Sobha is like any other builder, although they call themselves world class builder. They have sales personnel who have no commitment and promise moon to the buyer and disappear from the company. The employee attrition is main reason for customer grievance. Sobha Sunscape is supposed to be a Dream series project and they do not allow any modification like change of tiles etc. in spite of the buyer willing to pay the difference.
As regards project completion, know one knows when it would be handed over. However, we promptly get the demand notices and even one day delay in realization of cheque, interest would be charged. I don't what access road the sunscape project would have as today there is no proper road to the building from Kanakapura road or NICE road.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Sobha Developers never keeps it promises
Grievance by Natraj:
I booked a flat with Sobha in Bangalore early 2007.
1. For one, it is supposed to be a “super luxury” series with good carpet area and ample scope for customization. But in reality, I was very disappointed with the fittings. For example, all the sanitaryware are in white no matter the floor/tile color. If you want to change them, Sobha charges an arm and a leg (see later on customization)
2. Insist on seeing the Sale and Construction agreement BEFORE you give the deposit amount!! But, I bet the sales guy will dodge your request. There are lot of hidden clauses which make it totally a one sided agreement.
3. Sobha hates to accommodate any changes! In fact, the construction agreement has this one sided clause which says that if you many any mods/changes from the original specification, they are not obligated to pay ANY compensation in case of delay in handing over, regardless of the how long the delay is.
4. In spite of this, if you are bold and make any changes, they charge a hefty amount. It is actually a money making scam. For example, they charged 3 times the amount for upgrading the EWC (toilet) from Hindware white to Parryware color!!! And they are least bothered when you bring this to their notice. There attitude is: your neck is now in our hands, scream all you want!!!
5. The project is already delayed. The latest dates they have communiated to me is July 2009!! This is at least nearly 1.5 years late!!!
They have been blaming everybody but themselves for it. I feel they don’t give a damn about residential projects anymore… It is a necessary nuisance for them. Their focus is on commercial properties now.
As far as I am concerned, Sobha is no longer the desired choice when it comes to residential real estate.
My strong suggestion is for the customers to rally together and sue them in a court of law. I am sure we have a strong case.
I booked a flat with Sobha in Bangalore early 2007.
1. For one, it is supposed to be a “super luxury” series with good carpet area and ample scope for customization. But in reality, I was very disappointed with the fittings. For example, all the sanitaryware are in white no matter the floor/tile color. If you want to change them, Sobha charges an arm and a leg (see later on customization)
2. Insist on seeing the Sale and Construction agreement BEFORE you give the deposit amount!! But, I bet the sales guy will dodge your request. There are lot of hidden clauses which make it totally a one sided agreement.
3. Sobha hates to accommodate any changes! In fact, the construction agreement has this one sided clause which says that if you many any mods/changes from the original specification, they are not obligated to pay ANY compensation in case of delay in handing over, regardless of the how long the delay is.
4. In spite of this, if you are bold and make any changes, they charge a hefty amount. It is actually a money making scam. For example, they charged 3 times the amount for upgrading the EWC (toilet) from Hindware white to Parryware color!!! And they are least bothered when you bring this to their notice. There attitude is: your neck is now in our hands, scream all you want!!!
5. The project is already delayed. The latest dates they have communiated to me is July 2009!! This is at least nearly 1.5 years late!!!
They have been blaming everybody but themselves for it. I feel they don’t give a damn about residential projects anymore… It is a necessary nuisance for them. Their focus is on commercial properties now.
As far as I am concerned, Sobha is no longer the desired choice when it comes to residential real estate.
My strong suggestion is for the customers to rally together and sue them in a court of law. I am sure we have a strong case.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Theft by Sobha Developers
We received this Grievance by Anjan Ghosh:
I have had a similar issue. I put down a deposit on the condition that they arrange finance for me (I am an Indian living abroad), the booking form said that they would take 0% in event of cancellation. However I found out that they rejected the booking form agreement, however they still went ahead and cashed my cheque. I cancelled before they cashed the cheque (it takes over a month for the transfer to happen from the UK bank) however they are still skimming off Rs.75,000 from my deposit.
This amounts to theft, so I am talking to the authorities to start up a fraud case against them. However, I would not recommending doing business with them. The Sales Manager Mr Anil (Bangalore) stated in front of independent witnesses that "as Head of Sales I have decided to return the full amount", despite which they are still scamming me for Rs. 75,000.
I have had a similar issue. I put down a deposit on the condition that they arrange finance for me (I am an Indian living abroad), the booking form said that they would take 0% in event of cancellation. However I found out that they rejected the booking form agreement, however they still went ahead and cashed my cheque. I cancelled before they cashed the cheque (it takes over a month for the transfer to happen from the UK bank) however they are still skimming off Rs.75,000 from my deposit.
This amounts to theft, so I am talking to the authorities to start up a fraud case against them. However, I would not recommending doing business with them. The Sales Manager Mr Anil (Bangalore) stated in front of independent witnesses that "as Head of Sales I have decided to return the full amount", despite which they are still scamming me for Rs. 75,000.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Prospetive Buyer Feedback
Hello,
Reading all that's on this blogs sends a massive shock wave down my spine..! Is there any way we can bring it to the notice of the top officials.?!?!? Trust me property developers are the same every where thru out India. I am from Singapore, now trying to invest some buck on a property back home. But I am worried how things are going to be..!
Real estate seems to be scary to invest, u will never be sure of what u r getting. to top it all the legal system in India screws every thing up..!
You cant claim anything from any body for damages faced. ‘Professional Negligence’ is to the core in construction industry. None perform their job, all risks are transferred to the buyer.
I don't have any hope.. this is not gonna change in recent future.
Thank u all, for the information about the developers back home in India…!
Reading all that's on this blogs sends a massive shock wave down my spine..! Is there any way we can bring it to the notice of the top officials.?!?!? Trust me property developers are the same every where thru out India. I am from Singapore, now trying to invest some buck on a property back home. But I am worried how things are going to be..!
Real estate seems to be scary to invest, u will never be sure of what u r getting. to top it all the legal system in India screws every thing up..!
You cant claim anything from any body for damages faced. ‘Professional Negligence’ is to the core in construction industry. None perform their job, all risks are transferred to the buyer.
I don't have any hope.. this is not gonna change in recent future.
Thank u all, for the information about the developers back home in India…!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Delays in handover of projects by Sobha Developers
Sobha Developers had promised to deliver Sobha Iris in March 2007 which got delay to September 2007 and then Feb 2008.
In fact now it has been delayed to July 2008. I don't think they should be called reputed builders because a good builder would have done good planning. I'm not sure whether their quality is good these days. It used to be good in 2002 days when the demand was less.
Conclusion is : Make sure you read the sale agreement properly for any delays etc. and look at their past one year track record. I would disagree if Sobha Developers are called reputed. I don't know about other properties but couple of friends got their possession on time but it was in 2005. May be there is a common problem in delivering projects on time these days. Hmmm.....After all it's an ugly business.
In fact now it has been delayed to July 2008. I don't think they should be called reputed builders because a good builder would have done good planning. I'm not sure whether their quality is good these days. It used to be good in 2002 days when the demand was less.
Conclusion is : Make sure you read the sale agreement properly for any delays etc. and look at their past one year track record. I would disagree if Sobha Developers are called reputed. I don't know about other properties but couple of friends got their possession on time but it was in 2005. May be there is a common problem in delivering projects on time these days. Hmmm.....After all it's an ugly business.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Careful About Payments to be made to Sobha Developers
Hear is a sad story from a customer of Sobha Developers, S Acharya.
I was supposed to book Sobha basil , about a year back. I went ahead , got all documentation done, put in the hard earned booking amount of 4 lakhs.
To my dismay, Sobha couldn't furnish a couple of docs which needed disbursal of the loan. I had to wait for 6 months , and then decided to withdraw.
That was a good decision , but Sobha has its conditions too. They cut off Rs 50,000 on my cheque. I was so unimpressed , i just wanted to get off their tantrums and false promises. Yes it did hurt me, but then i was moving to the US, and took that loss.
In the future, everyone, pls read all docs before signing up.
Last I have realized, a house is a liability. If its an Asset for me, it should be a Liability for the builder. Thats actually not so.
Today, I believe that one should buy, when the markets are down. These builders who have risen the wave of good funding, will only goof up things, cause they dont care an iota about customer satisfaction.
Another similar complaint from Samir Singh:
I am ready to contribute to sue Sobha Developers in court of law. My case is similar and now they are asking me to pay Rs. 1 lakh as interest charges - which is increasing day by day (as I am not paying the same for the last 4 months - after I came to knew that there are interest charges on me).
Those who all are interested please mail me and I will try to see how to go about it (currently I am in US and that is the major constraint for me).
I was supposed to book Sobha basil , about a year back. I went ahead , got all documentation done, put in the hard earned booking amount of 4 lakhs.
To my dismay, Sobha couldn't furnish a couple of docs which needed disbursal of the loan. I had to wait for 6 months , and then decided to withdraw.
That was a good decision , but Sobha has its conditions too. They cut off Rs 50,000 on my cheque. I was so unimpressed , i just wanted to get off their tantrums and false promises. Yes it did hurt me, but then i was moving to the US, and took that loss.
In the future, everyone, pls read all docs before signing up.
Last I have realized, a house is a liability. If its an Asset for me, it should be a Liability for the builder. Thats actually not so.
Today, I believe that one should buy, when the markets are down. These builders who have risen the wave of good funding, will only goof up things, cause they dont care an iota about customer satisfaction.
Another similar complaint from Samir Singh:
I am ready to contribute to sue Sobha Developers in court of law. My case is similar and now they are asking me to pay Rs. 1 lakh as interest charges - which is increasing day by day (as I am not paying the same for the last 4 months - after I came to knew that there are interest charges on me).
Those who all are interested please mail me and I will try to see how to go about it (currently I am in US and that is the major constraint for me).
Monday, November 12, 2007
Dissatifaction from false assurances Given by Sobha Developers
I came across this below complaint from an existing customer of Sobha Developers, Swetasri Choudhury. I hope this information below helps someone out there.
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Sobha Developers Limited in Bangalore is well-known for building quality residential properties. Their reputation is wide-spread in Bangalore. And so, when we wanted to buy an apartment we chose to consider a Sobha property. We looked at several properties built by Sobha and were impressed.
After elaborate financial arrangements, we booked an apartment at Sobha Sunscape in July. We were in fact not ready yet and needed 3-4 weeks more time so that we could arrange for the initial payment. The sales-person assured us he would extend the time and persuaded us to make the booking. As a family we were pleased we could pool in our resources and buy an apartment from a good builder. After the loan was sanctioned by the bank, it was a sense of achievement that everything was in place and we were realizing our dream of having our own home.
We made the initial payment to Sobha which was partly from own funds and partly from the loan. After about a month, we received the demand from Sobha for payment for the next slab. This was the starting point for the surprises. In addition to the slab payment, Sobha also demanded interest on delayed payments. Over the last few weeks we have had several communications with Sobha on this matter and to put it mildly our experience has been disappointing. As a result of the rigourous communications, Sobha partly reduced the interest charges. The sales-person has backed out from honouring the rest of his assurance.
On analyzing the transactions, we found discrepancies too. Our bank had disbursed a lesser amount per their recommendation after assessing of the project progress. Sobha mentioned they were correct in their demand. They wanted us to produce a letter from the bank with this information and promised to act on the same. After we produced the letter, they stated that they would not consider it. We felt deceived. Why did they want the letter if they were not to consider it? We noticed that in the cases where we had handed the cheque to their sales-person, Sobha had recorded it only on the next day. Hence, they charged the interest for an extra day. On one instance the courier was delivered on the Saturday, they recorded the transaction on Tuesday.
We expect honesty from reputed companies. Sadly, my experience with Sobha has been different. As a customer of Sobha, my interaction with their people has caused me disappointment. For a reputed company, Sobha is not righteous in its policies. While they charge the customer interest at 18% by reflecting delays, they exempt themselves from any delays. They carefully do not commit any slab dates, so no delays come upon them. To my frustration, when I offered to make future payments in advance to counter some of the interest charged to me, they refused to account the advance in the same way.
At the outset, in spite of being confident that Sobha will deliver to me an impressive apartment and in spite of paying a premium price for that apartment, I'm afraid their trivializing ways have tarnished the pleasure of owning a Sobha property. As Sobha's customer, I have been through a false assurance; a false commitment leading me to obtain information from my bank; penalties for transactions incorrectly recorded by them and subjected to unfavourable policies.
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Sobha Developers Limited in Bangalore is well-known for building quality residential properties. Their reputation is wide-spread in Bangalore. And so, when we wanted to buy an apartment we chose to consider a Sobha property. We looked at several properties built by Sobha and were impressed.
After elaborate financial arrangements, we booked an apartment at Sobha Sunscape in July. We were in fact not ready yet and needed 3-4 weeks more time so that we could arrange for the initial payment. The sales-person assured us he would extend the time and persuaded us to make the booking. As a family we were pleased we could pool in our resources and buy an apartment from a good builder. After the loan was sanctioned by the bank, it was a sense of achievement that everything was in place and we were realizing our dream of having our own home.
We made the initial payment to Sobha which was partly from own funds and partly from the loan. After about a month, we received the demand from Sobha for payment for the next slab. This was the starting point for the surprises. In addition to the slab payment, Sobha also demanded interest on delayed payments. Over the last few weeks we have had several communications with Sobha on this matter and to put it mildly our experience has been disappointing. As a result of the rigourous communications, Sobha partly reduced the interest charges. The sales-person has backed out from honouring the rest of his assurance.
On analyzing the transactions, we found discrepancies too. Our bank had disbursed a lesser amount per their recommendation after assessing of the project progress. Sobha mentioned they were correct in their demand. They wanted us to produce a letter from the bank with this information and promised to act on the same. After we produced the letter, they stated that they would not consider it. We felt deceived. Why did they want the letter if they were not to consider it? We noticed that in the cases where we had handed the cheque to their sales-person, Sobha had recorded it only on the next day. Hence, they charged the interest for an extra day. On one instance the courier was delivered on the Saturday, they recorded the transaction on Tuesday.
We expect honesty from reputed companies. Sadly, my experience with Sobha has been different. As a customer of Sobha, my interaction with their people has caused me disappointment. For a reputed company, Sobha is not righteous in its policies. While they charge the customer interest at 18% by reflecting delays, they exempt themselves from any delays. They carefully do not commit any slab dates, so no delays come upon them. To my frustration, when I offered to make future payments in advance to counter some of the interest charged to me, they refused to account the advance in the same way.
At the outset, in spite of being confident that Sobha will deliver to me an impressive apartment and in spite of paying a premium price for that apartment, I'm afraid their trivializing ways have tarnished the pleasure of owning a Sobha property. As Sobha's customer, I have been through a false assurance; a false commitment leading me to obtain information from my bank; penalties for transactions incorrectly recorded by them and subjected to unfavourable policies.
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