Ivy Estate Wagholi to Start Giving Possession of Flats!

From the first week of February 2014, Kolte-Patil Developers are going to give possession of flats in Ivy Apartments, Ivy Botanica & Umang Premiere in Ivy Estate Wagholi!

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In the last couple of days, Kolte-Patil Developers (www.koltepatil.com) have send 'possession notification' to the flat owners in Ivy Estate Wagholi.

As per the notification, the process of handing over possession of flats will start from 1st week of February 2014.

Some 974 flats in 4 Towers of Ivy Apartments (520 Flats), 2 Towers of Ivy Botanica (172 Flats) & 3 Towers of Umang Premiere (282 Flats) in Ivy Estate Wagholi will be handed over to it's buyers.

Considering the number of flats and time required to handover each flat, Kolte-Patil Developers will need a couple of months to complete the process of handing over possession of all 974 flats.

After paying the last installment, water development & maintenance charges and pending dues & extra charges, the possession will be given on first come first serve basis. After the final payment, it will take some 10 days to handover the possession of your flat. The notification says.

It means that, soon, some 974 families are going to experience the joy of shifting in their own homes in Ivy Estate Wagholi. Soon, some 974 families are going to become proud property owners. Soon, some 974 families are going to fulfill their dreams.

Why the completion & occupancy certificate took so much time?

Last Saturday, Kolte-Patil invited me to share their side of the story. In that meeting, Kolte-Patil told me about the reasons behind getting completion & occupancy certificate.

Kolte-Patil explained to me the process of getting completion & occupancy certificate. How the file moves from one table to the second to the third and the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th to N number of tables. Starting from the Collector to Town Planing to N number of Building Inspectors to the additional director of town planning and once again comes back to the collector and then goes to the Tehshildar and then to the Resident Collector and then to....

They also explained how inadequately small staffed these offices are and the huge area - entire Pune district - n number of NOCs make the process time consuming and complicated.

In the notification of possession, sent to the property buyers of Ivy Apartments, Kolte-Patil has explained the same thing in this way:

Finally here comes the joy to share the happiness of Obtainment of Completion Certificate from the Town Planning authority for our project Ivy Apartments.

The final Approval was received on 19/01/2014 from the Collector for the Completion Certificate.

1. Possession Announcement for Ivy Apartments: We had shared the Possession announcement to our customers on the day when we receive the Final Approval of the Completion Certificate clearance.

2. Why is it called as “Partly Completion Certificate”?

Currently we have obtained Completion Certificate only for Ivy Apartments Phase I (constructed 4 towers). And we are also coming up with the 2nd Phase for Ivy Apartments (4 more towers), after which we will be able to obtain the Full Completion.

3. Application date for Completion: Kindly refer to the attached Completion Certificate copy which clearly mentions the Application submission date for Completion Certificate to the Town Planning Authority, i.e., 25/07/2013.

4. Building Inspector visit: Even-though it Is not mentioned in the Completion Certificate regarding the status of the Building Inspector visit, please refer to the e-mail communication which was circulated through our Customer Care to all our customers dated 07th Sept. 2013 which was during the first week of Sept. 2013.

5. Additional Director visit: Kindly refer to the Completion Certificate, wherein you can find the date of visit by The Additional Director visit from the Town Planning on 28/11/2013 at 11 am.

6. Town Planning Approval: After the verification of all the relevant documents /NOCs and personal site inspection by Building Inspector & the Additional Director from Town Planning, they finally provided their Approval on 09th Dec. 2013. From this you can understand that it took more than 4 months for the verification and approval from the Town Planning even-though the project was constructed as per the norms and guidelines of Town Planning.

7. Final Approval from Collector: On the basis of Town Planning approval, finally the Collector signed our file on 19/01/2014, which took around 40 days for his final approval and issuance of Completion Certificate.

8. To avail Income tax benefit/exemption: To avail the income tax benefit/exemption under section 24B our customers can submit Official Possession letter along with the attached Completion Certificate during the financial year. To obtain the Official Possession letter, the customer needs to make the complete payments as per the final demand letter and the Official Possession letter can be released within 10 working days. Kindly refer our Possession announcement mail dated 20/01/2014.

Along with this Ivy Estate has attached the copy of Completion Certificate of Ivy Apartments.

What about Drinking Water in Ivy Estate Wagholi:

After completion & occupancy certificate, my next question was about drinking water!

Accepting that the water line from Bhima is going to take some more time, Kolte-Patil told me about the arrangements they have made for providing water to Ivy Estate.

The water treatment plant build at Ivy Estate is calibrated for Bhima pipe line water. Till that pipe line becomes operational, Ivy Estate will get tanker water from the wells in Wagholi and nearby villages.

After the lab inspections, they realized that the tanker water is of a different quality. The water treatment plant for pipeline water will not be useful for this tanker water.

To make this tanker water potable, special plant is required. So, Kolte-Patil is installing separate water treatment plant for the tanker water. Besides this special plant for drinking water, as an additional precaution, water purifiers will be installed in each flat in Ivy Estate.

It means that the residents of Ivy Estate will get potable drinking water. But for bathing and washing, till they get the pipe line water, they have to manage with unprocessed hard tanker water of Wagholi.

"Thanks for sharing info about drinking water & bathing and washing water. Now, I can warn all my beautiful lady readers about effects of hard water on their soft skins and long black hair!," I said.

"More than that - better tell your readers to see that their children drink only drinking water!," Kolte-Patil said.

So, dear beautiful ladies of Ivy Estate, please, take care of your skin, hair and children. I love you all.

What about construction quality and after sales service?

Kolte-Patil told me that they have appointed an out side agency for doing quality audit of each flat, The flat would be considered ready for possession only after receiving the satisfactory audit report of this third party agency.

Then the property buyer will be invited for the pre-possession inspection of his flat. If the buyer finds something unsatisfactory, it will be rectified and then the final possession will be given.

As promised, every flat will come with 2 years warranty. For the repairs, Kolte-Patil told me that there will be a separate 'facility management team'.

"All this sounds good! Let us hope for the best," I said.

Last time when I attended the meeting of flat owners, I felt very sorry for them. All of them were upset with Kolte-Patil for taking so much time to get completion & occupancy certificate and delaying possession.

All of them were looking like hungry babies - very angry with their mother - who was heartless enough to prevent them from eating ladoos she has just made - unless she offers the first one to God.

But, at the end of today's meeting, Kolte-Patil looked different. After offering "Prasad" to the authorities, the mother has become loving & caring. In fact, the mother was feeling sorry for preventing her hungry babies from eating ladoos!

Unique, Painful & Inspiring Wait is Over!

You know? The wait of flat owners in Ivy Estate was unique.

1) Generally, builders in Pune don't complete the construction in given time. But, at Ivy Estate Wagholi, all buildings were ready for possession at almost committed time!

2) In PMC, PCMC & in the fringe villages which come under Town Planning, most of the builders give possession without completion & occupancy certificate. But Kolte-Patil Developers (www.koltepatil.com) refused to give possession without completion & occupancy certificate!

3) When the possession is delayed, generally, builders in Pune do not reply to property buyers' emails & don't take their phone calls. After trying for sometime, the property buyers simply give up and completely surrender to the builder.

But, Ivy Estate replied to the emails, took calls and had meetings with the property buyers. Though the flat owners didn't get the confirmed date of possession, they didn't give up! They keep on trying, asking and demanding!!

4) Generally, most of the Pune property buyers are desperate. They are desperate to book a flat. They are desperate to take possession of a flat.

Paying rent as well as Pre-EMI makes them emotionally & financially vulnerable. Delayed construction makes them more vulnerable and more desperate for possession.

Pune builders take advantage of this situation and let the property buyers accept possession at their own risk - against the letter of furniture possession.

In the letter of furniture possession, builders protect themselves by stating that the possession is only for the furniture & fitments. It means that, those property buyers who live in their flats are occupying it illegally!

If you are caught illegally occupying the property - PMC / PCMC / Town Planning Authority & MSEB penalizes you for living in a flat which hasn't received completion & occupancy certificate - means which is not safe to live.

It means that not only builders but property buyers also do not mind putting the life of their families in danger.

But at Ivy Estate Wagholi, situation was different.

Kolte-Patil Developers was not ready to put the property buyers's life in danger by giving illegal possession without completion & occupancy certificate.

At the same time, the property buyers in Ivy Estate were not desperate and vulnerable like typical Pune property buyers. Though they were suffering financial losses and mental agony, the property buyers in Ivy Estate were not ready to compromise and surrender. Delay made these property buyers more assertive and proactive. Which gave them strength to question the builder about the delay and demand compensation.

I have seen one builder like Kolte-Patil who refused to give possession without completion & occupancy certificate. I have seen Darode-Jog Properties ready for possession project waiting for months & months for completion & occupancy certificate. Just like brand new cars - parked in some open plot - covered with dust - waiting for delivery.

But, I haven't seen assertive property buyers like Ivy Estate flat owners.

Result is, for the first time, at Ivy Estate, I saw a builder respecting the rights of his property buyers.

When I visited corporate offices of Kolte-Patil to get their side of the story, I was welcomed with a bouquet of flowers. Because I took the side of flat owners in Ivy Estate, Kolte-Patil did not treat as an enemy. Kolte-Patil welcomed me as a well wisher of Ivy Estate. Only because of the assertive & united property buyers of Ivy Estate.

5) The flat owners in Ivy Estate inspired many property buyers to become assertive and proactive. Including the flat owners in Tata Inora Park at Undri which is delayed by more that 15 months!

But, I can't guess, how many builders will get inspiration from Kolte-Patil Developers (www.koltepatil.com) and start giving possession only after receiving completion & occupancy certificate! What say you? Please, share your views in comments.

Related Stories:

1) Join Facebook Group - Ivy Estates Residents Pune

2) Get Compensation for Delayed Possession of Flat in Ivy Estate Wagholi

3) Kolte-Patil Developers - Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil

4) United Pune Property Buyers Continue Their Fight Against VAT & Builders!

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