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Archive for December, 2009

Safety and Precautions for Celebrating Christmas or New Year Party

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Christmas is time for merry making, get-together of family or friends, it is time for enjoyment. The Christmas or New Year celebrations continue throughout the week making the entire country glitter in lights and magic. Christmas and New Year celebration can be such fun with office parties, festive lights, decorations and shopping for presents. Believe it or not, people get crazy around Christmas or New Year’s Eve. In the midst of wild partying, people could do stupid things, things they wouldn’t do normally. Following are safety tips and precautions that nothing bad happens in Christmas or New Year’s party.

Safety Tips for Celebrating Christmas and New Year Party

When you host party in you’re your apartment, office or at residence of your friends or family, safety is first and important thing in your party. When hosting a Christmas or New Year’s party, ensure you have taken enough safety or precaution steps. Some of the safety tips you can follow for hosting your Christmas or New Year party are following.

Review party plan: As a Parents you may often worried about your teens or children hosting or attending party at night. You cannot always accompany or go with your children when they want to enjoy the party with friends or colleagues. For their safety you can review party plan. Before they set out for the night, ensure they let you know where they are going and when they left from party.

Drinks or liquor in party: The incidence of drink driving and road accidents is increasing among the students and younger professional drivers. Car owners who attend dinners / parties tend to get drunk, indulge in rash driving and are unable to control the vehicle and meet with accidents. By using alcohol in a responsible way you can reduce your chances of accidents or developing a drinking problem. Drink driving and road accidents among women also increased. Always set a limit on how many drinks you are going to have when you drink, and stick to it. Plan to do something at the party besides drinking alcohol, like dancing, socializing, or grabbing a bite to eat. When you hosting a party in your apartment or residence, if anyone has had too much to drink, see that they get a ride home with someone sober, or find them a place to sleep. There is no rule that you have to serve alcohol at your Christmas or New Year party. If you do not want to serve alcohol in party, host a meal for your guests at a restaurant or hotel, people will drink less at a luncheon rather than a dinner.

Safety in using candle for party: Candles gives fresh look for your party and suits your room decoration. This can be risky if not handled safely. Place candles away from the Christmas tree and any other live wreaths or roping displayed in your home. Keep them away from all fabrics, especially curtains, and high enough so pets cannot knock them down. Many people leave scented candles lit after parties. Ensure that burning candles are placed in safe place and they are out of reach of children. All smoke detectors and carbon dioxide detectors should be checked to make sure they are in working order.

Keep a fire extinguisher handy: Anytime there will open flames around your party, you should keep a fire extinguisher handy. First you need to keep the area clear of items that could quickly flame up if a spark flies. Keep a fire extinguisher close to each area that may be at risk for the flame spreading to table linens, centerpieces, presents, etc. Whether it’s a large candle centerpiece, a charcoal grill on your patio, or a buffet table with an open flame for heating or cooking food, any of these pose a potential fire hazard. Ensure that your home, apartment or place where you host Christmas or New Year party has fire escape plan.

Medical facilities: Make sure you have emergency medical aid and review arrangements to ensure the safety and security of the attendees or those who attending your Christmas or New Year party. If you are hosting a party where large number of friends and relatives gather, you can arrange a team of medical experts providing treatment, advice and assistance to party revelers.

Christmas or New Year party should be about fun. Be sensible when checking any electricity plugs, bulbs and or fuses. If you are hanging lights or decorations outside try to do so in the daylight. Set a limit on how many drinks you are going to have when you drink, and stick to it. Teens or woman who drinks alcohol is more likely to be sexually assaulted. Never travel alone on New Year eve or after party. Go to a party with your friends and always leave together. If someone you just met wants to walk you home, thank him/her for the offer, but leave with the group you came with. Taking these precautions will give you peace of mind and allow you to concentrate on the joy of Christmas or New Year party. Christmas or New Year is time for happy, giving presents and merry making. Enjoy your Christmas and New Year party with friends and relatives, be safe and ensure that your famil, friends and relatives are safe in party.

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Posted in Festivals, Safety Tips | 1 Comment »

Legal Permissions for Late Night New Year Celebrations

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Almost every country is in a festive mood with Christmas and New Year just round the corner. There are events almost on all days between Christmas and New Year that keep the people enthralled and in the mood. The celebrations continue throughout the week making the entire country glitter in lights and magic. People from India love to socialize. They meet in large gatherings. Loud music and party are common in the New Year eve. Nobody wants to celebrate their New Year stuck in traffic. You can organize or host New Year party in your apartment. For conducting party or get-together at your residence, you don’t require a premises or performance license. However, if you intend to use a loudspeaker, you need permission.

Important License and Permission required

For organizing a New Year party in your apartment, you need permission from concerned officials and department in your state or in neighborhood. Following are some of important permission required for organizing a party.

Permission for your loudspeaker: According to the Noise Pollution (Regulations and Control) Rules 2000, a loudspeaker or a public address system shall not be used at night between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. But New Year is special case where concerned authority allows you to play music or use loudspeaker for your New Year party. For conducting pooja / birthday party / family get-together or religious ceremony at your residence, you don’t require a premises or performance license. However, if you intend to use a loudspeaker, you will have to make an application to the concerned Police station. The authorities do not permit loudspeaker in silence zone. Silence Zone is an area comprising not less than 100 meters around hospitals, educational institutions, courts, religious places or any other area which is declared as such by the competent authority.

License for serving liquor in parties: A consumer is allowed to keep 18 liters of IMFL/Beer (in any proportion) at his residence at a time for bonafide consumption by him and family members/guests. For higher possession, he can apply to the Department for a permit for which a fee of Rs. 2000/- is charged. For serving liquor in the party, association or club has to get special or temporary excise license. Temporary Excise License is issued for parties hosted by individual (L49A) and Licensed Hotel, Club, Restaurant inside their premises (L20).

Parking Space: Lack of parking space is one of the problems facing in developing cities. Police and concerned authorities limit the parking or restrict the entry of certain vehicles on New Year eve. If you are planning to organize or host a New Year party in your apartment and planning to invite your friends, relatives or colleagues, ensure that your apartment provides parking space for their vehicle.

No Objection Certificate: For organizing or hosting a New Year party you need to get No Objection Certificate (NOC). If you are organizing party in your apartment, you need to get NOC from your landlord or neighbors in your apartment and from apartment owners association. If apartment owners association is conducting or hosting the New Year party, they will have to get NOC from its members and residents in apartment.

Other NOC required for your organizing or hosting New Year party are

NOC from property manager or Apartment Owners Association
NOC from concerned Police station,
NOC from Fire Brigade,
NOC from Electrical Inspector,
NOC from Health Department of BMC (if eatables are being served)

Safety and security: If your event management has been outsourced to an external co-coordinator, ask for, and review their risk assessment plan. Make sure you have emergency medical aid and review arrangements to ensure the safety and security of the attendees. Taking a personal interest in the arrangements even if you have outsourced them will ensure that everything gets your personal attention. In the party serving liquor, woman and girls safety should be given higher priority. Teens and college girls should never travel alone on New Year eve.

The preparation should start well in advance, if one is to avoid last minute crunches and party-fright. The best way to save time and effort is to plan a menu that is no fuss, healthy and tasty-something that the guests enjoy eating. Get NOC from concerned authority and ensure the safety and security of the attendees. Enjoy this New Year but remember not to disturb your neighbors or people in neighborhood.

Useful links to Refer:

punekar.in/site/2009/12/16/no-parties-in-open-spaces-this-year/
www.wikihow.com/Host-a-Proper-Indian-Party
excise.delhigovt.nic.in/l20.asp
www.noisebusterz.com/How%20can%20you%20help.html
www.dnaindia.com/opinion/report_no-noise-is-good-noise_2381
www.mumbaipolice.org/cap/services7.htm
www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu

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Tags: hosting a new year party, license for liquor, new year party, No objection certificate, organizing a party, party in apartment, Party tips, permission for loudspeaker, safety and security, tips for christmas or new year party
Posted in Festivals | No Comments »

National Building Code for Residential Apartments in India

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

National Building code is a document containing standardized requirement for the design & construction of most types of building in the country. Although codes may sometimes seem fussy, they are the result of years of experience and testing. Building codes exist to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare. National Building Codes (NBC) regulate building construction & building use in order to protect the health, safety & welfare of the occupant. You must always take the correct precautionary measures to assure the safety of your family members.

National Building Code

National Building code is a document containing standardized requirement for the design & construction of most types of building in the country. The Code was first published in 1970 at the instance of Planning Commission and then revised in 1983. Thereafter three major amendments were issued, two in 1987 and the third in 1997. Considering a series of further developments in the field of building construction including the lessons learnt in the aftermath of number of natural calamities. As a culmination of the Project, the revised NBC has now been brought out as National Building Code of India 2005 (NBC 2005). The NBC 2005, formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards, spells out new regulations for adoption by infrastructure departments, municipal administrators, public bodies and private agencies. It contains mainly administrative regulations, development control rules and general building requirements, fire safety requirements, stipulations on use of materials, structural design and construction and building and plumbing services.

General Building Requirements

The National Building Code (NBC) is now a national instrument that will guide the regulations for construction activity. It contains all the important aspects relevant for safe and orderly building development. The building that does not satisfy building code or violation of National building code will lead to penalty, cancellation of sanction or demolition of the building.

Lift shall be provided in all building: In case of Building having height more than 13.0 Mts. lift shall be provided. Lift shall be provided from ground floor and shall have minimum capacity of six persons. On the basis of detailed calculations based on the relevant provisions of National Building Code the number of lifts can be varied.

Fire Safety or Fire Protection: In the case of apartment buildings exceeding three storeys above ground level, a certificate of approval from the Director of Fire Force or an officer authorized by him shall be obtained before issue of the building permit. All other requirements in respect of fire protection shall conform to part IV, Fire Protection National Building Code of India. Every floor of a flat, apartment or residential accommodation exceeding 150 sq. meters of floor area with a capacity for accommodating more than 20 persons shall have at least 2 door ways as remote as practicable from each other. At least one stair-case shall be provided as a fire staircase as defined in the National Building Code. This shall not be applicable if any two sides of a staircase are kept totally open to external open air space. The detailed plan showing the arrangement of pipe lines, booster pumps and water-tanks at various levels shall be submitted for approval of the concerned authority along with the plans and sections of the buildings. Every building having a height of more than 25 Mts. shall be provided with diesel generators which can be utilized in case of failure of the electricity.

Foundation & Structural design: All materials and workmanship shall be of good quality conforming generally to accepted standards of Bureau of Indian Standard specification & codes as included in National Building Code of India. All materials and workmanship shall be of good quality conforming generally to accepted standards of Bureau of Indian Standard specification & codes as included in National Building Code of India. No building or part of a building shall be constructed or reconstructed or no addition or alteration shall be made to any existing building in the intervening spaces between the building and any overhead electric supply line. The height of the handrail in the staircase shall not be less than 90 cms and if balusters are provided, no gap in the balusters shall be more than 10 cms wide. Every slab or balcony overlooking any exterior or interior open space which are 2 meters or more below shall be provided with parapet walls or guard rails of height not less than 1.20 meters and such guard rails shall be firmly fixed to the walls.

Plumbing Services: A plumbing or sanitation code is a set of rules and regulations imposed by cities or counties. Anyone doing work on drinking water and sewer or toilet facilities systems are responsible to make the work in a specific, safe manner to avoid accidents and spread of disease. Water conservation and the health aspects of plumbing have become important in the construction sector now. The National Building Code offers only guidelines for construction. Plumbing has to be attuned to the general design of the building. Many technical aspects such as water pressure, venting and concepts of wet and dry areas in toilets have to be looked into in any structure. Recently, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) developed a Plumbing Code for India. The Indian Plumbing Association (IPA), country’s apex body of plumbing professionals, has launched ‘Uniform Plumbing Code’ (UPC).The World Plumbing Council’s uniform plumbing code was mended as per Indian needs and created the code for India.

Lightning Protection: Locations, surrounded partially or fully by unbroken metallic surfaces or nets do not allow lightning to penetrate to the interior and hence a person is safe inside. Lightning prefers to strike the tallest of all objects in the location of strike. Also it prefers metal objects. The larger the metal more is the preference. Avoid using metallic pipes to fix lamps on terrace of buildings. Also for drying clothes on the terrace, iron poles with metallic or plastic wires are used. The Lightning Conductor which is also known as Lightning Rod or Air Terminal is one of the best known forms of shielding device and has been in use in protecting buildings and facilities where protection is mandatory. The protective value of Inside buildings is better when at least some unbroken vertical metallic conductors exist, such as rain gutters with down-pipes, water mains, rails for elevators, vertical metal strips, steel braces or reinforcement, electrical installations and wires, etc. Electrical and electronic equipments can be protected to a considerable extent from damage by installing a Lightning Arrestor.

Building Services: The planning, design and installation of electrical installations, air-conditioning and heating work shall be carried out in accordance with part VIII Building Service Section 2 – Electrical installations, Section 3 Air conditioning and Heating of National Building Code of India. The planning, design including the number of lifts, type of lifts, capacity of lifts, depending on occupancy of building, population on each floor and height of building.

Other Building Requirements

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As a property owner you can choose your designs, products or building methods, as long as your building consent application demonstrates that your proposal meets National Building Code requirements. National Building Code regulates building construction & building use in order to protect the health, safety & welfare of the occupant. In order to learn which codes are being used and how they will affect you and your construction project, contact your local building inspection department, developers and concerned Authorities. Other building requirements are as follows.

Every room that intended for human habitation shall abut on an interior or exterior open space or to a verandah open to such interior or exterior open space.

Every interior, exterior or air space, unless the later is a street, shall be maintained for the benefit of such building exclusively and shall be entirely within the owner’s own premises.

Every person who intends to erect, re-erect or make alternation in any place in a building or demolish any building shall give notice in writing to the concerned Authority of his intention in the prescribed form and such notice shall be accompanied by plans and statements in sufficient copies.

No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Fire Service, Pollution Control Board, Electrical safety department, Water Supply and Sewage Department and other concerned department.

No land shall be used as a site for the construction of building if the Competent Authority considers that the site is unsanitary or that it is dangerous to construct a building on it.

Building should be safe for occupant and it is important to inspect when your site is getting marked for dimensions. Inspect construction after every two feet progress.

The building will be inspected by concern authorities and you will get completion certificate for your apartment or building. Issuing of Completion Certificate will ensure that the owner has constructed the building as per approved plan. Without the occupancy certificate, it is difficult to get the electricity, water and sanitary connection. The NBC 2005, formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards, spells out new regulations for adoption by infrastructure departments, municipal administrators, public bodies and private agencies.

Rain water harvesting system and solar water heater are mandatory for newly constructed building in some states. National Building Code will soon be updated with energy saving methods in construction methods. In order to learn which codes are being used and how they will affect you, contact developers and concerned Authorities in your locality for construction of building or apartment. Deviation from approved plan or violation of National Building Code (NBC) will lead to charge penalty, cancellation of approvals or demolition of property.

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Posted in Property, Property Buying | 20 Comments »

Repayment Options Available For Your Home Loan

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Home loan is one of the important sources of finance for your dream home or apartment. Every housing finance companies or banks have customized repayment options to suit every individual’s requirement and repaying capacity with some tax benefits. You need to choose a repayment option that suits you best. Today financing companies and banks compete each other with special repayment options. The scheme differs depending or considering your monthly income, Job stability, your age, other debts and financial commitments. When choosing a repayment option you need to ensure that your home loan is affordable for you and you are comfortable to repay them. Here are some repayment options for you to repay your home loan.

Home Loan repayment options

Banks follow different criteria to calculate loan eligibility and your repayment options. Repayment options or schemes differ from person to person depending on their income, loan amount, capacity to repay etc. Following are some of repayment options available for your home loan.

Step Up Repayment Facility (SURF): When comparing Step Up Repayment Facility (SURF) with normal housing loan, you can get larger or higher amount of loan and initially EMI would be lesser and gradually increase over fixed intervals. The objective of step-up repayment is to provide the borrower with a repayment schedule, which is linked to expected growth in income.

Flexible Loan Installment Plan (FLIP): This repayment option offers a customized solution. In cases when a borrower is nearing retirement, the loan is structured in such a way that the EMI is higher during the initial years and subsequently decreases in the latter part proportionate to the reduced income of the customer. This scheme is advisable as applicants will get a higher loan amount and end up paying lesser interest compared to regular schemes.

Home Saver account: The regular home loan is a non- transactional account. In the Home Saver account, the home loan account is made transactional by connecting it to a Current Account. It works like an overdraft facility and the borrower can park his surplus savings in the Home Saver account and can withdraw the surplus as per his needs. Till the surplus (other than EMI) amount is lying in the account, it will earn same interest as that of loan. Such interest earned is accounted as principal loan amount repaid, on daily product basis. In this scheme, one can save a lot of interest payable on home loan as tenure reduces considerably.

Accelerated Repayment Scheme: In this scheme, loan gets repaid faster resulting in a lot of savings in interest payment and the long-term debt closes much earlier. This scheme is good for salaried class borrowers, as whenever they get an increment, or disposable income is increased, they can use it for increasing the EMI amount. Whenever you have lump sum funds use it for part prepayment. Under this scheme, the borrower can pay lump sum amounts, which will be apportioned to the principal loan outstanding. In this scheme, the long-term debt closes much earlier.

SmartFix Home Loans: ‘SmartFix’ Home Loans combine the safety of fixed rates plus the advantages of floating rates. For the first 3 years the borrower gets a fixed interest rate and the fourth year onwards, the loan gets switched to the prevailing floating interest rate. This three-year phase is known as lock period. When the lock period is over the remaining loan amount will be covered by the floating rate. If the rate of interest gets lowered the borrower gets an extra privilege of lower floating rate.

Tranche Based EMI: Customers purchasing an under construction property, need to pay interest (on the loan amount drawn based on level of construction) till the property is ready. Under this system, customers can fix the installments they wish to pay till the property is ready. The customer benefits by starting EMI and hence repays the loan faster. The minimum amount payable is the interest on the loan amount drawn. Anything over and above the interest paid by the customer goes towards principal repayment.

These days, banks and HFCs (Home Finance Companies) offer a number of repayment options. If you are a professional seeking home loan and having good employment, no bank or HFC would like to lose you. It may be noted that banks and HFCs will try to lure you by offering many special schemes, saying that the scheme is custom-made for you, and will try to push you to seek a higher loan amount. This is because there is surplus credit available and fierce competition amongst banks. You need to choose the repayment option that suits best because some schemes for repayment of home loan looks attractive such as SURF scheme where initial EMI are less. But it is beneficial to the lender and not you, as in the first two years, the lender will be collecting only interest. As a result, the total interest payable over 15 years will be 10 per cent more than in the normal scheme.

If you are opting for the floating rate loan, be sure to check whether the rates of your chosen lender had floated down over the last couple of years. Never haste the shopping process. Cost of your loan largely depends on how you negotiate. In case, loan eligibility based on your income is an issue, you should talk to different banks to find out which bank can provide you best deal. Apart from rate of interest, what points you should take into account while choosing the best financer are processing fee, legal charges, pre-payment charges, valuation fees, and other hidden costs. Before choosing a repayment option, you must analyze whether the special repayment option offered is beneficial for you.

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Tags: Home loan, home loan accelerated replayment, home loan emi, home loan flexible loan installment plan, home loan flip, home loan repayment, home saver account, smartfix home loans, step up repayment facility, Tranche based EMI
Posted in Home loan, Property Buying, Property Registration | 2 Comments »

Makeover Living room to Give Your Apartment a Cozy Feel

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Living room is a reflection of lifestyle, creativity of people living in that apartment. Living room is not just a room for watching TV or playing music, it is a place of rest, relaxation and an area for entertaining guests. Before decorating and furnishing your room, decide how much time your family members spend there. If you have less space, you need more care to furnish it. Makeover of living room can create pleasant ambiance and warm welcoming atmosphere for you, your family and as well as for your guest.

Tips for Living room makeover

Living Room Furniture: The basic decorative and entertaining articles of a living room in an apartment are furniture. If the living room in your apartment is small, choosing small furniture helps you to save space. If there is less space, use folding furniture and furniture on wheels which can be pulled only when it is in required. You can use multipurpose furniture that can be used for two or more purpose. For example, sofa cum bed serves for both purposes, one of sofa and the other of bed.

Curtains for living room: Curtain has important role in makeover of a living room. Curtains provide traditional or artistic look for your living room. While choosing curtain for living room, you need to consider the theme and color of your living room. Cotton and silk are the best fabrics for curtains and are liked by everyone. You can use fancy tieback to make the curtains more attractive.

Color for Living room: Color plays a dominant role in decorating a room. Light color makes the room look larger and the room would look smaller if there are stronger colors. Now a days contemporary color are more in demand because they have both light and bright colors and add brightness to the room. If the location of your room is sun facing, use cool colors and if the location of your room is non-sun facing and you want to get warmth in winters, go for bright shades.

Rugs and Carpets: Spread warm rugs and place rich carpets in every room for creating a warm ambiance. If a carpet is well placed in drawing room, it works for long time though it’s less expensive. You can think about a stain resistant carpet if you have any kid or you have more members.

Flooring for living room: Flooring for living room must remain in good condition and for longer period. The flooring you choose must suit all members in your family. The type of floor you choose should be affordable and in your budget. Color and design of flooring must suits the theme and furniture of room.

Use spot light for focal point of your art work or you can choose a corner as focus point of room. Never use central light in living room because it creates shadow and glare. Showing sculptures with spot lighting gives an artistic look which enhances the warmth of drawing room. You can also consider general lighting for entertainment purposes such as watching television, task lighting for reading. Remember to rearrange your furniture away from drafts and cold window areas, drawing the sofa or table up to the hearth. Choosing small furniture helps you to save space. If the location of your room is non-sun facing and you want to get warmth in winters, go for bright shades.