What CREDAI can do to improve retail buying experience?
Several home buyers have experienced that helpless moment when the developer is not delivering the project on time or is delivering with poorer quality than promised. It can be a nightmare when one realises that one’s hard earned savings or loan is now at the mercy of a developer who seems to care more about his next project than the project he has already sold to hapless home buyers.
A silver lining to such situations is the recent formation of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) and what it can potentially do to improve the retail buying experience.
CREDAI has a membership of 8,800 developers through 20 member associations across the country. CREDAI also aims to link private real estate developers to the government and retail buyers through various initiatives. While CREDAI provides a potent association that can tackle the challenges facing the real estate industry, it can do a number of things to build bridges with the retail buyers and improve the retail buying experience in India.
Few things are listed below:
Create a forum to voice complaints
Today if you have a problem with your developer, you have nobody to go to other than consumer courts. With the formation of CREDAI, retail buyers now have an industry advisor to approach. But CREDAI itself does not have provisions for retail buyers to approach. They only have email addresses of office bearers on their website who hardly respond to public emails. So a forum or a website where retail buyers can voice their concerns can go a long way to get a sense of the pulse of the home buying public.
Accreditation and rating
Any and every developer uses CREDAI name in their marketing. It will be apposite if CREDAI start certifying developers and rate every property so that the public have some yardstick to compare an established player from a fly-by-night operator.
Enforcement of code of conduct
Enforce CREDAI code of conduct among its members by instituting enquiries against members based on complaints received to review certification and rating. CREDAI should treat complaints from the buying public with utmost respect. Take the errant developer to task and evaluate if you should re-certify the developer and reduce the rating. This will help the public to know where to invest and which properties to avoid.
Issue public removal notices
Very often, developers take ages to complete their projects and keep the invested public at bay. This has caused lot of distrust and grievance among home buyers. Through the certification and rating process, CREDAI should have the authority to impose punitive actions such as fines or issue public removal notices and remove violating members from the membership association. Also, CREDAI should keep those developers away who are more interested in filling their coffers than meeting promises to the investing public.
Conduct checking
CREDAI should not be just a passive association which will wait for things to happen. CREDAI should ensure that developers meet delivery dates and the quality they have promised to buyers by actively contacting and checking with buyers. And also ensure that the buying experience is factored in the certification of developers and rating of properties.
If CREDAI wants to be an effective association and a supportive bridge between the real estate developers and the society (government, retail buyers), CREDAI should develop an organisational discipline and enforce it among its members. That alone will help CREDAI gain respect among the buying public and government.
Will the CREDAI promoters take notice? Let’s hope they do.
— CF User: Guruprakash, Bangalore The author is a business professional and runs a consultancy in Bangalore. Author is also a graduate of the IIM Lucknow and has lived in India and outside.*The content of this article is user generated and CommonFloor.com does not take any responsibility nor guarantee toward the facts and figures mentioned in the content of this article.
