Banks To Provide Pictures Of Property As Auctions Turn Into No-Shows

A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. Quite correctly so! Reading and hearing about things is just not enough; one has to see it with one’s own eyes to evaluate correctly. This is precisely why real estate portals invest huge amounts in buying technological supports that could enable them to show their products in “picture perfect” format. Today, a buyer can simply visit a real estate portal and take virtual tours of several properties in far off locations.  The need to physically visit places before one is able to zero in on a property arises no more.

The government is now catching up, too.

In the recent past, the government has come in possession of loads of residential property since the rate of companies going insolvent has been increasing. Defaults by businesses have also led to district administrations across the country resort to a similar modus operandi. Recently, the Noida administration decided to auction properties of real estate developers and contractors to recover dues to the tune of Rs 227 crore.

Personal properties of company bosses are also being attached to recover dues—the Supreme Court is in process of attaching properties of erstwhile real estate giants Amrapali, Unitech and Jaypee bosses. However, the government’s attempts to auction such properties often yield no result.

Such auctions do give buyers an advantage—they get a chance to own a property at comparatively reasonable rates. However, they are often not able to gauge what is offer since there is no way to get a closer look.

To correct that situation, the government has now advised financial institutions to create a common auction marketplace, laced with modern technologies that would enable prospective bidders to get all details about the property, including picture, under the hammer. These suggestions are part of the government’s drive to revamp debt recovery tribunals (DRT) .

It is important to note at this juncture that all disputes related to such properties are entertained only in DRTs. Among several measures to de-clutter the DRTs, the government has also increased to pecuniary limit to file cases in DRTs from earlier Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh now.

“This will help expand the customer base, improve the quality of bids and help banks get quicker recovery,” Finance Secretary Rajeev Singh was quoted in The Times of India as saying.

Also read: How Property Auctions Work: Pay Attention To These Court Verdicts