Saturday evening 5:30, I was hopeless and tired of looking so many houses in different places & auto rickshaws charges in Pune are also a nightmare, for which I had already pay 1000 bucks. I was tensed and sat on a cross road & was just thinking what to do, new place, new people, completely helpless. Finally I had to call a local broker to help me out, I had no other option but to call him, he showed me 3 or 4 good apartments and I confirmed one of them.
Now the broker asks for the charges, I have heard at my office that they charge two months of rent. I asked him, “How much do I need to pay”, and as expected broker asks for 2 months’ rent which was nearly 30,000 rupees. I did some bargain and finally settled with 1 month rent.
Have we ever imagined why brokers demands too much, because we allow them. Most of the house owners, ask brokers when they want to rent out, because, house owners can avoid the, police verification and rent agreement process. Just to save some time and money, they let their tenants to pay heavy amount. Broker take 1000 rupees for police verification and 5000 rupees for the registered rent agreement, which again house owner never pays. They pay money to police officers to clear sign in the verification forms. Unknowingly, house owners are compromising with everybody’s safety. Any terrorist can take a rented part knowing that broker will anyway clear the verification.
We being tenant pay it, because we do not have any option, especially when you are in a new place and need a rented place to settle. There is another reason why house owners ask brokers to handle their rent out work, because, brokers can provide a better rent amount which we called “Market Price”. Who set this market price especially for rented apartments? It’s the brokers who decide no one else. Higher the amount, higher the commission, that’s the trick.
Broker, take your hard earn money in cash, for which you have paid taxes, and they never pays tax. The same thing happen to the house owners, most of the owners, asks rent and security deposits in cash only to avoid taxation. There are many real-estate portals, where you can easily update your requirements and people will call you directly for the purpose.
Same thing happens for commercial property, brokers help property owners to get a good amount of property or to be very precise higher amount of the property and take the cut. Higher the commercial property higher the product cost in that shop. A small shop in a market place in Pune starts at 50 thousands. Shop keeper has to add aprox 1700 rupees whatever he/she sells in one day. Why the cost of Living and day to day needs won’t increase. You have to add, products purchase cost + Employee Costs (if any) + Transport costs + Municipal Cost + Electricity Costs + Union Fees + maintenance cost + Rent amount and finally you need to earn something so you have to add your profit.
We need to understand it’s not the government who can help us in this; it’s us who can change the Living standard, be it in cost of Living, safety or India’s growth. If anyone who read my blog, is a property owner, or know your relative or friends who have their own property and planning to rent out, request them to avoid brokerages. Property owner may get 1000 or two less as rent amount but it will help many people and by avoiding brokerage charges which goes completely as black money, will help in India’s growth. Choice was, is and will always be in our hand, whether to choose a better life and nation or to blame government for everything.