Finergo Episode 18

04 KALEIDOSCOPE

Ask your query During the FY 2007-08 I was deducted extra tax amount from my employer. I then provided the investment proof and received Form-16 with tax refund mentioned. My SARAL with the tax refund Rs. 5876 is filled, but I am yet to receive my tax returns. How long does it take to get this amount? In last few years, I used to get the refund within six months. Hemalatha Jayakumar, CTC

There is a lot of delay in the reimbursement. But the government does pay an interest for the period. Things can be expedited if the value of reimbursement is very high, by paying something extra. Your auditor/ tax filing assistant may help you with this. For amounts lesser than 10,000, the best thing to do is wait. So have patience. (For queries related to personal finance, mail your queries to [email protected], with ‘doctor’ as the subject line)

ERGO Monday, March 30, 2009

The house at 20% discount goes to... Now, get your dream home at a rate lower than the market price PRADEEP YUVARAJ [email protected]

Quiz 1: Annuity is paid to the customer in what intervals Daily Monthly Quarterly Yearly 2: AUM stands for Average Unit Margin Annual Utilization of Money Assistant Unit Manager Asset Under Management (Send your answers to [email protected] or SMS to 92813 98889. For example, if you choose A as the answer to question 1 and B as the answer to question 2 type it as 1A2B and send it. Winner will be chosen by lucky draw from all correct answers and get a free book on mutual funds)

Answers for last week’s quiz ADR – American Depository Receipt ATM – Automated teller machine

Word in Word HDFC is Most Valued Bank Private Sector lender HDFC recently overtook ICICI Bank as the country’s most valued private sector bank, this was after its shares surged over six per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The market capitalisation of ICICI Bank, the top private sector lender in terms of asset size, fell to Rs. 39,516.58 crore against Rs. 40,001 crore of rival HDFC Bank. Comparing the share price of ICICI with that of HDFC, the shares of HDFC settled up by 6.31 per cent at Rs. 940.50 on BSE. Whereas ICICI bank gained 2.44 per cent at Rs. 355.10 and ICICI Bank moved down to 18th position in terms of market cap, against a place among the top 10 companies till last year.

T

he above reference is the sale (by means of auction) of a seized property. By seized we mean real estate property which has been taken over by the bank or a financial institution from the owner for defaulting on the loan repayment. Till 2002, when the SARFAESI Act (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act) was enacted, banks had no ways to recover value out of NPAs (Non Performing Assets) or those who take loans but do not repay. With SARFAESI banks can recover these assets without the intervention of the court. If a person does not pay back his loan on a housing property, vehicle or any other mortgaged asset, the bank can seize the same and recover its dues by three means: Take possession of the security; sale or lease or assign the right over the security or manage the same or appoint an individual to manage the same. More recently many banks have started seizing houses/commercial properties and selling them to buyers by means of auction. If you could get into one of these auctions and bid successfully then you could be the owner of a house at a price considerably lower than the market value.

Why this cheap? This kind of auctions are usually priced at the distress sale value, which is 20-30 per cent lesser than the current market value. During the auction if the bids are not too aggressive you could get a saving of 1520 per cent depending on the bidders and the property.

How do I get involved? The concept is in a very budding

Auctions for home should pick up in these current times. stage in India, but with the turmoil seen in the economy there will be more and more defaulters and lucrative property could come up for sale. Keep your eyes open for bank no-

PHOTO: AFP

tices in the newspapers/bank websites for such auctions. You should attend a few to get a feel and then if you real find a property, go ahead and bid for it. ■