I am personally surprised, shocked, and disappointed by the development that has recently happened at Soham Builders’ project @ Manpada in Thane West - viz., Soham Gardens [read this article]. The person in question is Soodesh More [read this article as well], who I was personally quite comfortable dealing with. I had bought a flat in Fairytale apartment, part of the Soham Gardens complex, through Soodesh only. I had got information about many luxirious flats through this unique location which searches and showcases many luxurious properties and have zeroed in on this flat which I loved at first instance!

It was close to 3.5 years back, when the project was in trouble, but still I bought a flat in that apartment. We were dealing with Soodesh only, and we completely believed what he said to us. He convinced us that the project will be cleared soon and we can move in to our own “dream home”. We were impressed with the cordial and trustworthy behaviour exhibited by Soodesh. In fact, Soodesh had helped me in most of the aspects throughout this dealing and I was convinced that Soodesh is “My Man”…

Though I am troubled by this development, somewhere at the bottom of my heart, I still feel that Soodesh will not get involved in this kind of cheap tricks. He was a flatterer, but he never got involved in illegal activities. He spoke lot of lies but never involved in cheating, that too at such a large extent. My sympathies are with Soodesh, because when it comes to such huge amount (to the tune of Rs 15 crores), anyone’s honesty will shatter. I am sure Soodesh must be in dire need of money which made him take such an extreme step…

I urge the law-enforcing authorities to look at this case from this angle as well. Soodesh was a good man. He lied, he flattered, but as far as I know he was never involved in serious cheating… I wish all the very best to Soodesh.

In my last article, we observed how an economic fraud has been taking shape in SOHAM BUILDERS’ Thane project. The person, whom we can now call a CON-MAN, is none other than one of the most trusted aides of the builder - SOODESH MORE. Soodesh was enjoying trust not only from the builder, but also from many of the customers and staff. He usually was polite and always tried to settle the issues amicably. This quality of his has won him lot of trust from the buyers of residential properties.

I think a visit to the history behind all this story may be of help to my readers. It should be noted that the project under question - FAIRYTALE under Soham Gardens at Manpada Thane West - was under litigation for last 2-3 years. Soodesh was the middleman, interfacing between the builder and the angry, agitated, frustrated customers. He managed both so well that most of the customers actually put in trust and faith in Soodesh. He enjoyed a kind of blind faith! And this was exactly at the center of all this economic irregularity. Since he was blindly trusted, Soodesh managed to SELL THE SAME FLAT TO MULTIPLE BUYERS!

Find below the official communication from Soham Builders urging all its customers to avoid any type of dealing with Soodesh More.

Look very closely at this face. This face may not raise any doubts in anyone’s minds. This face may not evoke any protests. This face, in fact, may make you believe that this person is an honest and trustworthy person. I AM SORRY. BUT ALL OF THE ABOVE IS 100% FALSE…

I am not joking. The person featured in above photograph has duped quite a few investors into buying “illegal” flats. This person has “tricked” the builder for who he was employed with with lakhs of rupees. This person has, as the matter of fact, sold the same flat twice and made lots of “quick bucks”… All this while he was working from his office premises and no one smelt anything…

This person in question is SOODESH MORE. He was employed with SOHAM BUILDERS, a very reputed builder from Thane. Soodesh has been a “loyal” employee of Soham since quite some time, at least more than 4 years… Soodesh is soft spoken, interacts warmly with customers and otherwise, is dressed smartly, sports expensive gizmos, drives swanky cars… In short, he is a perfect package whom everyone can easily trust. He can impress anyone with his soft yet politically correct talks…

But this person is definitely not genuine, not trustworthy, not faithful, not loyal… ANYMORE. I will talk about story of Soodesh in my next post, with an official announcement from Soham Builders. This will prove my point.

A real-life version of “Khosla Ka Ghosla” is being played out with an increasing number of non-resident Indians (NRIs). The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) is being flooded with increasing complaints of illegal / fraudulent real estate deals and encroachments. In fact, with the recent Satyam scam casting its shadow on Maytas Properties, apprehensions amongst overseas investors has deepened.

It should be noted that property dispute is one of the most frequent complaints by NRIs. They are unable to protect their property due to long absences or lack of awareness of laws. The largest number of complaints are from major real estate markets like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab.

The nature of the complaints are mainly protection of property that has been forcibly occupied or encroached, dispute relating to division of property or inheritance and cases where investors have been cheated by real estate developers.

What actions are being taken by Government?

A minister from MOIA has mentioned that, following this flood of complaints, he had written to state governments asking them to appoint nodal officers for civil, judicial and police matters. These nodal officers are independent from NRI cells that are dedicated for issues related to financial or welfare interests of overseas Indians. The ministry has also planned a session on property disputes at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in January 2010. The purpose of the interactive session is three-fold: allowing NRIs to invest safely in realty, putting in place an institutional mechanism at the state-level for property related disputes and providing a channel for credible information relating to property and inheritance laws.

A few days back, a leading newspaper carried an advertisement on their front page from a builder claiming that they are going to shed a light on the truth and are digging out the fact how the projects from another leading builder are charging Rs 5800/sqft for Plinth Area using hidden costs like Common Areas etc while they charge only Rs 2370/Sq ft for Plinth Area exclusively.

Now, the focus of a property seeker shifts towards the fact that how must he save himself from these smart games from the builder where he tries to buck extra? The smooth talking salesmen on the site of the builder chooses to skip on this fact too. So what should we do? The only way to save your skin from this hook is to have the right knowledge on the Carpet Area , Super Area and Plinth Area.

Here is a quick run-through the exact definitions you should know before diving in to scoop the best deal on property.

• “Carpet Area” refers to the total usable area within the four walls of an apartment or a commercial space, as the case may be. In other words, it refers to the area for which a carpet can be laid if required by the owners.
• “Plinth Area” refers to the entire carpet area along with the thickness of the external walls of the apartment. It obviously includes the thickness of the internal walls and the columns, if any, lying within the four walls of an apartment. The commercial space is not taken into account in calculating the plinth area.
• “Super Built-up Area” refers to the plinth area of an apartment or a commercial unit as added by the balconies and other common areas like corridors, staircase, lift room, motor room, security room, meeting hall, gymnasium and an area reserved for indoor games.

The builders, while advertising or quoting the rates for there properties, tag the carpet area and print the rates of the same in there commercials and public issues. But what they usually sell you is the Plinth Area. There has been a huge lot of roaring on this matter in past and yet the strength of the definition of Builder Area’s is enigmatic.

How many of us really get into the carpet area? We seem to simply go by what the builders say in terms of the saleable/chargeable area.

DO NOT GET FOOLED BY THE BUILDERS. I am intentionally posting this on April Fool’s Day, so as to warn all the readers and prospective proerty-buyers from being called “April Fooled by the builder”!!! Pass on this warning to all those you care about.