Be careful with gaps around electrical conduit

Detect Issues

Significant gap noted in between external wall & electrical conduits.

Describe Issues

If gap is not filled between external wall & electrical conduits, then unwanted water and dust from external area will enter through the gap. Chances of insect infestation will occur. This will lead to paint deterioration and other damages due to water intrusion. It will affect residents by creating unhealthy and unhygienic living condition.

Direct Solutions

We recommend hole finishing with non shrink grout / repair mortar & painting with exterior grade paint as per manufacturer specification.

RERA should be amended to plug loopholes: H-RERA Chairman

New Delhi

The realty law RERA should be amended to plug loopholes and make it more effective for the interest of all stakeholders, according to regulators.

In an event organised by industrychamber PHDCCI, Gurugram RERA Chairman K K Khandelwal asked India Inc to make suggestions to the government for necessary amendments to RERA Act to make it dispassionately objective for both builders and home buyers.

According to Khandelwal, the existing stipulations and provisions of RERA Act have many loopholes that need to be plugged in the interest of all the stakeholders, PHDCCI said in a statement.

“In its current format, several sections and sub-sections including clauses and sub-clauses of the RERA Act are contradictory and therefore, open for many legal interpretations as well interpretations of real estate regulatory authorities of different States and therefore, amendment to them are called for to make sure that all stakeholders in the real estate and construction sector get a fair deal and the intended growth of the sector is ensured,” Khandelwal was quoted as saying.

Balvinder Kumar, Member, UP RERA informed that the UP RERA has so far received 70,000 complaints from various home buyers against builders in the state that have defaulted in their delivery commitments.

Of which 10,100 complaints have been addressed.

Source: https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/rera-should-be-amended-to-plug-loopholes-h-rera-chairman/70763340

Make your Socket Board Waterproof for wet areas

Detect Issues

Switch socket board is close to sink.

Describe Issues

Due to current position of socket board, it will get affected due to water splashing during sink usage. This can create safety & electrical hazard for residents in future. Rectification is needed to be done to keep you and your home safe.

Direct Solutions

We recommend review and providing splash guard on the socket board.

Painting Your House? Did You Treat Damp First?

Whenever any festive season arrives, we wish to give our home a new look which would provide a happy feeling. Hence, painting your house is surely on the cards. But wait, have you done a survey of the house and made a list of places where dampness has already intruded and left its mark or where you suspect there is seepage? If not, do it. Call for a home inspection service. And if you are already aware of the leakage and/or seepage and damp and still not considering treating them before painting then be prepared to waste a lot of money on those cans of acrylic distemper and emulsions.

It is not until recently that the paint companies have been making you aware of the effects of weather on your house and how choosing the right paint can stop the damage. Do you give as much thought to how your walls are compared to which shade to choose? No. It is time you be a bit more careful and look for any visible sign of dampness or seepage in your walls. Putting paint on a damaged wall will result in making it look beautiful but leaving it at a higher risk of damage.

Contrary to popular belief, paint or putty cannot permanently fix the problem of dampness. To effectively treat dampness, we must first conduct a thorough damp assessment with the help of home inspectors and then decide on the solution. Repairing the leakage definitely is the first step to treating damp.

Preface to house painting: Go to the root of damp and treat it

1. Repair plumbing faults

Water pipe leakage often releases water to the walls adjacent to it. For example, leakage from the water pipes in the kitchen or bathrooms can cause dampness on the walls of the apartment below it. To be sure, you must perform a thorough home inspection and check all the fittings and pipelines. Water leakage can occur in the internal as well as in external piping and even in the water tank itself. If you find any such leakage repair it first, without delay.

2. Check the indoor moisture content

The climatic condition of a place plays an important role in determining the condition of your house. In India, humidity is constant. Keep a check on the indoor moisture content of your house so that it does not overshoot the normal level. Ventilate your rooms and take other necessary measures to keep your walls and ceilings damp-free.

3. Pipe leakage in adjacent flats, damp in your home: Alert thy neighbour!

Be the friendly and courteous neighbour that you are and ask the family sharing floor or walls with your flat to check for leakage in their bathrooms and kitchen. This you do if home inspection finds no apparent problem in your home but you still see clear watery spots on the ceiling or bulging tiles in the walls of your bathroom. Once they fix the problem, damp issues in your home get solved.

4. Check for the conditions of your building’s exterior

If the outer walls of your building are in good shape then the chances of dampness in your inner walls reduce drastically. Plastering and using a weather-shield paint variety on exterior walls gives them an extra layer of protection against moisture and rainwater. However, if the plastering quality is not up to the mark or the paint is old then it invariably leads to moisture absorption and damp.

5. Check the roof for leakage

Water-logging in the roof is a cause of concern. Blockage in the vents can cause accumulation of a large quantity of water on the roof after rain. The water may seep through the roof and cause dampness in your ceiling. Other probable causes of a damp ceiling are crack in the roof, damaged waterproofing, etc.

Clear the blocked outlets on the roof, detect cracks if any through a home inspection and repair them, go for remedial waterproofing of the roof, or erect a rooftop shed to stop water accumulation and resultant dampness as per condition.

6. Close other sources of moisture intrusion

You may not know but there could be other sources of moisture intrusion in your home other than the ones pointed out above. Prevent moisture intrusion through these places and then proceed to paint your house.

Tips to prevent damp while painting

Use good quality paint

The paint you choose for your house can do more than enhance the beauty of the structure. Advanced paint solutions are enriched with silicon technology and so on. They absorb zero moisture and prevent water seepage through walls. Choose a weather-guard paint variety for the exterior walls and an equally good solution for the interior walls as well for the best results. You may consult a professional painter, who can guide you to choose the ideal paint for your house.

There are certain paints which also have proven antimicrobial properties1. Due to the action of such paint solutions, the growth of fungi and other microbes on the damp wall gets reduced. This is of immense importance as dampness is known to cause a number of ailments such as allergic rhinitis, skin rashes, etc. Consider using these paint varieties for a beautiful and healthier home.

Waterproof your walls

To strengthen the walls of your house from within and treat damp and seepage it is important to subject them to proper waterproofing. Make sure that both the ceilings as well as your walls are all waterproof. Your painting service provider will only do that for you. Just know the requirement well beforehand to calculate your budget. Who to consult with for that? – A home inspection service provider, who else!

Apply paint the right way

As mentioned earlier, only paint or putty cannot solve the problem of dampness. To effectively prevent or slow down dampness, you should apply paint only after applying the primer. First, you must apply some anti-dampness chemicals like Dr.Fixit2 or Asian Paints Care Damp proofing3, on the walls. Always follow manufacturer’s specifications properly.

If the problem persists even after all the remedies mentioned, call home inspectors to help you with a further damp assessment of your home. To learn more about the service, click here.

Reference links used:
1. https://www.nerolac.com/decorative-paint-products/interior-paints/impressions-eco-clean
2. https://www.drfixit.co.in/campaign/ab-interiorwall/
3. https://www.asianpaints.com/products/waterproofing-solutions/all-waterproofing-products.html

Mr. Binani, a Happy Customer | End to End Solution | Home Inspections

Mr. Himanshu Binani, a Banker by profession has recently bought a flat at a renowned Residential Project in Kolkata. He was very Happy & Highly satisfied with our Professional Home Inspection Services. Listen to what he has to say about us.

MahaRERA says MoU proof enough for ownership

Mumbai

Though two homebuyers had only a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as evidence that they invested in a flat. The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has ruled that it is proof enough of ownership and directed the developer to refund Rs 82.95 lakh with 10.75 per cent interest from 2012.

According to the complaint, Krishna and Veena Agarwal had booked flat in a project in 2012 and paid Rs 82.95 lakh out of the flat cost of Rs 89.41 lakh.

The complaint said the developer had assured possession in 2016, but in 2017, unilaterally changed the possession date to July 31, 2022.

The complaint also said that on the MahaRERA portal, the developer has mentioned that 40 floors are proposed, 28 are completed, but the Commencement Certificate is only till 27th floor; therefore, the Agarwals want to withdraw from the project and seek refund of their investment with interest.

During the hearings, the developer claimed that the Agarwals were not homebuyers but investors and that the MoU was not registered.

MahaRERA member Madhav Kulkarni observed that the Appellate Tribunal had held that even in the absence of a registered agreement, such complaints are maintainable.

Stating that the developer should not have accepted such a huge amount when the project was not progressing as per schedule, Kulkarni held that the builder had failed to deliver possession of the flat as per agreement and directed the company to refund the paid amount from the date of payment till final realisation.

Source: https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/maharera-says-mou-proof-enough-for-ownership/71002224

Gap at counter joints can affect associated area

Detect Issues

Gap between sink counter & counter beading stone.

Describe Issues

This joint gap can create a path for moisture as it is near to sink, which can affect the associated/ attached area due to seepage of water. Thereby will create difficulty in future for residents by adding extra cost and time factor due to repair.

Direct Solutions

We recommend sealing joint with stone filler of matching colour pigment as per manufacturer’s specifications.

Healing Damp/Seepage Curse at an Office Building | Commercial Building

Damp / Seepage / Leakage problem is really a Curse for any Building. It not only deteriorates the building structurally but also had severe effects on the health of its occupants.

MahaRERA takes suo motu action against two real estate agencies

Pune

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority(MahaRERA) has for the first time taken suo motu action against two real estate agencies based out of Pune and Kalyan for facilitating sale of unregistered projects.

MahaRERA chairperson Gautam Chatterjee slapped Rs 80,000 and Rs 40,000 as fine on the Pune and Kalyan projects, respectively, last week. MahaRERA officials said the suo motu action was taken by Chatterjee because in both the instances, “unregistered” projects were being sold. TheReal Estate (Regulation and Development) Act makes registration of projects a must before sale.

“For the real estate agents, it is mandatory to sell the registered projects. The authorities initiated the action because the projects sold in Pune and Kalyan were unregistered,” a senior RERA official told TOI.

In the case in Pune, an agency facilitated the sale of apartments in a project spread over a 100-acre township in the Haveli area through advertisements on various social media websites without mentioning any MahaRERA registration details. In the second case, an another agency facilitated the sale of apartments in an unregistered project in Kalyan by circulating SMSs dated August 9, 2019.

In both the cases, MahaRERA noted that the material placed before it prima facie revealed that the agencies had facilitated the sale of apartments in projects not registered (with MahaRERA). This was in violation of Section 10(a) of the The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act. The officials said MahaRERA decided to take suo motu cognizance in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under Section 35 of the Act. Subsequently, a notice to the agents was issued and they were told to appear before the authority and explain their stand on the issue.

“In both the cases, the respondents, or the registered agents, have tendered apology and vowed not to solicit, misguide or engage in such facilitation of advertisements or sale. They submitted an affidavit that such violations of the Act would not happen in future and that they would strictly comply with the provisions of the statutes and the rules, regulations, orders and circulars issued under it,” an official said.

MahaRera chairperson in his hearing accepted that the violations of the provisions of the Act were inadvertent and the agents did not have any intention to show non-compliance towards the Act or its rules.

He has taken an undertaking from both agents that such a violation of the Act would not happen in future.

Source: https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/maharera-takes-suo-motu-action-against-two-real-estate-agencies/71073545