Month: April 2023

It’s a very common apprehension. As our work-life draws to a close, we are all concerned about whether we have socked away enough to support us in our retired life. A sum which might seem adequate today, could appear insufficient tomorrow as inflation continues to erode the net value of our savings. Investing for retirement can be particularly vexing since you would want your investment to be relatively risk-free and able to keep pace with inflation.

A great way to boost your nest egg is to invest in real estate, even if you have a portfolio of stocks and bonds. Real estate is less volatile compared to other asset categories and almost always outperforms other instruments of investment.

Investing in a property or buying your own home to open up a rental income avenue or investing in trusts can all have an additive effect on your savings portfolio, while reducing taxes and costs. This is a steady retirement income option that ebbs and flows with the prevailing inflation rate, giving you that shield of protection in your golden years.

So, what are the different avenues of letting real estate boost your retirement?

# Direct ownership of your home: When you own your own home, it’s an automatic long-term asset and provides you with the built-in buffer in the form of home equity that can be leveraged if required, to generate retirement income or as a safeguard against unforeseen risks and adverse events.

# Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITS: REITS are a kind of equivalent of mutual funds. Here, instead of a basket of company stocks, investment is in a collection of properties. The dividends are usually quite high, which means a neat retirement income minus the hassles of buying or managing a property. Also, by investing in multiple properties, you can hedge your bets.

# Rental income: Buying a property and renting it out also provides you with an avenue of steady monthly income, more so when the location is right. It is usually a more stable investment than in stocks and can even pay for your house loan and other maintenance costs. Also, it’s a permanent asset and will keep appreciating in value with time.

# Buy, improve, re-sell: If you plan and start well ahead of your superannuation, you can carefully choose and invest in a property at its launch stage, spend on some home improvement and embellishment and then re-sell at a neat profit when the time is right. You need to give yourself some time in hand and pick a winning location for this ploy to work. However, plenty of people are reaping lucrative ROI on their real estate assets all the time.

# Tax benefits: Since the government supports your investment with tax breaks, real estate is a great way to make your nest egg grow. From rental properties to empty land parcels to commercial buildings, there is a substantial tax benefit in every segment of real estate, like capital gains tax, deductions, depreciation, etc.

It’s always wise to have some extra stashed away for the golden years. Even your best-laid plans can sometimes go haywire for any number of reasons, not the least unforeseen medical expenditure. The best way to ensure a steady income stream post-retirement is to make a planned investment in real estate well in time.

The summer months are around the corner many of us are already getting our home air-conditioners serviced or investing in a new one perhaps. After all, summers are synonymous with cranking up the AC to counter the sweltering heat. According to a report, India is all set to record a 2.2 times jump in cooling energy consumption by 2027, an alarming piece of statistics considering the amount of carbon dioxide emission this entails.

However, there are smarter alternatives to cut down on power costs, while helping preserve the environment as well. Here are a few simple tips on natural ways to keep your home cool during the oppressive summer months:

# Facilitate ventilation: Keeping doors and windows open during strategic periods like early mornings and late evenings facilitates cross ventilation, thus cooling your home. As a thumb rule, between 5am and 8am and 8pm and 10pm or beyond should be ideal for enabling this critical cross-ventilation. This allows the trapped heat inside your house to escape. Keeping the windows open during the summer nights ushers in the cool breeze.

# Use blinds, natural fabrics: Installing blinds on your windows helps keep the heat out since windows tend to absorb external heat. Closing the blinds during the scorching afternoons can help keep your rooms cooler. Steer clear of synthetic fabrics like silk, polyester or satin and even leather.

# Stick to light shades: Light pastel shades can help keep your home cool during the harsh summer months, giving your walls a fresh, clean look. Go for pastel yellow, beige, aqua or light pink. Lighter colours tend to reflect heat and light instead of absorbing them.

# Water, ice to cool home: You can soak the lower end of your curtains in water and switch on the fan. As the water seeps up through the fabric, the room is gradually filled with a cool breeze. Another simple trick is to keep a bowl of ice below the fan. As the ice gradually melts, it spreads a cool draft around the room. # Use dark curtains: Putting up cotton curtains in bright shades like brown, dark green or maroon helps keep the scorching summer sun at bay. Make sure to use thick linings to avoid fading of the fabric from the merciless sun. During the hottest periods of the day, you should keep your curtains drawn. Your room is bound to feel cooler.

# Roof treatment: Using heat-reflecting UV paint on your roof can keep the temperature in your home a few notches lower. A host of environment-friendly weatherproofing options are now available for the roof, which help reflect harmful ultraviolet rays, resulting in less heat absorption and consequently, lower energy costs.

# Switch to energy-efficient lights: Using energy-efficient lighting solutions with LED or CFL bulbs in often-used areas helps keep the apartment cooler, as opposed to conventional light bulbs which radiate too much heat, leading to fast warming of the rooms. Also make a habit of switching off the lights when not in use and also unplug electronic gadgets when you are not using those.

# Use greenery at home: You can use indoor plants and window planters to help cool and purify the air in your home by helping with the humidification process. It’s a great idea to have indoor plants like aloe vera, ficus, ferns and areca palm. Not only do they add to the aesthetics of your home, they also keep the temperature cooler by having a high transpiration rate and purifying toxins in the air.

So next time you reach out for the remote to switch on the AC, think of these simple hacks instead.

Indians working abroad in rich countries usually manage to save a neat stash and are always looking for stable investment options to park their savings. Nothing provides a safer and more lucrative investment instrument than the real estate market back home, more so since many of them have plans to return to their homeland at some stage. There are a multitude of factors that have been enthusing non-resident Indians (NRIs) to buy property in India, not the least the falling rupee, less red tape in systems and processes of property transactions, improving infrastructure in Tier-2 cities and a more positive economic outlook overall when compared to many developed countries post-pandemic.

There has been a pronounced spike in demand for properties in India among NRIs of late, more so in the 35-45 age bracket who feel this would yield best long-term returns for them. In fact, a raft of premium real estate projects are being launched across Indian metros banking largely on NRI interest. Market analysts predict that by this yearend, cumulative NRI investment in the Indian real estate market is set to touch a whopping $14 billion!!

So what are the pluses in favour of NRI investors?

Dwindling INR: The Indian rupee has been in free fall since 2018, plumbing hitherto unknown depths. NRIs earning in much stronger currencies like the US dollar, the pound sterling, the euro or the dirham, have all sensed a golden opportunity to leverage that currency conversion edge in the Indian realty market and make hay while the INR continues to plunge.

Home back home: While most NRIs would like to return to India to spend their superannuation, an increasing number of young professionals working abroad are investing in second homes back home for their annual or half-yearly visits when they need their own space. At the same time, the asset keeps appreciating, hence giving them the twin benefits of abode and secure income. This trend is fast catching up as the profile of NRI buyers of Indian homes is getting younger.

Attractive returns: As a pure investment option, a property in India is a very attractive proposition in itself, since prices continue to appreciate all the time. While properties in top metro cities were always in demand, there is a new trend nowadays among NRIs from smaller, Tier-2 cities to invest in their hometowns. This is largely due to the infrastructure upgrade in many of these smaller cities and towns, including roads and transportation, better internet services, formatted retail, etc. Also, since the pandemic struck, the inherent security and support of the undivided family system have suddenly become valuable again to many young professionals. Hence the need for bigger homes (also to enable work from home), often in the locality where they grew up…

Less red tape, more transparency: With increased digitization of records in most departments leading to better coordination, the process of buying a property in India has become much simpler and more streamlined for NRIs. RBI and SEBI have also formulated fresh guidelines supporting FDI in the sector. Furthermore, with the introduction of the RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) Act and other reforms, there is greater transparency in deals and more trust between buyer and seller. For NRI customers, this quality assurance and promise of redress in case of any irregularities, has created a much greater comfort level and ensured total peace of mind, thus buoying the NRI market share.

Plethora of options: With an abundance of stocks available not only in leading metros but also in Tier-2 cities, the NRI home-buyer now has a broad basket of real estate properties to choose from, across floor space and formats. The ready access to 3-D virtual tours of the properties has also made it easier for the NRI customer to browse and assess apartments in India sitting thousands of miles away, before making an informed choice. No wonder most real estate developers in India are now investing in a strong digital platform, which has become basic hygiene.