Here's look at some interesting websites that aid your search for a home from the comfortable confines of your couch.
Remember the tough time you had when you set out on that house hunting mission? The number of brokers you exchanged cards with? The number of friends you asked for advice, only to return home exasperated and obviously dejected?
It's time you got smart, sat in front of your computer and browsed through some of these interesting property websites that give you a whole lot of information without you stepping out of the confines of your comfortable abode.
Built around the concept of collective buying, Groffr.com keeps a tab on real estate projects, especially the ones that have huge demand and then approach the builder for a discount for those interested in online group purchase.
“Once people have expressed interest in a deal, we get in touch with them and arrange a group site visit where the property developer directly interacts with the buyers.
Collective wisdom comes from groups, it helps getting more conversions,“ points out Sandeep Reddy, co-founder of the website.
What adds to the buyer's comfort factor is that a lot of people like him or her are interested in buying a property in the project. And since it is all about group bookings, a better price is guaranteed.
The website also has an option of the `express interest button'.
“We also arrange for group visits to the site. At any given point in time our pricing will be less. If the going price is R20, the group deal will be around R110. The buyer gets the advantage of a pre-negotiated deal from us. We do only one project at any given location at any given point in time. Our role is limited to price negotiation and getting a group together and getting the best price. We will be tying up with CRISIL rating soon,“ Reddy says.
The website also has the option of `suggest a deal'.
Users are asked to suggest a project they have in mind or something that they wish to buy in any locality. If more people are interested in the same project, “We go ahead and do the price negotiation for them. That gives us a lead to approach a developer. It also helps the developer feel the pulse of the market and understand the price point at which a particular project will sell,“ he adds.
You can also log on to indiacube.com, which has its office in Gurgaon. Its business model is based on highvolumes and low-margins property dealing. The buyer and the seller directly get to list their properties on the website. The quality assurance department then verifies the details of the apartment being sold. “Pictures of actual rooms are posted on the website to help the buyer shortlist properties and then submit interest. Every seventh day the listings are removed. If the property is not yet sold, it has to be listed again. We have also tied up with home loan providers and legal assistants,“ points out Shashank Agrawal, direc tor, indiacube.com If it is a niche, upmarket and premium property that you are looking for, check out Saffronart.com “People are more discerning now. We're seeing a desire for finding unique and boutique properties,“ says Nish Bhutani, CEO, Saffronart. The group plans to come out with its new January-February catalogue soon. The properties that they are currently evaluating include heritage properties in Rajasthan, Kolkata and Cochin.
To address the problems of flat owners (looking for good tenants) and tenants (looking for suitable rental accommodation) eVisionz recently launched. That aims to connect corporate professionals across organisations to exchange information on property to-lets as well as renting in. The website targets corporate users across metro cities Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune.
“The idea to restrict the access to the corporate community is to make sure that any and every content available on the portal is accurate, validated, from a trusted source and meets the expectation of the visitors,“ says Ritu Sanghi, CEO, flatsonrent.com. “The purpose of visitors coming to online portals for property hunt is to save the commission charged by middlemen and their wrong doings but the purpose is defeated if there is no validation/control and visitors end up talking to property agents with no other choice left. This is where flats onrent.com is unique.
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