Quick tips to make your entrance look different

The entryway is the first thing that any visitor notices. And often it gets neglected in terms of decoration. We mostly concentrate on the interiors of the house and forget that the entryway play a significant role in the home decor. It is one of the essential parts of a house as it projects the interiors of a house as well. Looking at your entryway, visitors might form a good or bad impression about the interior of your house.  But the question arises what to do in the entrance area? So here are a few pointers that can be helpful for you.

The entryway is the only way to enter the house, so it should have limited furniture to make it look uncluttered. If you have furniture like a shoe rack then it should be properly covered and organized.

If you have a small apartment and want to make it look bigger, place mirrors of different sizes. As mirrors brighten up the place and create an impression of elongated entryway making it look bigger. You can also place a runner rug vertically in front of the doorstep. It instantly uplifts the entrance.

In order to personalize space, hang some of your family pictures, or include some bright colours to highlight the section while creating a positive and lively ambiance. You can also place some paintings of your favourite artist or something painted by you, such that the place reflects your personality. If you like earthy stuff, then place some handcrafts in your entryway. You can also place some souvenirs of different places from your recent travel.

Light up the entryway with bright lights. Instead of placing lamps in the entryway, which might make the space look cluttered, use hanging lights or small chandeliers.

Moreover, put some life into your doorway by including some plants or flowers. Some flowers last for a week, keep them in vases, water them to keep them fresh. But make sure to regularly clean the entryway.

References:
https://in.pinterest.com/explore/home-entrance-decor/
http://www.bhg.com/rooms/rooms/entryway/front-entry-decor-ideas/
http://www.myhomeideas.com/decorating/design-ideas/25-front-entry-ideas
http://www.styleathome.com/decorating-and-design/budget/25-fast-cheap-and-easy-decorating-ideas/a/41495
http://www.housebeautiful.com/room-decorating/entryway-ideas/g650/fabulous-designer-foyers/
http://www.countryliving.com/home-design/decorating-ideas/advice/g1506/entryway-ideas/

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/decorating/decorating-tips-techniques/entryway-decorating-ideas

Good Days Ahead For Home Buyers

Are you looking out to buy a new flat? Then this time is the most desirable time that you might have been waiting for.  As the Government along with other higher authorities in the country such as RBI has set their eyes on the real estate sector to improve its present condition. And this is quite visible with several recent developments, which include the clearance of Real Estate bills and twice rate cuts by RBI. Further to the RBI rate cut, well-known banks like HDFC, ICICI, Axis and SBI have also reduced their home loan rates. Reduced home loan rate is a great news for any buyer, as it refers to less interest that further points out to reducing burden from the buyer's shoulder and in return the buyer will be more enthusiastic to buy new properties. In line with the present rate cut, developers are also hoping high for a further rate cut by the end of the year.

However, looking at the current developments, real estate developers are launching new projects in Mumbai and suburbs with a view to boosting the status of decreasing sales of residential projects. In spite of the fact there are lots of inventory still under construction in the region, the builders are still looking at developing more new projects. Also with the reduced home loan rates by the banks, builders are hoping high with the new launches, as buyers now will not be hesitant in investing money in new projects.

In addition, the new job opportunities such as the rise of the e-commerce sector, returns from the stock markets have comparatively increased in the earnings and thus the spending power. This rise in spending power of the buyers combined with lesser home loan rates is expected to further push up the home sales sentiments.

Also, the clearance of the real estate bill is another major step towards the improvement of the real estate market. With a proper regulatory body in place, the buyer can now invest in any property without getting worried about being cheated or harassed by the developer. The bill has brought in a positive vibe among the home buyers as now they can feel protected against the wrong practices of the real estate sector. Henceforth, the buyer can now become hopeful about an organised property market that encourages transparent and smooth dealings.

References:
http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2015/07/28/better-days-ahead-for-first-time-buyers
http://money.cnn.com/pf/money-essentials-home-buying/
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/real-estate/realty-trends
http://rkmumbairealtors.com/trends-forecast-for-mumbai-real-estate-2015-to-2016/

http://www.prres.net/papers/Sonia%20_Real_Estate_Sector_The_India_Story.pdf

A Note on Real Estate in E-commerce Era

Online search and compare for real estate is not new in India. Some property portals are there in the market for more than a decade now and majority of these portals have managed to be an information provider for dealers, brokers, investors and buyers.Now-a-days most of potential customers search online for property information before purchasing. 92% of buyers use the internet in some way in their home search process and 50% of buyers use a mobile website or application in their home search. More and more properties are being listed on the online websites.

Experts say it’s more about the consumer sentiment, belief and greater transparency which is culminating into the radical growth in the segment. Users are no longer merely interested in just searching for houses, they are responding seriously.

E-commerce Buzz & Real Estate:

When the chairman of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, invested $100 Million in a few years old portal- Housing.com, it gave an alarming signal that India is eying for something big in online space and moving for a change in the entire realty market diaspora. The second in the league were, Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp, picking up a 25 per cent stake in another portal- PropTiger.com, also underscored the appeal.

Tata Housing tied-up with e-com giants like Flipcart.com to sell its property online and received moderate response. This gave an insight that this channel has a huge potential to grow in coming years and many players following this route.

Players like Signature Global took one step further and created their own payment gateway system for customers’ ease to avail online application form. This experiment worked well for them and they received more than 1,000 applications in less than 90 days

Benefit for Seller

• A platform to find genuine buyers
• A platform to market your property for selling
• Widen your market and get more buyers
• A platform where you can get guidance on property trends and selling tips.

Benefit for Buyer

• Get genuine projects/properties to select from.
• Get complete property related service from your home.
• Get comprehensive analysis report of the property selected for review.
• Save your precious time. 

Challenges:

• Volume of Transaction: Most of the real estate players said that they can become partially available on E-com sites but full transaction availability is yet a far sighted dream.
• Transparency: Online sales normally works on greater transparency. Real estate market has always played on thin line where the complete transparency is always a matter of concern.
• Old Channel: Partners, dealers and other associates look online marketing as threat to their traditional business.

Reference: 

http://techstory.in/real-estate-ecommerce-918711222/

http://www.slideshare.net/anirudhchari/note-on-the-e-commerce-market-in-india

http://realestate.deutscheawm.com/content/_media/Research_RREEF_Real_Estate_Bricks_and_Clicks_July2012.pdf

Things not to do while decorating your home

Everybody wants their home to be stylish and well-designed according to their choice and taste. Although hiring an interior decorator is the easiest method for doing home interior design, but this requires a good amount of budget to invest. If you can afford, then it's fine, but if you can’t then you can start with your own as you are the best judge for your home. Apart from the things that you like, you should also take care about those things that you should avoid while decorating home while decorating your home.

• Decorate according to the home colour: Homeowners usually start buying the decorative things like furniture before finalizing the colour of the home. So the suggestion is to decide the colours for the home first, then accordingly buy the items of furniture and other things. If you are not sure about the colour of the furniture, then it is better to paint the home with neutral colours. Such that any colour furniture can easily go with the colour of the home.

• A lot of things: If you have too many things or collectibles to show then place them carefully in your home interior design otherwise there will be too much clutter. And cluttered spaces create a suffocated environment for the residents as well as for the guests. You can try to change your home interior design after every few months or mix and match the colours of the collectibles and place them together, such that it does not look monotonous and boring. You can re-work on them again and again by just re-arranging.

• Flashy colours: People often commit mistake while doing experiments for their home in terms of choosing colours. While selecting different and unique colour for their home they end up choosing dark and dull colours. In the same manner while choosing bright colours homeowners end up with shocking green or orange, which are strict no-no for home interiors.

• Arrange pictures properly: If you have loads of pictures to share, display in a proper and creative way that looks classy. You can either hang the photo frames on the side of the staircase or arrange the photo frames of different sizes on a wall of your lobby.

• Avoid cables: Electronic gadgets like television, home theatre, internet, laptops, chargers, set-top boxes are the must-haves for every home. Too much of wires can leave your home looking messy. So to avoid this, you can store them in a box while keeping out only the required length of the wire. Also, you can use tubes to hide the wire.

References:

http://homegardenvibes.com/22-common-decorating-mistakes-to-avoid/
http://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/25-biggest-decorating-mistakes-and-solutions-pictures
http://www.styleathome.com/decorating-and-design/styling-secrets/25-decorating-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/a/451
http://www.finehomesandliving.com/Avoid-These-Common-Home-Interior-Design-Mistakes/

Be Aware, these Actions Might Violate Your Lease Agreement!

When you move into an apartment, you sign an apartment lease agreement that spells out many specific rules to live by.  Keep in mind that there are some actions which could violate your apartment lease agreement, and these actions might not be immediately obvious to you.

Here are a few things to watch out for.

1. Altering the apartment: Before you hang a shelf or paint your bedroom, check your lease. Some apartment communities have specific regulations spelled out in the lease agreement about which modifications can and cannot be made to an apartment. In some cases you might be allowed to make modifications but also required to return the apartment back to its original state before you move out.
2. Living with long-term guests: If a house guest stays too long, you could be in violation of your lease. Having a friend stay for a few days is typically within your rights as a renter, but if that short-term guest turns into a longer-term roommate, you could be in trouble. Know your lease and the length of time you are allowed to have guests stay in your apartment before they are considered additional residents who must be added to the lease.
3. Grilling out on the balcony: Thinking about firing up a grill on your apartment balcony? Better read your lease first! Some apartment management companies consider apartment balcony grilling a fire hazard and specifically forbid it, so know your lease terms before you use the equipment.
4. Operating a business out of the apartment: Are you hosting clients or assembling products for sale in your apartment? You might be violating lease terms. Check for a clause in your apartment lease agreement concerning the operation of a business from your apartment.
5. Subletting the apartment: Subletting is prohibited by most leases and in rare instances where it is allowed, the renter usually has to go through his or her apartment manager/housing society secretary to sublet the apartment. If you have to leave your apartment for a period of time, meet with your apartment manager/housing society secretary to see whether you can work out an arrangement directly.
6. Parking an unregistered car in the community: Apartment communities have limited parking spaces and often will ask residents to register their cars with the office when they sign a lease. If you get a new car, remember to register that car, as well, or you might risk getting towed.

Tip: When in doubt, ask!

If you are unsure whether something you are about does regarding your apartment will violate the lease, it’s best to ask your apartment manager/housing society secretary for advice first. Your landlord would much rather answer a question about your lease than see you violate its terms. Ask before you act if you are unsure!

References:

http://realestate.findlaw.com/landlord-tenant-law/terminating-a-lease-or-rental-agreement-faqs.html
http://www.rentingmyhouse.net/common-lease-violations-and-how-to-deal-with-them
http://www.lease-advice.org/information/faqs/print_faq.asp?section=18
http://www.nhlegalaid.org/self-help-guides/housing/tenants-rights/tenants-rights