Save Yourself From Project Delays

Save Yourself From Project Delays

By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, January 18, 2012


Bangalore:  “Project delays” is one of the most common terms in Indian real estate market. Over the past two years, the news of project delays has come up more often with the increase number of project launches, reports Devesh Chandra Srivastava of The mint.

Maximum investors do pre-hand booking of an inventory in upcoming projects and it is quite difficult to figure out which project would delay more and which not. Since the market is experiencing sluggish economic growth and developers are facing the axe in this volatile real estate market to execute their respective projects on time due to hike in construction cost, issues related to land acquisitions, limited funds, political insecurities and delays in projects clearance.

Below are few steps to follow before investing on a project.

Preliminary verification:

Investing in a project is not just a property transaction but to verify all the details before investing. Ensure that the builder you approach should share all the appropriate documents about the property and the project. Buyers need to verify the most important documents of the builder for construction that includes license of the builder, building plans of the project and the land title papers.

Ravi Saund, chief operating officer, CHD Developers stated that, the developers who share the sanctioned plan at the beginning of the project and at the time of  booking, will have all the essential papers and approvals for project construction according to the plan. But if the builder fails to provide the sanctioned plan to the buyers then this means that the project is not yet approved.

For those who have already made their investment and want to check the approved project plan, they have to visit the development authority’s office to file an application to the public relations officer under Right to Information Act (RTI) to verify and crosscheck approved building plans, land title records, and about the completion certificate of the proposed project.

Change in the building plan:

Traditionally, builders start their construction based on the license to build the project. At the same time, builders urge the investors to do advance booking for their upcoming inventories. While the builders show the proposed plan to the investors meanwhile they also approach the city town planner’s office to get the proposed plan sanctioned.

But, if the proposed plan is not approved, builders then propose a second plan to the city town planner’s office about which they may inform the investors at later stage of the project. The main concern is, at times the builder may reformate the first plan which they have shown to the investors by adding another apartment on the same floor as well as decrease in apartment size. So, to be at safer side, the investor needs to show active interest on the respective project to avoid further issues.

Stages of construction:

Completion of a project involves different stages, which could be an important factor for project delays. Ensure that your builder sends you the progress chart for each stage and if the builder fails to do so then it is necessary for you to check with the builder to avoid further delays in project execution.

Builders follow certain criteria where at every predetermined stage investors have to pay a definite amount of money to the builders for the respective projects. For instance, the builder may demand for 10 percent of the total property value for the completion of the basement slab. But, when the demand becomes occasional, the investors have to check with the builder and make sure to visit the project site to get the pending information.

Till the investors take possession of their inventories, they have to check for the information on regular basis. If the work is getting delayed at a particular stage, the other remaining stages would also get delayed which inturn would delay the project on the whole. The other cause of delays could be land dispute and court’s stay order on the construction front.  

Surinder Chopra, managing director, SC SL Buildwell stated that, the builder should send the project site photographs to the investor during the course of construction at regular intervals as well as the builders need to send mails regarding payments for each stage.

Post-Design stage:

This is one of most time consuming stage that involves lots of activity.  Sometimes the projects get delayed because of the investors as well.  Investors keep on changing their minds and demand for changes, which is not easy for the builder get the changes done immediately. To change the planned design, the builder will take extra time resulting in more delay in the project.  

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