials are now thinking of ways to implement this suggestion. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, member of Real Estate (Regulation and Development Act), Karnataka, told The New Indian Express that many government constructed units like those built by the Bangalore Development Authority and Karnataka Housing Board, are lying vacant.

“These can be used as quarantine centres. They are better than private ones because most private properties lack basic facilities. The ones constructed by the government should have all basic facilities like water, electricity and other amenities, and can be put to immediate use,” he said. He added that Karnataka can also follow the example of Maharashtra, where unused government offices have been converted into quarantine units as logistics-wise, they were a better option.

Those associated with the real estate sector are welcome to the idea of opening their unused apartment and commercial units as quarantine centres. Kishor Jain, CREDAI Bengaluru president said that if it’s unsold, the entire unit can be used as a quarantine centre, but not individual homes as it will create fear. Though there is no request from the government, the idea is being mu l l ed amo n g t h e stakeholders. A senior FICCI member added that since the real estate sector is seeing a lull and many units are vacant, they can be converted into quarantine units. The FICCI member added that discussions among the members, stake holders and with the government, were being held and a decision will soon be taken.

HOTELS FOR ISOLATION UNITS

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has identified non-air-conditioned hotels which will converted into quarantine centres. The state government will pay the room rent for the number of days the patients will stay and for food. The hotels have been directed to use disposable cutlery. The hotels are: Sabarwal Residency, Sudamanagar (50 rooms); Emirates Hotel, BTM layout (40); Empire, Koramangala 5th Block (39); Silicrest, Koramangala 4th Block (30); Oyo Amethyst, Jayanagar 5th Block (32); Ramakrishna Lodge, Gandhinagar (200); Hotel Citadel, Anand Rao Circle (111); Likith International, Gandhinagar (70), Fortune Park JP Celestial, Sampangi ramanagara (129); Arafa Inn, Gandhinagar (46); Lemon Tree Premier, Ulsoor (60); Keys Select, Hosur Road (120); Chalukya Hotel, Chalukya Circle (70); Oyo Town, near Ulsoor lake (28); Sri Lakshmi PG, Domlur (27); Keys Select Whitefield by Lemon Tree Hotel, ITPL Main Road (220); and Trinity Wood Hotel, ITPL Main Road (25).

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2020/mar/31/call-to-turn-vacant-flats-into-quarantine-centres-2123693.html

Know where not to entertain plant growth in building surface

Detect Issues

Plants growth noted on external wall.

Describe Issues

Existence of plants or vegetation, such as fast growing trees in external wall or other parts of the building or structure can cause cracks in walls due to expansive action of roots growing. The plants begin to grow in opening or fissures of walls, and If these are not removed well in time, it develops wall cracks in houses. This can cause damage to the structure and moisture intrusion which lead to dampness/ seepage related problems.

Direct Solutions

We recommend:
1. removal of the plants along with roots;
2. renovation of the external wall damaged due to roots.

Coronavirus pandemic | UP RERA, MahaRERA adjourn hearings until March 31

With the coronavirus outbreak causing major disruptions, the Uttar Pradesh RERA and MahaRERA on March 17 said they have decided to adjourn the hearing of all complaints until March 31.

“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, UP RERA has decided to adjourn the hearing of all complaints listed between March 18 to March 31, 2020, both at the Lucknow headquarters and the NCR regional offices,” UP RERA said in a public notice.

Rescheduled dates would be communicated soon, it said.

Homebuyers and real estate developers wanting to list urgent matters may write to Secretary, UP RERA, at contactuprera@up-rera.in, it said.

UP RERA will again review the situation at the end of the month before deciding to resume the court, it said.

MahaRERA also said in a public notice that all cases before it and the adjudicating officer shall be adjourned until March 31.

RERA Bihar has also decided to postpone all hearings of cases scheduled from March 16 to March 31, 2020, it said in a public notice on its website.

“Haryana RERA has also decided to postpone the hearing of all cases from March 18 until March 31, 2020, Dilbag Singh Sihag, member HRERA, Panchkula told Moneycontrol.

“The project/agent registration process is completely online. MahaRERA staff is allowed to work from home till further orders,” the notice said.

Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) came into effect from May 1, 2017, and Maharashtra was the first state to implement it by setting up MahaRera. Midwifed by two governments – UPA II and the NDA II – between 2009 and 2016, the legislation was necessitated by the growing misery of tens of thousands of harried homebuyers.

Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/real-estate/coronavirus-pandemic-up-rera-maharera-adjourn-hearings-until-march-31-5042981.html

Avoid rats to save your electrical wiring

Detect Issues

Sign of rat infestation noted inside light switch board.

Describe Issues

Sign of rat infestation should not be ignored. If it had chewed the insulation of wire then this can cause damage to wiring. This will be a safety hazard and also disturb the functioning of electrical fixture & accessory. If not rectified at right time, it can create difficulty for residents by causing unsafe conditions and also add an extra cost due to repairs.

Direct Solutions

We recommend rodent treatment by vendor & damaged wires to be replaced.

Explanation: High Profit Franchise Opportunity

Welcome to sunshine Industry! We are presenting an opportunity to partner and pioneer into India, a Multi-billion USD service industry. Watch Mr. Mahendra Sureka, Founder and CEO of MACJ-ABCHI in this video explaining about services serve entire real estate value chain and solutions, franchise opportunity, market validation and support you can get from MACJ for franchises.

K-RERA approaches state govt to approve model sales agreement

The Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) has approached the state’s housing department to finalise the model sales agreement as per central government rules.

The K-RERA that started functioning two years ago had faced delay in model sales agreement due to change in government and the absence of RERA chief in the state.

“The model sales agreement has been sent to the government and is expected to be notified soon. There were objections that has been looked into before sending to the state,” said MR Kamble, chairman K-RERA.

As per the model sales agreement on the K-RERA website, builders will have to convey the final carpet area to the buyer after the construction of the building is complete and the occupancy certificate is granted by the competent authority. “Builders will have the right to forfeit the booking amount in case of cancellation by home buyers but has to finish the project on timely manner,” it said.

For home buyers, the model agreement says that buyers can ask for refund if there is default on the part of the builder and stop the payment amongst other benefits.

The Karnataka government notified Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules-2017 in the state gazette in July 2018 with the setting up of Karnataka RERA.

According to Anarock research, among all states and UTs across the country, RERA has been fairly pro-active in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, among others. Individually, Karnataka RERA has seen 33% jump in project registration since October 2019 – from 2,906 projects registered in early October 2019 to nearly 3,871 projects as on date.

“Among the nature of complaints largely seen in Karnataka, late delivery of projects tops the list for which errant builders have been asked by concerned RERA authorities within the state to pay compensation to aggrieved homebuyers. Despite this, many such builders have failed comply. Hence, authorities have further directed their revenue department team to issue show cause notices to the errant builders for property attachment,” said Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Property Consultants.

As far as registering complaints and resolving them is concerned, as many as 3,950 complaints have been registered under Karnataka RERA till date (March 2020) out of which nearly 46% cases (or approx. 1,817 cases) have already been disposed of. Back in October 2019, the tally of disposed of cases was nearly 1,513 cases.

However, as far as disposing of complaints is concerned, Karnataka still lags far behind its immediate neighbour Maharashtra, where RERA has been significantly active. Out of the total 10,814 complaints registered under Maha RERA till date, a whopping 72% cases have already been disposed of by the concerned authorities.

Source: https://www.constrofacilitator.com/k-rera-approaches-state-govt-to-approve-model-sales-agreement/

Choose correct pipe material for indoor and outdoor

Detect Issues

Damaged flexible pipe noted for outdoor unit’s wires.

Describe Issues

Flexible pipes are not suitable for exterior or outdoor wiring as they get damaged easily with exposure to sunlight and other weather conditions. This can damage the wires which can disturb the function or operation of connected electrical equipment or appliance and also be a safety hazard.

Direct Solutions

We recommend replacing the flexible pipe by PVC rigid conduit.

Why Home Inspection Cannot be Guaranteed?

Your kid falls sick (stomach-ache and fever). You take her to the doctor. The doctor prescribes medicines and assures her speedy recovery and staying fit in the forthcoming days only if certain do’s and don’ts are followed to the tee. You come back home hoping that your kid will be fine and she does recover in an expected manner. But some days later, she again falls sick and you discover it was all because of her unhygienic practice of eating lunch without washing her hands, particularly in school. So, the point is, do you get angry at your doctor that she couldn’t guarantee a disease-free, painless future for your child? No. Right? The same thing applies to a service as evidence-based as home inspection.

The team of professionals visiting your home will check each & every corner of it. Based on the current condition of the property and their understanding of the subject will provide you with a detailed report. It may be so they find your home having little or no issues at all. The report may not indicate at any immediate danger also. But will that guarantee a problem-free future for your home? The answer is ‘No’. You may still have problems arising in your home in coming future. That will not make the inspection you had recently any less effective or a failed one.

Following are the reasons why a property inspection is not guaranteed:

1. Natural calamities

Who on earth can predict an earthquake? Scientists all around the world are putting their best efforts into developing a system that can forecast an earthquake, but they are yet to build one. Imagine such a destructive phenomenon hitting your city soon after you have done an inspection of your home. You will be lucky if your home manages to stand upright, unaffected from the tremor but can you really guarantee for its zero damage? Cracks on the wall near the foundation are common in buildings where Richter scale readings are higher during an earthquake. And these can never be predicted in a home inspection.

Leave earthquake, even a ravaging storm can lash your town causing damages of small to big magnitude. Your glass windows can break; a big tree standing right next to your house can get uprooted and crash on your boundary wall causing it to come down; your balcony shade can blow away, and so on and so forth. Worse? After a heavy shower, the exterior paint1 of your house can become dull!

You cannot expect your home inspection report to predict all these things ever. The precaution it can suggest you is to repair an old part of the building or to replace a weak part with a strong one. You follow them and leave the rest of it to Nature God.

2. A Sudden renovation

Human taste gets upgraded with time. Trends tend to influence it in a big way. And what is a better place than one’s own home to manifest it! Yes, you got it right. We are talking about home renovation which is totally need-based (or home remodelling preference-based). In both the cases, you bring about major changes in your home and while doing so you may go wrong with some parts or processes. For example, you decide to replace the old tiles of your home with new, trendy ones. As your tile installer pulls the old tiles out, the waterproofing layer gets damaged accidentally.

Or, say, you gift yourself a new home theatre system for which you need to do an elaborate wall-mounting job. If something goes wrong during installation the concealed electrical wiring system of your house can get damaged. The same thing can happen during the installation of new bathroom fittings; there, you even run the risk of damaging your water pipeline. Result? – Seepage in the wall.

3. Repair work in the upper floor or adjacent flat

You get your flat inspected. And it passes the inspection with flying colours. The technicians do not indicate at any major problem looming large on your property. You are happy that your dream abode is healthy and then, all of a sudden, you start hearing a heavy sound with that intermittent shrill noise of drilling machine. To your utter surprise, you come to know that your upper floor neighbour has undertaken a renovation job! What do you? Nothing! – Because it is their flat and you really do not have any say in how they plan its repairs. But does that repair work affects your unit? Yes, it may. Any elaborate flooring repair can give rise to seepage like problems (that never existed before) in the ceiling of the lower floor.

The chance of such problematic, unexpected guests invading your home increases if the repair jobs are carried out in your adjacent flat. An unskillful drilling or plumbing repair there can make your home susceptible to cracks and seepage also. No home inspection service can warn you about such problems from before. The best way to avoid damage in these cases is going to your neighbour and requesting them to be careful about their repairing process.

4. Real-time basis and Lack of maintenance

Inspection is essentially a real-time procedure. A property is inspected at a given time under a given weather condition. This can vary after a certain time as the weather changes. Accordingly, observations made may also get changed.

One more important factor is maintenance. If you do not maintain your home properly or do not do the repair jobs as suggested by your inspection report it will not last long. Thereafter, problems will arise with every passing day, wrong usage, varying time and changing weather conditions.

5. Security breach

A professional home inspection checks for basic security issues in a home but to what level your property needs security depends on the premises and the locality where you live. For some houses, having a strong main door with an eyehole and proper locking system may be enough. For other properties, even having a CCTV at the main entrance may not be adequate. There might be a need for multiple CCTVs in every floor and sensors attached to the doors.

Times are changing. So, you better take top-level measures for your home because an inspection can never guarantee you zero breach of security.

Home inspection is a non-invasive and visual process. The professionals report what they see and what they understand from the current condition of the areas and elements. Moreover, the scope of the study is so big and they have to take so many factors – internal as well as external, into account and as well as it is real time based. Hence it is not possible to guarantee the soundness of everything over a long term. So, does that make inspection any less necessary? Well, yes, if you think seeing a doctor for the same disease within a short interval is illogical! Look at the bigger picture and you know why inspection is the best thing you can do for your home. For more information, write to info@macj.in.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.bergerpaints.com/products/exterior-wall-coatings/15/exterior-emulsions

Hygiene Caution: Check Before You Eat Outside

Who doesn’t love the aroma of freshly fried samosas on a rain-soaked afternoon? Don’t you just look forward to dining out on your special days? And what about the takeaway that you frequent on weekdays while returning home from work? Saves you the hassle of cooking, right? To be very frank, we are a generation which depends a lot on foods bought from outside. But are we aware of the health hazards that we are inviting to our life? Do we follow all the basic healthy rules while eating out?

Let’s get a reality check.

  • Who washes hands outside?
  • How clean is the eating place?
  • How is the food?
  • Do we get to know how many times the same cooking oil has been used for frying?
  • What is the source of water?

Do we care to do and/or check these things while buying food from outside? If ‘yes’ then how often? And if your answer is a scary ‘No’ then here is a list of cautions that you must pay attention to:

Wash your hands before eating food outside

Most of us don’t, do we? When is the last time you washed hands before putting that paanipuri or phuchkas inside your mouth? Did you go to the restaurant washroom and washed your hands before plunging into the Biriyani? Well, we rarely forget to take a snap of the food and post it immediately on Instagram, but the same doesn’t stand true for a simple and most basic healthy habit – washing your hand.

Do wash your hands thoroughly or use an alcohol-based hand rub to sanitize your hands before eating. When you eat washing your hands1, the bacteria and germs that are left on your fingers and palms can be transferred to the inside of your mouth. This can cause illnesses and infections. When you put your hands on those surfaces, the virus gets transmitted to your body and enters the respiratory tract causing mild to severe illness.

Check the cleanliness of the eating place

When hunger gets the better of you, you do not really care where the outlet you are buying the chaat or phuchka from is situated. Roadside shops are often located just beside big uncovered bins. On a rainy day you will even find the fast food outlets’ floors all muddy and stained. These are never the places that we should collect our foods from. But then again, what if the front is neat and clean and behind the kitchen door, it’s nothing short of hell? Do your brief research and then only gorge on the plate. After all, it’s your health that will be at stake.

Check what you are eating?

Tasty and delicious of course! – But what about its quality? Most of the restaurants heat and reheat a pre-prepared food and serve it to you as you place your order. It is true that heating kills a lot of germs but consecutive heating and cooling and reheating make the matter worse. Be it a fast food outlet or a posh restaurant, reheating is the major cooking process. Ever thought how many pathogenic germs are making an entry into your guts day in and day out?

Is there a way to avoid such food and still deal with your hunger pangs when you are outside?

Well, just be cautious about what you are ordering. Occasional binging on rolls, phuchkas, ghugnis, and chaats is okay but ideally, you should always try to hop by a cafe or restaurant that has proper kitchen setup and order for food like fresh salads and sandwiches with your choice of veggies and cheese. They are, by far, the safest fast food items to eat. You can also try grilled delicacies as they do not require reheating or oil to prepare.

Be careful about the source of water?

Even if we overlook the hazardous substances present in food and have our fingers crossed thinking that cooking kills pathogens, the problem does not end there. What about the water served to you? Where from did it come? If it is not from a sealed bottle, can you vouch for its purity? You can’t. So, carry your own bottle if you are not dining at a proper restaurant that is expected to have a water purifier installed in its kitchen.

Now you may ask that it has been so long that you are having food from outside and you do not experience any distress. Really? Don’t you? Let us correct you and say that you do, but you are not aware of it.

Health hazards and diseases caused by unhealthy eating habits

  • Obesity: Outside food, be it the street food or restaurant-bought or simple fast foods, are always high in carbohydrates and Trans fats. The starchy, complex carbohydrates make you gain weight while fat gets concentrated in the belly and hip regions. A silent killer, this obesity, will grow slowly but steadily and one fine morning, you find your dresses aren’t fitting you anymore. This particular disease makes way for other disorders like cardiac problems, diabetes and so on.
  • Hypertension: With the high-energy density as contributed by the high amount of sugar and fat present in junk food, blood pressure rises and hypertension sets in. Type II diabetes also sets in.
  • Undefined diarrhoea: The unhygienic procedure and surroundings the food is prepared in gives rise to bacteria and protozoa in the food, which, when consumed, can lead to stomach upset and diarrhoeal disorder in human body.
  • Food poisoning: With all the toxic substances in the food present, poisoning “to bantahai”. Manifested in the form of vomiting, nausea, weakness, loose motion, headache – food poisoning is quite common when you are a regular buyer and consumer of food from outside.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. These diseases might be communicable or non-communicable. Heightened levels of cholesterol in blood, increased amount of glucose, and cardiovascular risk are a few of the long list of diseases that will eventually spread inside you.

Does that mean you should stop eating food from outside? Well, certainly not. See to it if you can control the urge of eating food outside. Besides, take the following measures:

A Quick Recap

  • Wash your hand or carry a sanitizer with you whenever you have plans of consuming outside food (irrespective of the food)
  • Only choose shops and outlets with neat and clean surroundings
  • Check if the food feels cold inside and hot outside. This indicates incomplete heating. Ask for thorough heating. It’s better to have it late than unhealthy.
  • Make sure you order sealed bottle of mineral water when eating outside. Even better, always carry sufficient water with you.
  • It is not really possible to give a visit to the kitchen from where your food is coming out prepared. A lot of outlets offer the opportunity of experiencing live kitchen. It will be wise to choose them.
  • Why not bring yourself up to cooking and prepare little something (at least every alternate day) for yourself instead of relying on outside foods everyday? – Saves you money and makes you learn a skill!

Apart from this, If you are fond of eating street food then you can also read some tips for eating street food in India2 and avoid sickness.

Here’s a pro-tip on how to keep your home kitchen clean and germ-free.

Washing hands time and again and whenever handling food items is certainly one way to prevent its contamination. Consume thoroughly cooked food which has been heated at high temperature for at least 30 minutes or more.

Eat healthy and stay healthy keeping contamination at bay. Outside foods have their own taste and flavour which may be homemade food cannot match. Just be a little on the safe side and choose wisely before satisfying your tummy with junk food.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.lifebuoy.co.za/health/infection-and-prevention/health-and-lifestyles/why-do-we-wash-our-hands-before-eating.html
2. https://hippie-inheels.com/tips-on-eating-street-food-in-india-not-sick/

One of Our Satisfied Customer – Mr. Prabal Sengupta

Mr. Prabal Sengupta, Managing Director at IPM Commodities Pvt. Ltd. is sharing experience of work done by MACJ at his office, which is a 81 year old building. This building was being renovated well with help of interior designers. But after last monsoon there was lot of seepage/ dampness related problems. Then luckily he got to know about MACJ services. We conducted Damp/ Seepage/ Leakage Inspection at the property and provided a detailed report along with relevant solutions. After that problem was solved.