Bye Laws are the constitution of a Housing Society (Refer: old post on bye laws). Every registered housing soiciety have bye-laws that contain the governing principles of that society. Every society has the right to amend these bye-laws from time-to-time to ensure the governance and administration is more efficient.

However, in almost all societies its a night-mare to find the list of all amendments done to the bye laws at one place. These amendments are typically scattered over in multiple mails, minutes of meetings, some presentations or word documents – making it almost impossible to keep track of how the bye-laws evolved over a period.

Not anymore! In yet another first, with the launch of new Bye Laws module in ApnaComplex, members can read the bye laws and all the amendments at a single place. No more searching for documents in the repository – the content of bye laws and amendments can be accessed right from the menu bar by members.

Administrators can update the bye laws and also add/update/delete amendments and capture details such as date of amendments, date of meeting in which amendment was approved, who proposed it and who seconded it.

ApnaComplex makes information instantly accessible when you actually need it!

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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!

Flying fishes crossed with menacing black bats. Giant butterflies raced with Winnie the Pooh. Spiderman playfully chased eagles in the sky. It was a bright sunny morning on the 12th of February – a clear indication to Bangaloreans of the receding winter and the descent of the colourful spring time. Welcome to Galipata Time! – A morning with kite flying & traditional games.

The day started with enthusiastic children with their parents in tow, crowding around the stall of colourful kites, picking and choosing their favourite ones ranging from the traditional paper-based ones, shiny silver ones to the more sturdy plastic theme-based ones. After a little bit of trial and error, the “kiters” quickly got into the groove. And soon the cheerful, colorful forms dotted the sky.

After a few hours of pure fun in the sun, it was time to sit in the shade and play the traditional, indoor, games from long ago. While elders got nostalgic and smiled at fond memories, children looked at then with fresh eyes and thoroughly enjoyed playing games from Kavade (A Niche Toy Hive) – like Pachchisi, Pallanguzhi, Navakankari, Chaukabara etc. In no time, they got deeply involved and interested – trying to master the nuances and “levels” of the games, they had only so far, heard about from their grandparents. It just went to show that though times change, it just cannot wipe out the charm of golden oldies!

Finally where there are children around, can food be far behind? There were food stalls like The Green Pantry (We Think Green & Use Brown!)icecream, corn, etc to keep the spirits high. At the end of the day, everyone who walked out had a kite or more in one hand, a game in the other and a smile on their face! May more such events happen!

The event was organized by Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Citizen Matters. ApnaComplex sponsored the the traditional games for all the children.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

In a first for any Housing Society Software – ApnaComplex launches a new module – Bio-metric Attendance Tracking* to track attendance of apartment and layout maintenance staff using a bio-metric finger print scanner.  The module is tightly integrated with the Staff Management Module providing an integrated, comprehensive view of all staff details inside the portal. Following are highlights of  this new module:

• Track attendance of maintenance staff through finger print reader
• View Attendance Reports of Maintenance Staff on daily basis, monthly basis etc.
• Get to know the amount of time spent outside of the complex
• Enables Society to easily calculate the payroll based on the attendance
• Manually over-ride the attendance records as per need
• Ability to manually insert attendance records to handle missed swiping cases
• Ability to handle multiple devices installed in a location

*This is an optional  module and is enabled only with hardware purchase.
Reach out to us to get specifications of the hardware and quote.

With the steadily growing instances of power cuts in the country, a housing society should essentially have power backup plans for its residents to live their lives unhindered. Power cuts can be a major hindrance when you’ve planned your day out, and staying in a housing society that has poorly developed power backup options can be frustrating.Thanks to growing technology, the options for countering power cuts are many and the housing society management can choose from different backup options. Residents can opt for smaller backup options for personal use as well.

For common use, the housing society management can install diesel generators, as many such backup options are provided in prominent complexes. You can opt for regular generators, in case the backup in your housing society is not proper.

Choosing a Suitable Backup Plan

You can choose your power backup option based on the area you live in, the weather in the region, and the kind of appliances you use.

The most efficient power back up plan is the fixed generator through which your AC loads, electrical appliances and essential lights can work. Depending on the size of your flat in the housing society, you can choose a generator.

A 5000 watt generator would be ideal for a three bedroom apartment, and a diesel generator can be a cheaper option as the fuel cost is less. Even solar generators have come out in the markets, and these run only on solar energy, which is renewable and nonpolluting.

If you’re looking for temporary options, you can use inverters through which bare essentials like the refrigerator, electrical fans and a few lights can be run.

Choosing a Price Range

A generator is most expensive of the lot and the price varies depending on the amount of energy it can hold. The range of an ideal generator is Rs 30,000 upwards.

For the people with lighter pockets, an inverter will be most suitable as it costs one tenth the price of a generator. An inverter runs on a rechargeable battery, so you can cut back on fuel costs.

Installing a Power Backup

While installing a generator or an inverter, care should be taken connect the main electrical appliances and lighting. Depending on the climate in your region, your appliance should be fixed. This is because if the climate is cold, care should be taken to prevent the internal pipes from freezing.

If the climate is hot, necessary covers or shutters should be made for the appliance to prevent it from overheating. Always choose a user friendly engine which is easy to use because you’ll have to manually switch on your generator or inverter. You should learn as much as you can about the appliance and fixing smoke alarms is another must.

Power Backup Maintenance

A generator is a high maintenance machine as it needs regular servicing and sufficient amount of fuel that should be added at all times. The installation costs for a generator can be very steep.

An inverter has lower maintenance and since it works on a battery, the terminals need to be oiled regularly. Both appliances should be run during regular intervals. If they are being used for a long period of time, you should schedule sufficient breaks in between to prevent them from overheating and exploding.

When you choose your power backup, make your choice based on your essentials and necessities. Try and take an eco conscious approach as solar power options can be helpful in the long run.

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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!

Thanks to Mr. Srinivas A, one of ApnaComplex well-wishers, we learnt about Bangalore Graduates Constituency Election to be held sometime around May 2012. Here is gist of what we gathered in Q&A format.

Q: So, why are we talking about an 2012 election NOW?
A: Simple – the voter registrations for this election will be closed by November 5th 2011.  Hence the urgency.

Q: So what? I am already enrolled as a voter, have a voters card and have even voted earlier for our assembly elections.
A: No. The regular voters card will NOT be valid for voting in Graduates Constituency Election. You need to follow a separate enrollment process.

Q: Really? How is this “Graduates Constituency Election” different from other elections?
A: For a “Graduates Constiutency Election”, only a subset of pouplation are eligible to vote. Only Residents of the constituency who hold a college degree from any recognised University in India, which they received at least three years ago are eligible to vote. Basically, this is an exclusive opportunity for educated population to make a difference by electing deserving people to our legislature.

Q: Ok, you got me interested. What should I do to register myself to be able to vote in 2012 elections?
A: Follow the three simple steps below:
1. Download Form-18, print it and fill it.
2. Make a copy of your degree certificate AND address proof  (such as Ration Card, regular Voter ID card,  passport, driver’s license, electricity bill etc.)  and self-attest them.
3.  Go to your nearest BBMP office and submit these documents (take along the original degree certificate to be validated by BBMP staff).

Do note, you can submit the documents of all your family members as well.

Here is more detailed FAQ.

We would encourage ALL graudates in Bangalore to register themselves to be able to vote when the elections happen. Since the time is short, we encourage all resident welfare assocaitions to run campaigns in your complex/layout. As a part of your campaign, if you need any help with respect to having the form-18 available etc. do drop a comment below and we would be glad to co-ordinate.

You can download the Register to Vote Poster, print the same and post the same in your society’s noticeboard. Please ensure you add a volunteer’s name from your society after printing.

With Diwali around the corner, safety measures in a housing society must be taken against all possible threats to ensure that there are no mishaps of any kind.

Fire safety in a housing society is especially of prime importance, and fire exits must be provided in all buildings and this is mandatory.

Housing Society Fire Escapes

A fire escape is an emergency exit usually located outside a building but always as a separate entity from the main building. As the name specifies, it provides an escape route in case a fire breaks out within the housing society building or any other emergency surfaces, when the main exit is cut out of access.

Fire escapes have many levels, and they have horizontal platforms on each level (floor) that are connected to each other through ladders or stairs. These escapes are made of steel to keep leaves or snow from settling on them. They are generally made from fire resistant materials and extend from windows at every level.

The access from the inside portion of the housing society building to the fire escape is usually through a fire exit, but in certain buildings, the only access might be through the windows.

Fire escape doors are normally fitted with fire alarms in a housing society in order to prevent unauthorized people from gaining access and in order to prevent people from using the route for other purposes.

Installing and Maintaining Fire Escapes

• If you find out that your housing society building does not have fire escapes, you can take up this issue during a resident meeting and ensure that the management committee gets them installed.
• Every floor must have fire escapes as an alternative to staircases and lifts as these can’t be used during the time of fire.
• The maintenance team should ensure that no objects are kept in front of the fire escape, in order to ensure that the exit route is not blocked.
• The exit routes must be cleaned and maintained regularly by the maintenance team so that there are no problems during an emergency. This should be done on a monthly basis.
• While installing the fire exits or escapes, care should be taken and quality infrastructure should be installed as this is a serious investment.
• The ladders can be of chain or web type. Railings should be provided along the ladders and the fire escapes in order to prevent any falls.
• The ladder from the first level of the fire escape to the ground floor can be fixed. A better idea would be to opt for a ladder that swings down along a flexible joint or slides down.
• Movable fire escape ladders are preferred in order to dissuade burglars from entering the buildings through such fire escapes.

With your personal safety and the safety of your family in mind, ensure that you bring up the concept of fire safety during resident meetings so that fire escapes are installed. While moving into a housing society, ensure that the buildings have proper fire safety measures in place.

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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!