Organize Your kitchen!

In every home, the kitchen is the one room that has to store many commodities from a fridge and microwave oven to utensils and most importantly food items. If not managed properly, it is very easy for a kitchen to become messy and disorganized. This post lists various ideas and methods by which you can make your kitchen more spacious:

1.     Store all your baking items inside your oven. It reduces the space required for these items and also makes things easy to find.

2.     Get cupboards fixed above your counters as well as below. Fill up the wall space with double door cupboards. This increases your storage space by a large amount.

3.     If you don’t want too many cupboards, then make up for it with shelves. You can even make shelves within the shelves and cupboards to better organize your kitchen.

4.     Get hooks installed by the sink for all your towels and by the racks for your spoons, strainers and other such utensils.

5.     Organize the spices in your kitchen by your style of cooking. It makes things easier to find and keeps things uncluttered.

6.     Store large pots and pans on top of cupboards, especially when you use them rarely. This will give you more cupboard space for your other utensils and kitchenware.

7.     Clean as soon as you can and as you go. If you wash up as soon as you use a utensil, it makes things a whole lot easier.

8.     Organize items by purpose and frequency of us. This makes cooking and cleaning up that much easier.

The Best Areas to Invest in Pune!

Pune has quickly become one of the more trusted markets to invest in. While properties and projects have are shooting up all over town, it is a dilemma for investors to pick an area to invest in. The area that is showing the most promise is the western part of Pune because of its location and proximity to important facilities and landmarks.

Western Pune includes Kothrud, Baner, Deccan Gymkhana, Bavdhan, Sinhagad Road and other upcoming areas. These areas have risen in terms of development and the number of residential and commercial properties in the past couple of years. Their proximity to educational institutions, IT and Tech Parks, hospitals, malls and theaters combined with well maintained facilities such as water and electricity have made them popular with investors.

 Educational institutions attract students from other states, especially in Pune. Finding a rental close to college will be on top of the priority list for these students, which is perfect for owners looking to rent out their flats or houses. The same is true about IT and Tech Parks, which attract job seekers from all over the country. When it comes to emergency situations, it is always better to have a hospital nearby and easily accessible, which is the case with these areas. The above mentioned areas have various malls and theaters making them even more attractive. As mentioned in the previous blog post, roads are integral to the development of real estate. The well made concrete roads in the West of Pune are a huge factor in their popularity. 

Roads and Real Estate

The development of a city is defined by its roads. The state of the roads and the areas they connect are important factors in the growth of any city. Any real estate agent worth his salt will use good connectivity as a selling point. Even though an apartment complex has various amenities, if the road to it is not usable, it will be less likely to be sold or rented out. At the same time, a project should not be too close to a highway or a crowded road. It has to be connected and close by to such roads, but not on them. Proximity to a well connected route is the perfect way to attract buyers and tenants.

Developed roads that connect you from home to not just work and school, but other necessary facilities like hospitals, grocery and departmental stores and others are very important. Good connectivity is a key factor in the decision whether to purchase or look for more. Always check the locality, the roads, the proximity to important facilities and the connectivity. All factors should be considered before purchase or rental.

Though roads may seem like the last factor to be considered, they are extremely important when it comes to day to day living. Once you purchase or rent out a house and then realise that it is poorly connected with bad roads, your everyday life becomes a hassle. Therefore, always make sure that the house you buy or rent out has good roads leading to and out of it.

Tips to buying your second home

The average Indian investor's favourite investment is in the real estate market. Lately, people are investing in second homes and holiday homes as well. Second homes offer a great source of constant income when rented out. In most major cities, there is always a great influx of job seekers and students which increases the need for houses on rent. This fact means that buying a second home in a large city is always a good idea.

1. Avoid investing in the ultra posh neighbourhoods of big cities. It is highly unlikely that you will find too many takers in the rental market. Instead, invest in established central areas where the rates are reasonable and the need for places on rent is high. This improves your chances of finding a tenant.

2. Invest in cities like Pune, Vadodara, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, where the rates are affordable and where the need for rentals are high.

3. Buy a second home in an area which is located close to important amenities and facilities such as schools, markets and hospitals. Owning a small home in such an area is better than owning a large home in the outskirts of the city, in terms of appreciation and returns.

4. Before giving your house on rent, be sure of the tenant's credentials and reliability. Get a watertight agreement done by a good lawyer.

5. Talk to experts in the field of investment and real estate before buying a second home.

Protect Your House From The Rain

The monsoons bring beauty and greenery into the landscape. The weather is comfortable and relaxing. But the rains can prove to be a constant source of problems for your home. To protect yourself from these common troubles, take the following precautions:

1.     Get your roof checked for leaks and cracks to prevent seepage that will ruin not just the walls, but the furniture and other items in your house as well.

2.     Check your walls and ceiling for cracks and make sure they’ve been repaired and waterproofed to prevent water from entering and causing dampness.

3.     Clear and clean all pipes, gutters, and spouts of dead branches and leaves to prevent stagnancy of water and ensure free flow.

4.     Before the start of the rains, make sure that all electrical wiring and equipment is protected from water, to prevent short circuits from occurring.

5.     Ensure that all metal joints, doors and windows are painted with waterproof paint to prevent rusting.

6.     Get your exterior walls painted with waterproof paint as well, to protect the walls. A water sealant should also be used for added protection.

7.     If your wooden doors swell due to the rains, take them out, tighten the hinges and fix them back only after varnishing.

8.     Wax or polish your wooden furniture to prevent swelling and to protect your furnishings from water.

Following these eight simple steps will ensure that your home is safe from the brunt of the monsoons.

How to create an Eco-Friendly Home

It has come to a point where every action needs to be thought out carefully in terms of the environment. This transcends into the construction, designing, decoration and appliance usage within your homes. It is important to know how to go about creating an eco- friendly home.

·        When purchasing an appliance, always make sure of its efficiency so that no energy is wasted. Do not take too long to replace an old appliance.

·        Use incandescent bulbs and LED tube lights to increase efficiency, stop energy wastage and ensure long life.

·        Set up solar panels for all your heating needs.

·        Turn off computers, fans and lights when not in use, to save electricity.

·        Use non toxic eco-friendly paint within your homes to prevent lung problems and other disorders.

·        Replace all the taps and shower heads with high pressure, low flow faucets and close all them properly when not in use to ensure water conservation.

·        Put potted plants on your balcony and at specific points within the house to keep the air fresh.

·        Use natural products such as linen, bamboo and cotton in your household.

·        Separate your inorganic and organic waste. Create a composting zone to make your own fertilizer using organic waste.

·         Use biodegradable cleaning and polishing agents to maintain your home.

Read This Before Getting A Home Loan!

Home loans are a popular option for house buyers today, especially with the rise of the EMI method of payment. Many developers offer home loans and EMI by themselves to make the process that much easier. When a buyer applies for a home loan, the housing finance company/bank/developer will go through various stats, readings and general information of the applicant.

CIBIL stands for Credit Information Bureau Limited, which is India’s first company of its kind.  It procures and updates information for banks and the like on a monthly basis in reference to an individual’s monetary records such as credit card usage and loans. CIBIL also provides a CIBIL TransUnion score that shows an applicant’s credit and financial health. This information is used by banks to create Credit Information Reports (CIR) which when combined with CIBIL TransUnion scores, aids in deciding whether the applicant should be given a loan or not. Therefore, it is very important to score well in the Credit Information Report and the CIBIL TransUnion score.

A low credit score (below 700) will mean your application is not even considered, while a high score above 700 will mean your loan is sanctioned. A good score will mean better interest rates and relative ease in all the bank related procedures. It makes it that much simpler to procure a housing loan. As a precaution, get a credit report done in advance. If it is low, there are various agencies that help you improve it. Since the credit score reflects on payments and data from the past, it is important to ensure that you pay your bills on time. If there was a genuine reason for defaulting on a payment, you can contact CIBIL and get a fresh report.