Beware of builder tricks - How to Avoid Getting Scammed

Beware of builder tricks - How to Avoid Getting Scammed by Builders - Part 1
Buying a house is one of the most important decisions for anyone. The housing sector has been growing at a very fast pace with people investing in sites, independent houses, as well as apartments.
Though very lucrative, the home buying process has its own woes, especially when you deal with the builders. Since it is an unregulated market, it is very difficult to play on fair terms and most agreements between homebuyers and builders are heavily skewed in favor of builder leaving the homebuyers with limited choice to safeguard themselves. This is evident in the rising number of complaints being received by National Consumer Helpline and the Consumer Guidance Society of India.
This two parts article provides brief information about the tricks that developers play and how consumers can protect themselves against them.
1. Possession of the house 2. Property documents 3. Quality of construction 4. Actual price 5. Size of the house 6. Carpet area 7. Management of property
There are various measures that buyers can take to solve the problem.
Possession of the house
The developers will promise a date of delivery at the time of sale and it is important that the same is mentioned in your agreement. However, some builders will add a clause, ‘The delivery of the possession is subject to ‘force majeure’. What this means is that the developer cannot be held responsible for any delays in delivery. Measures: 1. Do a check on the past projects by the builder to see their track record in delivering on time. This can be done by visiting past projects and even talking to the flat owners. 2. Get in touch with other buyers in your building and form a society. If more number of buyers put pressure on the builder it will have more impact. 3. Ask for a compensation for the delay. If the builder doesn’t agree with this, you will have to approach the consumer court to help you.
Property documents
Once the building is completed, a completion certificate is issued by municipal authorities which establishes that the building complies with the approved plan. The builder is required to give a copy of the certificate of completion to each home buyer. Sometimes the builders will not be willing to give this document, or they may not even get it from the municipal authorities. Measures: If your sale agreement doesn’t mention the certificate of completion, insist on the inclusion of a clause that you will be given the completion certificate when the flat is handed over to you.
Quality of construction
When the flat is in construction, you have no way of finding out the quality of material and accessories that are used by the builder. Sometimes there may even be structural changes in the flat layout. Measures: 1. Though not always possible, it is desirable to enter into an agreement on the kind of material that the builder will use. 2. Insist on including the sanctioned plan of the building and the specifications of the raw materials to be used for construction in the purchase agreement. 3. If you actually start facing quality problems after possession, you can go to the consumer court. 4. Residents can also form a Residents` Welfare Association (RWA) and get the builder to fix the problems.
Part two of the article covers dealing with the remaining problems, that is, Actual price, Size of the house, Carpet area, and Management of property


Author: Editor

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