PAY IN JUNE :o)

Hey Folks, hwzzit goin?? Crazy month it is...The Mumbai Indians kicked some ass yesterday when they suckered SRK's KKR...eh!! The heavy MAY rain showers...wow!!
Anyway back to our favourite real-estate project. I met a couple of folks at GPL today namely, Manish (the sales guy) and a very pleasent elderly gentleman by the name of Aggarwal (who manages the operations, or at least thats what I gathered). Manish was the one doing more of the talking, here are some take away from this meeting

1. Great news for those who were trying to arrange funds for the 3rd installment – the payment date is expected to be around June 10th. The rationale for this is that GPL would like to get done with the sample flat and have some excavation done for the benefit of those who are arranging funds via bank loans. The bank would definitely verify the status of the construction and if they don’t see development on the ground they may not release the funds. So you should expect your payment letters by 1st to 2nd week of June...

2. UPDATE on layout plan/design: One good news for us is that the carpet area of 2150 and 2190 sqft flats has been increased without any impact on the overall super area of the flat (which means better space utilization and they have added a small utility room in 2150 and 2190)

3. UPDATE on layout plan/design: The two 2bhk towers now are laid out parallel to each other as opposed to the previous layout plan as shown in the brochure

4. UPDATE on layout plan/design: The swimming pool is very differently laid out in the new layout plan that is approved (and I think this looks better)

5. The sample flat is till under construction and they hope it’d be ready by end of this month or early next month (exactly as I predicted in my last post)

6. I was intrigued/concerned when I heard that Tower 8 and Tower 9 are reserved for Corporate and the specifications would be different (like no modular kitchen etc…which I don’t ever remember hearing earlier) and even on some further questioning I felt the answer was a little vague.

7. The sales are going very well and GPL is already beginning to re-sale even if investors are booking a Rs100-150/sqft profits. A large % of flats have been booked and therefore they don’t want to spend too much in advertising (which makes sense to me) and the cost of construction has significantly risen in the past few months. (I think it’s a good approach to conserve capital for use in construction)

8. A small bhumi pujan event will be organized prior to beginning excavation and we should expect an advertisement for that

9. The bungalows would be positioned as “premium’ and will be built on 400sqmtrs with approx 4000-5000sqft area and it’s likely that the branding/promotions and even brochures for these would be totally different. The price would be in the neighborhood of 3-3.5cr and investors in flats would have the option of switching over to bungalows if budget permits

10. The GPL website is getting updated too and I am eager to look at the updated version…I feel its too dated now

11. HDFC is still processing the loans. I know someone commented that BOB/public sec banks are better...and I agree but there is just a huge mind set of having a private sec bank funding a reality project (some sense of security - i don't know what caused this sterotype but it does exist)

12. Finally, Manish promised to send picture of new layout plans to me via email. I will update the blog with those as soon as I receive them…

Hope you all continue to find this update useful…I look forward to your comments, questions and hope to be able to provide some clarifications…keep the comments flying in and i'd like to hear which IPL team you are putting your money on as a winner!! I think its the underdogs "Rajasthan Royals"

~ vik

Allotments "MAY" take place shortly...

<May 12th, 2008; VIK update> : Got a call from GPL on 10th May informing that allotment begins during the week of 12th May...read the comments section for detail. Will update blog after my discussion with folks at GPL...

The "MAY" above reflects the Month "May", and not tentativeness because the allotments will begin very shortly!! Here is the latest

• Layout Plan Approval : I have heard this over and over again that the "layout plan approval" is the only thing that is pending but the grapevine has it that all approvals are NOW in place
• Allotment letters : Allottment letters may be dispatched by May 11th to all the flat buyers. Which means that you need to keep 10%of BSP + 25%PLC + 50%EDC + IDC equivalent of cash ready. Make the payments and get your allottment done
• Bank Loans : Just like me many of you are also tired of hearing that "we have submitted papers to HDFC bank" - the latest is that HDFC bank should approve the project in a week or so (and so many of us have heard this so many times, so many weeks before :o)..so lets just wait and watch)
• Sample Flat : Sample flat should be ready by end of this month (looking at the progress on the ground - I think it's safe to add a couple extra weeks before it's ready to entertain visitors. Once the sample flat is ready - I will create another section on this blog just get the bloggers feedback on the sample flat to check
• Advertisement: There also seems to be a plan to release some advertisement in this month (It makes sense to have an advertisement now that the Sample flat is getting ready - but my guess is that the advertisement will not come out till the sample flat is totally ready...to get more foot falls at the sample flat)
• Bhumi Poojan: Now that all the approvals are in place - I heard that GPL plans to do a bhoomi poojan (it'll be a nice touch if they send the inverstors/buyers an invite to attend the same)...

So thats the latest and the greatest...from my side.

~vik

Welcome April...

Hey Folks - Did you like the pictures? Want more?
OK - We couldn't have expected for a better begining to April (weather wise), the temperature is hovering between 33 (high) and 19 (lows) ...and its gonna get hotter from here. In addition, April is probably that time of this year when we all may be expecting a notice from GPL for the 3rd payment - its getting bigger and heavier, rite - so if you have booked a 2150 or 2190 sqft apartment; the paymant is probably gonna be close to Rs8,00,000 - Rs10,00,000 ....OUCHH !!! that hurts but it's for a good cause, isn't it. I will update when I hear about the exact due dates. Few questions folks have posted on this blog and I don't have all the answers yet but thought it'd be good to highlight

1. What is holding GPL to begin excavation? Is it the licence? And what about the license?
2. if all the licences are not in place - is it still ok to build the Sample flat?
3. Why are private sector banks not offering loans for GPL project?
4. Are BoB and OBC the only options?
5. Why is GPL not advertising as much as some of the other newer projects?
6. Will the rates be revised after sample flat construction?
7. When is GPL opening bookings for the vilas?
8. The specification say "laminated wooden flooring" - does it mean its not hardwood flooring in the master bedroom?

Feel free to post any other questions you have and i'll try to get some answers...soon!!

Folks - Great News (other than the pictures posted below) All the floor plans are now "APPROVED" and GPL has also gotten the environment clearance for the project. Which means that the project is on full swing. Before I talk more about the project - I spent a good 45 minutes at the site and driving around near by areas and I saw significant development. DLF is formally coming up with a project very close to Eden heights, its said that Unitech (which has land all around Eden Heights) are launching their project in April/May and just a KM before GPL Eden Heights I saw big hoarding for Tulip (18 acre 3-4 BHK Luxurious apartments) and all these projects are expected to be priced around 3000+ ... I know you are excited to hear about Eden Heights - So here it is - Sample Flat construction is in full swing : They are creating 2 sample flats 2150 and 2190 and 2150 will be ready by last week of April and by the looks of it and the pace at which work is going on I think I'll agree. I took quite a few pictures giving different perspective so enjoy!!!!



View from the guest bedroom of 2150

Vier from the master bedroom of 2150
Perspective from out side of 2150 master bedroom (above)

PIC 1 - Approach perspective of the 2150/2190 sqft sample flat

PIC 2 - an angry man standing at the Foyer of 2150 sqft flat

PIC 3 - The site manager 'amit' in front of the 2150 Mast bed room and the guest bedroom

Quick note on the latest and the greatest

So here's the latest and the greatest that I heard from GPL

1. Folks from GPL have gone to Chandigarh to get the approvals (so it should be with them any time)

2. When the approvals come in they will send customers (read ~ us) update if any, around layout plans, house design etc...if the super area increases that means additional $$ :o)

3. Sample flat is all done up - like walls and all, but the plastering and touching up is expected to begin in April, I plan to visit the site this weekend and publish some recent pics

4. As soon as sample flat is ready, they plan to jack up the prices - what i heard was RS3500/- psqft - which to me is very unlikely given the market scenario - but Hey!!! am i complaining - absolutely not. If i put 3500 in the colum in my calculator spreadsheet - i am seeing profits (notional :)) -

anyway more to come...