Prepayment Penalty is a nightmare that is suffered by the individual borrowers who take home loans for buying apartments. A prepayment loan generally means that all debts have to be paid before the due date. Prepayment penalty usually ranges between 1% or 5% on the total loan taken depending on the bank.

The NHB (National Housing Bank) sent out a notice to all the HFCs (Housing Finance Company) recently to levy any prepayment charges. This decision has been greatly applauded by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India). The ban is not only levied on the prepayment of the floating rate home loans but also the borrowers of the fixed rate home loan schemes

However, if you have taken a Prepayment Loan you just need to follow a few simple rules. Here’s a look at them

Rule #1 Negotiation With Your Bank

Before transferring your home loan, do let your bank know regarding why you have planned to pay your loan beforehand. If the EMI on your home loan is unaffordable to you or the interest rate is sky high, then the bank might grant you certain options like extension in tenure, partial repayment or a relaxation in the home loan EMI.

Rule #2 Switching to a Floating Rate Scheme From a Fixed rate Loan

Some of the borrowers let you choose a floating scheme of payment if you are finding a difficulty in paying your home loan. The floating loan scheme comes 1 or 2 percent cheaper than the fixed rate loan scheme.

Rule #3 Partial Prepayment

If the pre-play is taking a toll on your budget and the interest rate is too high for you to pay up; talking to the bank is always an option. The bank can allow you to make partial prepayments and lower the principal amount; they can also reduce the outstanding loan amount. Many banks have the option of a partial prepayment of the loan, which does not exceed 25% of the total loan amount.

Rule #4 Prepayment of the Home Loan from Your Source

In case you decide to go for a full loan prepayment or opt for a foreclosure with own funds, no penalty amount will be levied on you. These funds can be a maturity of bonuses from sale of assets and employment or life policies.

Home Loan is a major source of fund when you buy a property. The Home Loan EMI or the interest rate varies from one bank to another. Hence, it is very necessary to plan and choose an interest rate or an EMI or a home loan prepayment.

---

This article aims at collating and providing information for benefit of ApnaComplex customers and blog readers. While ApnaComplex has taken every care to ensure the information is accurate, we suggest to please use it only as a guidance for further discussion and action with help of relevant professionals.

---

Get your Society on ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners a lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trail as well so that you can try before you buy!

Having your own home is definitely a priority in life. One of the first impressions while buying a home is that it should be large and spacious and that can burn a hole in your wallet. You start compromising on your shopping, partying and other luxuries when you plan to buy a spacious apartment.

However, when you actually move in to your new place with all the furniture and other storage boxes, the house looks crammed up. Figuring out the right places to store all the old and unwanted items is definitely a challenge. Following are some useful tips on how to effectively make your house more spacious.

Placement of Furniture

The furniture needs to be in the perfect place to efficiently partition a room into two. For example, you can use a big wardrobe to separate a large room into two, which will offer more privacy. A kitchen platform is a nice way of dividing an entire kitchen into a cooking space and a separate dining space.

Storage Space

You can always reduce the storage area by keeping all the container boxes and seasonal items below the beds or underneath the furniture. Buy beds or tables which have drawers or storage spaces in them. You can use shelves and hooks behind the doors or wardrobes to hang your clothes.

Colors and Paints

Using pastel and light colors makes your room look bigger. For better illusion you can use colors like cream, yellow, icy blue and white. Dark colors absorb most of the lights and hence make the room look darker. You can paint your room with light vertical paints to give a high rise look.

Natural Light

Avoid placing big furniture in front of the windows; it blocks the natural light from entering the room. It is always advisable to install high rise windows at your such as French windows to give your room a more spacious look. Don’t clutter up your window sill if you have smaller windows.

Installing Adequate Mirrors in Your House

Placing a mirror in your apartment makes it look more spacious. A mirror reflects both artificial and natural light. Using cabinets, which have mirrors, can be used to store a lot of small stuff. You should keep the mirror at a place where light falls on the mirror.

Electronic Goods

Making use of electronic goods can clutter up your home space a lot. Take optimum care when you plan to place the TV or the LCD in some room. Laptops are more useful than that of personal computers.

Interior Décor

The walls should not be cluttered up with many photo frames and pictures. Using one or two pictures on the wall is a better option. Feng Shui or Vaastu Shaastra can be implemented in your place to bring in a good ambience to your apartment.

---

Get your Society on ApnaComplex – Today!
ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners a lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!

While setting up your house, remodeling the kitchen according to your need is an important factor. Eco-friendly updates to the kitchen are some of the best ways of reducing power and using the entire workspace. Transforming the kitchen into an eco-friendly one leverages the value of your apartment and also helps in conserving the environment. There can be a whole lot of aspects that can be kept in mind while upgrading your kitchen.

A kitchen can be easily made into an eco-friendly one by using many energy-saving equipments and appliances such as water-saving faucets, eco-friendly lighting and energy efficient windows.

Ventilation and Natural Light

You can save unnecessary wastage of electricity and save power by working closer to skylights and windows. By setting up your kitchen that way, you save a great amount of light. If your kitchen is not well ventilated and does not receive a good amount of light, then you should opt for LED or CFL bulbs. Installing an exhaust fan in the kitchen is very necessary; it fans out the entire bad odor in your kitchen and does not let the fumes stay. This in turn increases the amount of fresh air in the kitchen and removes any dampness. Using daylight controllers and energy efficient bulbs is a great way to save energy from being used.

Making use of Energy-Efficient Appliances

Energy consumption depends a lot on the appliances that are being used. Usually, new appliances always come with more efficient energy-saving technology than their previous counterparts. All modern electronic appliances use considerably very less amount of energy than the older equipments. All the Energy Star appliances use less energy and are more efficient to operate.

Cooking at a Time

Instead of cooking many times, try cooking once. Multitasking while cooking such as cutting vegetables can help you save a lot of fuel and time. Cutting of vegetables into small pieces increases the taste of the dish you are cooking and at the same time also cuts down the preparation time. The USP of cooking at a time is that you save a lot of fuel.

Choosing Cookware

Be choosy while buying your utensils; do not just go for the cheap ones as they increase you cooking time. Low quality utensils take time to heat up and hence consume huge amount of fuel or gas. Try not to use disposable products as they are made of low-quality cast iron, which affects your cooking process.

Adopting a Green Living

Keeping a separate dust bin for recyclable and non-recyclable wastes will help you do your bit for the environment too.

---

Get your Society on ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners a lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!

Republic Day is the perfect time for residents of a housing society to forget their differences and quarrels. After all, celebrating the unity and brotherhood of the country should encourage each of us to follow the same principles. Most housing societies have at least a flag hoisting event on Republic Day. Others have more elaborate functions. What your society chooses to do would depend on the budget – and more importantly on the level of enthusiasm among residents.

What You Can Organize on Republic Day

(i) Flag Hoisting: No Republic Day function is complete without the flag hoisting ceremony. The flag hoisting is normally held early in the morning. A senior citizen of the housing complex could be asked to hoist the flag. Organize a choir to sing patriotic songs and end with the national anthem.

(ii) Sports Meet: A sports meet is a good way to get better participation. Most children are eager to sign up and you can be sure that parents will come to encourage and cheer their kids. A couple of contests can also be organized for adults.  A prize distribution ceremony at the end will wrap up the function perfectly.

(iii) Honoring Heroes: Republic Day is also an occasion where heroes are honored. It is a good idea to have a small ceremony to honor those people in your housing society who have contributed time and effort for good causes. This need not be restricted to just society activities. Residents of the housing society who have worked for upliftment and empowerment of the disadvantaged in society can be given a small token of appreciation.

(iv) Fancy Dress Competition: Fancy dress competitions are regularly organized in housing societies as part of the Republic Day celebrations. You can make the competition a little more interesting by introducing a theme – for example, children can be asked to dress up as national leaders involved in our freedom struggle. Other competitions like singing competition, dance competition or coloring competitions revolving around the theme of patriotism can be organized.

(v) Residents Meet: Republic Day is also a time when residents get a chance to network and socialize with their neighbors. A residents’ meet organized on this day will ensure good participation since almost everybody takes a day off work on Republic Day. The Residents Meet can also be used to discuss and thrash out petty problems and troubles between various individuals or groups.

(vi) Cultural Programs: A cultural program in the evening is normally organized in most housing societies. Aspects of life from various regions and parts of India can be showcased during this program. This will help residents of the housing complex to understand each other’s lifestyle and will encourage brotherhood.

The country celebrates Republic Day in order to bring about a sense of identity, patriotism and unity among people. After all, a country can grow only if people have pride in themselves and their country.  The same holds true for a housing society, and a grand Republic Day celebration is a good way to encourage harmony among residents.

---

Get your Society on ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners a lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!

Moving in can be an overwhelming experience. It is difficult to keep a track of everything even if you take time for organizing and packing things. Hence, it is always a good idea to make a checklist that will help you reduce stress and also keep a track of loose ends. Here’s a checklist that can be used while moving in to a new place.

Things to Do at Least 6 Weeks before Moving

• Make a checklist or maintain a notebook to keep track of all the moving information at a single place.
• Plan on whether you plan on hiring a moving company or you want to move out on your own.
• If you plan on hiring a moving company, then do a well planned research on which company you plan to hire.
• If you plan on moving to a place, which is far off from the current place you are staying in, cross check whether you need any special considerations such as arranging for auto shipping.
• Make an appropriate estimate of the costs you think you would incur.
• Run a check on the lease agreement for the current apartment and get an idea of how much you would have to pay to move out.
• You have to find out if there are any formalities before moving in to the new place.
• Set up a meeting with an insurance agent and get your renter’s insurance figured out for your new apartment. Make sure you cancel all your current policies when you plan to move out.
• Prepare a list of all the people who need to be intimated and contacted before you move out. The list should ideally include doctors, creditors, friends, former employees and schools.
• Start moving smaller items into boxes.
• Give a notice to the owner of the current apartment.

Things to do 4-5 Weeks before You Move

• Make a list of all the valuable items that need special care while moving.
• Donate away items that are not needed.
• Finish off all the detergent and frozen food items before moving out.
• Transfer all your newspaper and magazine subscriptions.
• Inform your employer that you would want to take a day off for moving into a new apartment.
• If you are moving to a different state, make sure that you get your car tags and driving license updated.
• Close all the accounts that are not to be moved such as checking, savings, P.O. Boxes, safe deposit boxes, etc.

Things to do 2 to 3 Weeks before You Move

• Return any library items or other material that you have bought on rent.
• Make a meal chart that helps you make use of all the food items that is stored in your refrigerator.

The Final Week

• Confirm your meeting with cable or other Internet services.
• Confirm moving out details with the movers company that you have hired.
• Pack all the essentials that you would need immediately after moving in to the new apartment.
• A final apartment check is needed to make sure you have not left out anything.

---

Get your Society on ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners a lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!

ApnaComplex organized the Oota from Thota event on Sunday, 8th Jan, 2012 at Electronic City, Bangalore and here is the participants perspective of the event.

There was a sizable crowd of green enthusiasts with personal passions of greenery, gardening, no-plastic, organic farming and community well-being, bonding together through a common thread on this platform. Delighted to see participants coming from far distances such as Hanumant Nagar to attend the event and that’s true passion!

The pace got set with a talk from Dr.Viswanath of Garden City Farmers Trust – who presented some hard facts on the kind of food that we eat today. The dangers of consuming pesticides-ridden food taking their toll over a period of time was emphasized to create awareness. Though the speech was an eye-opener, all hope was not lost yet. Be it a terrace or a balcony, Dr. Viswanath & Laxminarayanan, also from Garden City Farmers Trust, showed the basic steps of planning for a garden, soil, grafting, seeds, seasonal plants etc. Pictures and success stories were shared on how even amateurs grew their own vegetables like capsicum and brinjal and fruits like the papaya and grapes in as little as 2ft by 2ft by 2ft space.

Following this, was another inspiring session from the Ms.Vani Murthy, another go-green expert who gave an actual demo of the materials that can be segregated in our day-to-day rubbish from our homes. Simple things like dry leaves, vegetable peels that can be separated out and mixed with soil and shredded newspapers to create nutrient-filled compost for plants. The difference between recyclable and reusable materials was also spelt out for the rapt audience.

The way the questions and queries from the audience till the very end were answered reflected the passion of the speakers.

Finally there were the packed stalls relevant to the theme of the day. Kids and their family thronged to the tasty organic chaat and snacks stall put by In the Pink. Then there was the unique and surprising flavours of homemade jam from Nature in a Bottle that teased your taste buds – you couldn’t resist taking home a bottle or two. For those looking to start their own kitchen garden, they were spoilt for choice of the garden tools and instruments, and exotic seeds by Varsha Enterprises. There was on display and sale, a variety of very informative and cost effective composting products and solutions from “Daily Dump” right from offices to homes to communities. Also present was Opron Biotech providing digital diagnostic equipment such as Thermometers, Blood Pressure Devices.

All-in-all a very satisfying and different way to spend a Sunday – one small step for the conscientious citizen. Heartening to see the pockets of change and hoping that this cascades into the right direction for Bangalore and rest of the world.

The event was supported by Garden City Farmers Trust, Celebrity Paradise Layout and Citizen Matters along with ApnaComplex.

---

Get your Society on ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners a lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!

New Year Eve is a time for revelry and merry making. But it does make sense for your housing society to take a few basic precautions to ensure that the celebrations do not go out of hand. Problems caused by excessive alcohol intake, too much of loud music, the nuisance of fire crackers and a lack of security due to revelers coming into your residential complex are some of the basic issues that most housing societies face during New Year’s eve.

Most of these problems can be avoided with a bit of advance planning. Regulations should be issued well in advance and circulated around the housing society. Here are a few steps that can help ensure that New Year celebrations do not go out of control.

Steps for a Fun but Safe New Year’s Eve

(i) Get everybody on board as far as your “Safe New Year” campaign is concerned. There is no point in the housing society management issuing guidelines arbitrarily. Call a meeting and seek everybody’s co-operation. Discuss the troubles that normally arise and ask for suggestions to deal with it. Getting everybody involved will lead to greater success.

(ii) While you cannot enforce the number of guests each resident can invite, you can definitely keep track of which apartment each visitor to the complex is entering. Issue gate passes to your residents. They can pass these on to their invited guests. The guests will be allowed into the housing society only if they have their gate passes. This will eliminate the possibility of troublemakers entering your complex

(iii) Keep a time limit as far as playing of loud music and bursting of fire crackers is concerned. While there are definitely going to be fireworks at midnight, request residents to avoid the noisy ones. Also ensure that fire extinguishers are in place and in working condition to avoid mishaps.

(iv) Arrange for some kind of medical back up. Accidents and binging on alcohol can raise medical emergencies during New Year’s eve. It makes sense to keep a doctor on call to deal with any emergency situation that may arise.

(v) Residents normally like to light up their homes with decorative lights on New Year’s eve. This can cause power to trip. Ensure that an electrician appointed by the housing society checks all the connections in the apartments to ensure that there is no danger of short circuits.

(vi) Ask your residents to take responsibility for any guests who may have drunk too much. The host should see that the drunken guest does not get behind the wheel of the car. Excessive drinking can lead to loutish behavior and residents should be held responsible for the behavior of their guests.

(vii) Make a list of dos and don’ts well before New Year’s eve and circulate it among your guests. Put up notices in all public areas so that even the guests who arrive are aware of the regulations.

With a few basic precautions, it is possible to have a fun and safe New Year celebration. So go ahead and enjoy!

---

Get your Society on ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners a lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!

New Year’s eve provides a wonderful occasion for apartment complex residents to throw a party where people can get together and welcome a new beginning. To usher the new year in style, the party needs to be properly planned.

A New Year party is always a unique and fun experience as there’s a widely prevalent sense of expectation around. This is because every single person in the room looks forward to what the New Year’s got to offer, so a well planned party can provide the perfect stimulus to kick-start the year in a joyous mood.

Party Planning Tips for the New Year

A well organized party depends more on what is done before the party than during it. Here are certain tips that could help you in being well prepared while throwing an awesome new year’s party.

Come Up With Invites

You need to be sure of who are the invitees for your party. After making a list of the guests you need to send them invites in the form of mails or E-invites. Word of mouth may not be the preferred mode of inviting.

Fix the Menu

You need to plan the menu for the party in advance. Also, you have to decide if you are going to serve alcohol during the night. Many apartment complex parties do feature alcohol, although the residents are instructred to go easy on the same.

A little bit of alcohol can help in keeping the proceedings fun and your friends tipsy, so moderation is key here. Make sure that you arrange for both vegetarian and non vegetarian food in order to cater to both sections of people in your apartment complex.

It also makes sense to place the vegetarian dishes in one end at a separate table and the non vegetarian dishes at the other end, with labels  for the same. It is best to buy your provisions in advance by 2 or 3 days. Stock up on your beverages, snacks and other non perishable items that are part of your mini menu for the night of the party.

Amp Up the Music

Since your party is going to be a long one it is nice to have music playing to keep your guests in celebration mood. You could prepare your playlists well in advance so that you might not have to do it on the night of the party.

It is very important to ensure that there is not a single dull moment in your party. You can involve your guests in playing party games. Kids could have their own games like guessing others’ resolutions or word games with “Happy New Year” while adults can engage themselves in charades or bench games like move off my bench.

Be sure to plan something special when the clock strikes twelve. This could be as simple as ballons with confetti bursting over the party floor or a special performance to mark the start of a new year. Most importantly, do remember to have your share of fun at the party as well.

---

Get your Society on ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners a lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!

As the year end comes , we just recieved great testimonial from Mr. Ganesh Raja, treasurer of Ittina Abby, a 200+ unit society in Bangalore who have been using ApnaComplex for past 6 months now. Below is the testimonial:

Gone are the days of Maintaining Excel sheets and reconciling the same for Expenses made … Gone are the Days of having a home grown solution that crashes or have sleepless nights thinking about a Hard Disk crashes… ApnaComplex has really revolutionized facility maintenance all the way from collecting Maintenance to spending it. We at ITTINA ABBY are so happy and yesterday also a resident was saying how easy it is to use it and they never have to come to the Treasurer’s office for anything.

Great Team who is always ready to hear our problems and offer a solution even if it means more work for them. Always there to correct mistakes made by our Facility Manager, Support is so important for a System like this and the Team at Apnacomplex have understood that very well.

Kudos to the team and hope to see them enhance this more as we roll into 2012. — Ganesh, Treasurer ITTINA ABBY LBS Nagar Vimanapura PO”

Thank you Mr. Ganesh for your kind words!! We are so happy to receive these words from you!

---

Want to ease your (or your treasurer’s) burden? – Get on to ApnaComplex – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most comprehensive web based housing society accounting, management and communication software. It is designed to make the life of residents and owners way lot better by bringing in more transparency and accountability in managing a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 30-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!