MANTRI ASTRA – NEW PROJECT AT Jakkur (Bangalore)

[prathapbs]

I got a mail from the builders yesterday,that they have new project comingup in Jakkur .If anybody has the info about this project,please share.I am interested in Mantri’s 3bhk apartment,anywhere in north Bangalore.

[msn1270]

Dear Prathap

Better stay away from any newly launched/proposed projects. Instead better to look at the unsold units of the completed projects of the same company. Mantri has one completed project on Hennur Road. Try in that.

The reason for my opinion is, These companies are launching new projects to only to milk the money to reuse the same money to complete their existing projects, as the banks are not in a position to extend the courtesy loan anymore or at the same sweet interest rate for them as many of them have pledged their projects for their earlier loans. All real estate companies are in cash crunched condition.

Very good Example, Brigade Gateway project at Rajajinagar(next to Metro Cash and Carry) is under construction from last 5 years. Not even 50% of the work is done. Situation is not different for other players like Sobha, Purva, Krystal,....etc

No company is committing the actual starting date and completion date. in their fine print "terms and conditions", they say, the legal process is underway and once they get necessary approval from the authorised bodies, they will start the construction of the project - which doesn't have any time frame and also as per their agreements, they might give penny 1% interest for the delayed period for the customers if they raise their voice, which is of no use, when you are paying more than 10% as interest for the loan you would hve availed for that project.

[prathapbs]

Hi,
Greatly appreciate your reply and very usefull information.
Infact,I was looking for 3 bhk in Bangalore noorth.Mantri Astra group,informed me yesterday that they have sold all the 3 bhk’s.
Do you know any good builder ,currently finshed their project in North bangalore and ready to sell?My budget is 45 to 50laks.
Or do you know any residential approved layouts in north bangalore?
I am living in Singapore and I am looking for the investment purpose and in the later stage for the own use.

If I don’t get anything,I am planning to invest in Nisarga in Bannergatta road.

Pl share your openion…

Thanks and regards
prathap

[MNRS]

Actually Mantri Astra is not in Jakkur, it is off Hennur Road, BLR North.

You can check golden gate properties, Golden palms. You may get a 3BHK in your budget.

[prathapbs]

Hi,
Thanks for the info.
But Golden plam's 3 bhk price is around 57laks,inclusive of all.
I will call them to check the details.Menatime,please advice..is there any other goods projects for my budget in bangalore north?
regards

[msn1270]

hi pratap,

i'll pass on to you any good projects for your as and when I come across. meanwhile don't be hurry to invest your money immediately. Real estate field is getting ready for one more round of correction. Hope you have seen yesterday, After australia, China Central bank also hiked the CRR to control the inflation rate.

RBI also moving towards the same and rate hike can be expected anytime in next few days/weeks. yesterday RBI has already cautioned all the banks against their attractive lower interate Home loan scheme of 1-3 years, saying it may create similar to Sub-Prime Crisis of USA. Read more details below.

RBI sees red over teaser home loan rates
====================================
MUMBAI: India’s banking regulator — the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — has expressed concern on banks offering home loans with teaser rates, schemes where monthly instalments rise after the initial years.

Its worries stem mainly from the fear that borrowers may subsequently find it tough to repay the loans once interest rates go up after the first couple of years during which the rates are pegged at a fixed rate. “Teaser rates are increasingly being offered which is a cause for concern,” said Usha Thorat, deputy governor, RBI, at a banking conference here. “I hope banks are ensuring that borrowers are well aware of the implications of such rates and the appraisal takes into account repaying capacity of the borrowers when the rates become normal.”

RBI’s concern can perhaps be traced to the fact that the genesis of the mortgage crisis in the US lay in home loans extended to borrowers who struggled to repay. These loans, popularly known as sub-prime loans because they were given to people in lower income groups, included so-called adjustable rate mortgages where the repayment is low in the initial months with instalments rising in subsequent months, somewhat similar to teaser rates.

Lenders in India, however, say there is no cause for concern as far as quality of lending is concerned since repayment capacity is assessed based on the overall liability and not the first year’s rate. Many leading lenders, including the State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), have recently introduced such special offers to attract borrowers at a time when demand for loans from individuals and industries has been tepid.

These schemes have a fixed rate — mostly between 8-8.5% — for the first two to three years of their tenure. But they turn into market-linked floating rates soon after, making them equivalent to any other home loan. Bankers say they have seen a perceptible improvement in disbursals after launching such schemes.

MV Nair, chief of Indian Banks Association, an umbrella body of all banks in the country, said RBI was right to seek greater transparency from banks on such loans. He appealed to banks to better educate customers about the various implications of special rates. Mr Nair is also the chairman and managing director at Union Bank of India, a state-owned lender that has been offering special rates as part of a government scheme to encourage retail borrowers to avail of home loans.

OP Bhatt, chief of the country's largest lender, SBI, however, said the rates for special loans remain below the cost of funds for most banks and so they do not necessarily have any special effect on bank finances. “It is not that because it is priced lower there is higher chance of non-performing assets. It's not lower than our cost of funds and we have other products priced at similar rates,” Mr Bhatt said. Analysts say the average cost of long-term funds for Indian banks is in the range of 5-6%.

The government-owned SBI was one of the first Indian banks to sell mortgages at special lower rates in early 2009. “Excess liquidity in the system has once again led to the familiar phenomenon of sub-PLR short-term lending; banks would do well to recognise re-pricing and rollover risk,” said Ms Thorat. PLR stands for Prime Lending Rate, a bank’s individual benchmark rate around which a borrower usually negotiates her rates.

[prathapbs]

Hi,
Thank you for the latest info.
let me wait and see.

regards

[parkom]

prathap, i dont think you have missed much by not buying into mantri astra- if you would have noticed, the living room in the 3 bhks have no balcony and have a small window at one end. this will make the living room quite dark and without character, really. mantri has one more property which they will launch "soon" as they say and it is in Jakkur, but probably they are shying away from it due to the low market conditions. msn is right, there are more corrections coming in the RE market- first a firming up of CRR of the banks, interest rate hike, and then the govt withdrawal of stimulus. all this will hit the stock market as well as the real estate market, so dont buy in panic thinking this point to be the lowest of the J curve.

[prathapbs]

Great,
Thank you very much your feedback.But whats your openion about Golden palms?
Like you adviced, i will wait and see the market,before i invest..

regards

[sant02]

what are the rent rates in this area?