Reverse mortgage property during old age for steady cash flows :: Business Line

I am 55 years old and my employer does not provide pension post-retirement. My monthly expenses are Rs 25,000 and my annual income is Rs 7 lakh.

I have invested Rs 52 lakh as follows: In direct equity - Rs 23.5 lakh, Rs 5.2 lakh in mutual fund, Rs 6 lakh in fixed deposits, Rs 9 lakh in gold and the rest in PPF and EPF. I have two residential plots worth Rs 50 lakh. I live in my own house.

I have taken a health cover for Rs 6 lakh.

My goals are:

I want to provide Rs 15 lakh for our daughter’s marriage and set aside Rs 25 lakh to set up a clinic for her.

My wife and I wish to go for a few foreign tours over the next few years, for which I need Rs 10 lakh.

When I retire I may receive a few lakh rupees as benefits. We expect to live till 80. How much do I need to save for retirement? If my retirement corpus is inadequate, shall I sell one plot and construct a house.

— Geeta Pathi

Discounts through real estate group buys :: Business Line

While group buying could help you get good discounts, check whether the offers are genuine, based on the prevailing market rates for similar projects in the locality.

In ‘group buying’, buyers join hands to get discounts from sellers on products and services. Many portals facilitate such deals by bringing together buyers into groups and tying up with sellers of various hues – restaurants, apparel vendors, gadget retailers. But ‘group buying’ need not be restricted to small-ticket items. It is also possible on real estate purchases – the largest investment for many people in their lifetime. Portals such as groffr, discountedflats, groupbookings and grouphomebuyers help potential home buyers in many Indian cities form groups and get discounts from builders.

The concept is based on a simple premise that a group has more negotiating power than an individual. When you buy as a group, you can drive a harder bargain and get a better deal. The seller may not mind, since what he loses as margin, he makes up in volumes, without investing much time, effort and money to sell his wares.

In real estate, group buying can benefit both home buyers and builders. With real estate in many Indian cities, especially in the metros being very costly, even a 1 per cent discount, if genuine, can translate into a tidy sum. A big discount could save you lakhs. Also, many builders may be willing to participate in such group deals, since they may want to sell their inventory quickly to get much needed cash. Especially in a market in which buyers are shying away due to high cost and many builders are saddled with high debt and inventory.