Check the tile area near floor outlet

Detect Issues

Tiles not provided at floor outlet position.

Describe Issues

No floor tiles provided at floor outlet position and filled with grout (white cement / putty) in floor outlet side. Due to this there is difference in level of floor and the area around outlet, leading to stagnancy of water and dirt. Also this filling does not serve for longer time. Hence if not corrected at right time will create moisture seeping problems in attached/ associated area, causing damage and hassles.

Direct Solutions

We recommend fitting of floor tiles around floor outlet along with proper grout at junction of installed tiles and outlet.

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Hope for homebuyers, developers see business in stuck projects

The number of stuck projects is huge and reasons are mostly related to the liquidity problem and financial crunch. In such a scenario the best solution is to give them to the developers who have a good record so far.

Real estate developers in Delhi-NCR are sensing business opportunity in completing over two lakh flats that have not been completed and some are taking over stuck projects, rebranding them to sell these unsold apartments at a premium.

Noida’s ATS Group has formed a separate company, ATS Nirman, and has already taken over three stalled projects and is in line to take over more. The business has a potential of Rs 30,000 crore in next five years, said Getamber Anand, CMD of ATS Group. The company takes over projects through the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) as they need to be deregistered first, he said.

“We are not calling it a project management consultancy but a project revival consultancy,” Anand said. “With ATS branding and assurance, the existing customers’ trust is gained.”

Ashish Sarin, CEO of Gurgaon-based Alpha Corp, said developers are exploring alliances to jointly develop stalled projects through revenue-sharing pacts. “Instead of launching new projects, they are taking over incomplete projects and assuring timely delivery,” he said.

Sarin said stuck projects leading to slowdown in the market is one of the factors contributing to prolonged stress in the real estate industry. “For developers struggling to complete projects, joint ventures or joint developments offer a viable means to overcome financial distress and find synergies,” he said.

As per government estimates, around 458,000 housing units are stuck across more than 1,600 projects in the country.

“It is a good trend as it will help finish the stuck projects faster and helping the buyers get their homes. The projects that were in bad shape were acting as blots on industry, affecting the image of the sector that has good intention of meeting the housing demand of people,” said Manoj Gaur, MD of Noida-based Gaurs Group.

“The number of stuck projects is huge and reasons are mostly related to the liquidity problem and financial crunch. In such a scenario the best solution is to give them to the developers who have a good record so far. The intention should be to hand over the homes to the buyers as soon as possible,” said Deepak Kapoor, director, Gulshan Homz.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/hope-for-homebuyers-developers-see-business-in-stuck-projects/articleshow/72901348.cms

Do you Know Hollow flooring can lead to Seepage?

Detect Issues

Significant hollowness noted on Cement flooring.

Describe Issues

Entire flooring is significantly hollow. This can lead to cracks in flooring, further deterioration with time will affect the main / mother slab. Sign of water stagnancy also noted at places, causing water seep-in as seen by Infrared image. If not rectified, moisture will spread in adjacent below areas and cause further damage.

Direct Solutions

We recommend chipping off loose flooring layer till hard surface and laying of new flooring.

Learn why to have Home Inspection before Interior Designing?

“So, you bought a new house? Congratulations! Now you will go for a chic interior designing.” – Sounds familiar? But, “Hey, you got a new house for yourself? Go hire a home inspection. Interior designing can wait” – admit it, you have never come across such a suggestion, and this is exactly where we need to change our mindset. A newly-built home, an old home lived or left vacant for years – nothing guarantees a property’s sound health. And if it is not in its pink of health you cannot make it look good externally. This is true for the house you have been living in for years, as well. If you want to give your beloved nest a makeover, you must get it checked by a home doctor first. Once the doctor (home inspector) says your home is perfect, health-wise, go ahead and deck it up! Only a healthy body can flaunt the best of styles, right?

Here are 6 reasons to opt for home inspection before interior designing making it more worthwhile:

1. No damp, no damage, no blame

Implementing home inspection at your home will easily identify areas where you have high dampness. It could be your roof or wall or places you least expected. With the appropriate measures suggested by professional home inspectors, damp removal will follow. Now when your chosen interior designers set forth for making your house more aesthetically appealing, they will find everything in its place.

Very commonly the blame of a broken tile, a chunk of plaster missing from the wall, and discoloration, etc are conferred upon the interior designers and the team working on it. This is not only unfair but also illogical. In fact, it is the interior designing team that faces the music after taking up the job. No solution to fix damp problems1 seem to work. No wallpaper or installation gets fixed on the wall in a secured manner. There is always a risk of shelves and cabinets falling off the wall due to its damaged texture. Simple Plaster of Paris and multiple coats of paint are wasted just to make a damp wall look proper. What is your situation then? You are like a fish out of water clueless about the end result and cost!

Inspecting your house will settle a specific quality baseline. So, once the designing work starts, no scope of blaming due to damage can arise.

2. No delay in deadline

Of course there is a strict deadline for any work and neither home inspection nor interior designing is any exception. Once interior designers are at work and one or another problem with your building arises, their work will be delayed. If the home inspection team identifies the problem areas beforehand, you can repair them on a priority basis also.

Always keep in mind that if your home has not been inspected earlier and the designers find a damp spot here, an electrical defect there, those things need to be repaired first and that will actually postpone the expected date of completion of the project. As a customer, you also have to cough up extra money. Moreover, it will be quite inconvenient for you as well living in a temporarily messed-up house. A home inspection before interior designing is thus helpful in sticking to the deadlines.

3. No baffling budget

Well, let’s face it. The interior designers are supposed to perform only what they have been assigned. Now, if you present them with a faulty home in desperate need of inspection and they have to repair more than designing, things will not remain the same. The budget will increase, quite obviously.

Had you asked for a home inspection prior to stepping into interior designing, you would have known what your home has in store for you. Don’t get surprised if the interior designers ask for more on finishing their work than what they had asked for at the start of the agreement. In short, you need to allow the designing team to stick to their core competency. Or else, bear the extra costs.

Going for interior designing post a successful home inspection is a wiser choice if you do not want a hole in your pocket or get your mind baffled by the final bill amount the designers present you with.

4. Waive off wastage and rework

When you put home inspection to work, you can identify seepage or dampness issues quite early. In this context, let us just remind you of a small thing. It doesn’t matter whether your home is brand new or quite old. Dampness and other issues like leakage in the open or concealed piping system, overhead tank, moisture intrusion from window frames can occur at any time. If you skip an inspection, the nuisances will come up later when you have already finished designing the interiors of your home. It will spoil the furniture, expensive fixtures in your bathroom, heavy wooden work on doors and partitions, appliances set up you have so long craved for – everything. Result? Rework. The interior designers have to start from scratch again and redo what they had already done earlier. Wastage will also follow.

You can avoid all these things with home inspection prior to interior designing. Even if the designers recreate the same style for your home after putting down their previous work, there will be some issues with quality. Do not take risks with the design deliverables. Instead, call for a home inspection service today.

5. No damages during interior designing

An interior designing team is unlikely to know from where the concealed plumbing line or electricity line of your home is passing. So, they can install a design material or cladding at a place unknowingly damaging a part of it. Later on, you will have to face the consequences. A home inspection prior to interior designing can advise you on where not to install a decorative item or fixture. For example, on a wall adjacent to a wet area like the bathroom, it is meaningless to mount wallpaper. Sooner than later, it will start coming off due to seepage and dampness in the wall. An interior decorator would not be able to foresee this problem. It is only after a home inspection team points it out that you can tell your interior designer, “See, this is what my home inspection report card says. Let’s not plan any elaborate makeover for this part of the house.” This way, you can avoid further damage to that space and save money on something that will not last long.

6. Advantages for the interior designers

It is always easy to put the blame on others, isn’t it? If you are a part of the interior designing team you will more frequently come across accusations that your team has not given their best. Some months or days after you completed a project, you will receive complaints saying that the designs on the wall are coming off, the appliance set up has not been perfect, and so on and so forth. An unsatisfied customer actually leads to a loss of reference. They are not likely to recommend your service to others. It’s your business which will face problems though there might not be any fault of yours.

Insist your customer for a thorough home inspection before you start your work of designing in the house. This way you can avoid brand dilution as the faults will be identified well beforehand.

To know how a home inspection can help you in your interior designing project, click here.

Both home inspection and interior designing go hand in hand as they share the common objective of ensuring the following:

  • The functionality of your home and its components
  • Health and inherent beauty of the home
  • Safety and security of the inmates
  • Longevity of the property

So, go ahead and do up your dream home by professional interior designers BUT only after a thorough home inspection has been done. Do not let your home face even the slightest of nuisances. Also, update yourself and be aware of how to take care of your home and bid farewell to damp and other damages permanently. Here is a fact sheet that gives you all the trivia on home inspection – read more to make the best decision before investing in interior designing.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.houzz.in/magazine/how-to-prevent-and-treat-dampness-in-your-home-stsetivw-vs~114996043

Primer : Is it necessary to apply it before Painting?

Painting any surface basically serves two purposes. It enhances the beauty of walls/ structure and also protects the surfaces of the structure. Before painting any surfaces, the application of primer is recommended. Some question arise, like – Why primer is required? Can’t we do away with primer by applying one more coat of paint? For a layman, the difference between the two is not easily understood as both look similar.

Before painting any structure, you should know the difference between primer and paint. Paint and Primer both are different products, though they look like same. They have a different purpose, function and constituents. We would first explain the primary difference between primer and paint.

Difference Between Primer and Paint

Primer

Primer is paint but without pigments, it primarily consists of resins. Primers are designed so that they create a bond with the sub surface and also with paint, to create a uniform surface which is suitable to receive the paint.

Function of Primer

Primer penetrates in the porous surface and seals the surface to ensure better coating and adhesion. It also hides imperfections and provides an even, smooth, and stable foundation for the paint. It is a problem solver providing good coverage.

Paint

Almost the major constituents of paint remain same as a primer, plus paints contain pigments, which provides the colour. Paints contain different types of additives than primers. These additives perform a different function like providing bond and adhesion, quick drying, durability, etc.

Function of paint

Paints add colour and shininess to the surface. They make the surface finished and provide protection. Pigments in paints also help in hiding the surfaces. There are many constituents added in the paint so that it dries quickly and it gives durability, i.e. life to the paint.

If the paint is applied to an unprimed surface, it may crack, peel off within few months. For paint to last long, priming the surface with the right primer is important.

Now, We jump into a commonly asked question i.e. Is it necessary to apply Primer before painting?

The primer as the name suggests, is the primary layer that is ready to receive paint. It is nothing but paint without pigment. It improves the adhesion of paint and thereby increases durability and life of paint film. Apart from this there are other uses of primer:

Primer before paint is like the base of your paint job and can be used on wood, plastered wall, concrete, etc. Applying primer coat over new surfaces reduces the amount of paint being absorbed by the basic surface. The primer will help you in hiding joints and other small defects, when it is applied to surfaces. Basically it is paint without pigment, it serves all the functions of the paint at a lower cost, as it is the pigment which increases the cost of paint. If primer coat is not applied, you might have to apply one more coat of paint, which of course will increase the cost. It increases covering capacity of the paint and thus decreases the overall cost of painting.

If suitably applied, primer will enhance the life of the paint, and also improve the appearance. Therefore primer before paint is absolutely necessary.

Some tips for Primer Application

  1. It is essential that the primer should only be applied to dry and clean surfaces. Before the application of primer coat, the surfaces are smoothened by sand paper and dust is removed.
  2. After the primer coat application, to ensure proper drying of the primer, the surface should be painted after a few days.
  3. The surfaces that have deteriorated should be cleaned properly before the application of primer.

And follow the instructions as per manufacturer’s specification.

Proper interior and exterior surface preparations combined with primer will build an effective barrier against stains and moisture and promote full adhesion of the paint. Primer is thus very useful as it reduces the cost of overall painting and also increase the appearance and life of the paint.

One of Our Satisfied Customer – Mr. Gappu Shah

Mr. Gappu Shah, a Businessman/ Retail/ Garment/ Real Estate Developer was facing damp problems at his property. After repairing from others also, his problem was not resolved. Then he got to know about MACJ services. We then conducted Damp/ Seepage/ Leakage Inspection at his property and provided a detailed report along with relevant solutions. After that his problem solved.

UP Rera cancels registration of five stuck realty projects in Gautam Budh Nagar

With an aim to assist homebuyers get returns on their investments, the Uttar Pradesh real estate regulatory authority (UP Rera) cancelled the registration of as many as five realty projects located in Gautam Budh Nagar on December 6. This brings the number of deregistered real estate projects in the district to six. The move comes in light of developers allegedly failing to deliver the projects to buyers. However, the deregistrations have not yielded any result for buyers.

According to the law, the Rera has the right to deregister a project if the developer abandons it. After deregistration, a developer loses control of the project and the Rera has the right to either transfer rights to buyers or to a new developer.

The Rera gives an opportunity to the apartment buyers’ association to take over the stalled project and if this does not work out then a co-developer (a new developer) is engaged to revive and deliver the project.

The regulatory authority, which was formed under the Rera Act 2016 to address issues in the realty sector, has been unable to deliver justice due to legal hurdles.

“We had high hopes from real estate regulatory authority when it was formed in 2016. We thought it will deliver justice as promised in a time-bound manner and we will be able to either get our flats or our investments refunded. But we are clueless what to do now because filing case in Rera has provided no solution so far,” said Arun Chauhan, a buyer, whose family had bought two flats in Unnati Fortune Group’s Aranya project in Sector 119.

Officials of the Unnati Fortune Group were not available for comments even after repeated attempts to reach them.

The first time that UP Rera deregistered a project was Unnati Fortune’s Aranya – a residential project – in May this year, so as to allow the apartment owners’ association to finish it or bring in a co-developer.

“The Rera had deregistered the Aranya project and later, the matter reached National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) before we could bring out any solution. The government has laid down a process giving models to revive the realty sector and Rera is working on available models to deliver justice,” said Rajive Kumar chairman of the regulatory authority.

Similarly, the Rera’s move to allow buyers’ associations to take over a Noida-based housing project by Shubhkamna developer was disrupted as the matter was taken to the NCLT.

Another project deregistered by the Rera is mixed-land use project Mist Avenue (Festival City), located in Sector 143 along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. The promoter of Mist Avenue is lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail and hence unavailable for comment.

The rest of the projects deregistered by the Rera are all located in Greater Noida.

The authority hopes that in future, the Rera Act 2016 provides better solutions for the realty sector and its investors.

“Whenever a new law comes into being, it has scope for improvement and revision. And with time, the Rera Act 2016 will have more clarity on complicated legal issues and will be more useful to this sector. And even now it has emerged into a successful model,” said Kumar.

According to Rera officials, engaging co-developers is not easy because of debt liabilities associated with distressed projects – no co-developer has taken up any of the six de-registered projects due to liabilities and financial strains of those projects.

“Co-developers worry about the debt that a distressed realty project already has from banks or other agencies and the rules are not explicit. There needs to be more clarity about the co-developers’ liabilities and profit portion. Once this is done, bringing about a co-developer will be convenient,” said Kumar.

“We have demanded from the government that Rera should be given more powers to deliver timely justice for the realty sector. In some cases, petition in NCLT disrupted ongoing proceedings in Rera, thereby delaying justice. We demand that the Rera should address real estate sector cases first before they reach any other court, such as NCLT,” said Prashant Tiwari, president of confederation of real estate developers association of India’s (Credai) Western UP wing.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/real-estate/up-rera-cancels-registration-of-five-stuck-realty-projects-in-gautam-budh-nagar/story-aVbe6Rz3Db3AlUOF8zutOK.html

Non-insulated AC gas pipe can lead to Risk

Detect Issues

Discoloration noted on false ceiling of Electrical equipment room.

Describe Issues

False ceiling discoloration noted on front wall side. As seen with IR image live water dripping noted from AC gas pipe running above. This happened as no insulation was provided there. This is a high risk hazard as electrical equipments are just under the dripping area. If not rectified can hamper residents by creating unsafer condition.

Direct Solutions

We recommend AC vendor to repair.

Explanation video of Home health trivia – II

MACJ – A Buyer’s Choice Home Inspections wants to explain another two trivias related to healthier home in this video. This trivia can be done with common accessories which are easily available in home. Hopefully this content would be helpful for you.