Date:04/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/10/04/stories/2008100451372100.htm

Back Exchange your old flat for new villa

Anjana Chandramouly

Bangalore, Oct. 3

In today’s crowded real estate market where the customer is flooded with too much of a supply, and money is not an issue, developers bogged down by dampened demand are thinking out of the box to strike the best deal. Bangalore-based Alliance Group has come up with a retail-like ‘exchange offer’ — old flats for new villas.

The offer is for 100 villas in the company’s recently-launched El Dorado Park integrated township project in Bangalore, said Mr Manoj Namburu, Chairman and Managing Director, Alliance Group.

“This offer is for those who want to upgrade their living conditions without having to go through the hassle of selling their existing owned dwelling,” he added. “As a company, we believe in innovating. And unless you innovate, you will die,” said Mr Namburu.

When completed, the project will have 1,100 fully air-conditioned premium villas and 200-row houses, a 150-room five-star hotel, 18-hole golf course, shopping mall, a four-screen multiplex and club zone developed in the campus.

‘Good response’

The villas are priced between Rs 1.25 crore and Rs 7.3 crore. “The response has been exceptional,” he said, adding that there were about 300 calls in the first two days of the campaign.

The company would follow a selection procedure, and also value the property. “If the customer agrees to the valuation, we register the flat and adjust the value to the cost of the villa,” Mr Namburu said. “We prefer to limit the value of the flat to 30-50 per cent of the value of the villa. There could be exceptions in select cases,” he added.

On liquidating these flats, he said that like any old car dealer, “we would sell out these flats in the market. We have a liquidation channel to liquidate these flats”.