Homebuyers Use Social Media As A Tool To Raise Voice Against Faulty Developers

Homebuyers across the country have been exchanging their contact numbers over Facebook. No, this is no friendly get together. Homebuyers in various projects are in a dilemma and they are leaving no stone unturned to coerce the developers into delivering the property within time.

The many fears of the homebuyer

Ajeet Mandal is a first-time buyer in a Noida-based project. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the best experience. In 2010 when he intended to put in his savings into an under-construction project, he thought he has been saving his money because the developer had promised him a lower entry price. “I wish I had put in a higher amount back then in a ready possession unit.” Mandal’s angst is justified given that he still lives in a rented accommodation and continues to pay the EMI as well, a double burden “I wish I knew how long I would have to deal with,” he says.

Take the case of Hamna Biswas. She is one among the affected homebuyers. Her project has been running behind schedule by two years. All this while she along with other homebuyers had kept their calm trying to understand the developer’s position but this time it was too much to bear. She says, “I have made two visits to the construction site but the guards told me the labourers on an indefinite strike, we don’t see the completion happening anytime soon.”

Kabir Kishore says his group on Facebook (of homeowners of a specific project) think that their builder might be the next to join the queue of insolvent builders. With big names such as Jaypee, Amrapali, Unitech courting uncertainty, other homeowners have also come to believe that if a reputed developer can be declared bankrupt, other developers and their homebuyers run the risk too.

Facebook and WhatsApp bear the weight of homebuyers connecting to voice their concerns and find a solution. So what are some of the popular topics that buyers wish to discuss? When Jaypee headed towards insolvency, many non-resident Indians who had bought into Jaypee’s Wishtown project came together on Facebook to understand the course of action given it would have been difficult for those without family in the city to coordinate and understand the situation. Some others recently came together to discuss and vote for which company should take over Jaypee. Basically, every move is being discussed.

With the new found strength that buyers have today, thanks to amendments to the Insolvency Act or the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA), property buyers have come to realise the strength of their voice.

The decision running up to whether buyers should be given the status of financial creditors to decisions about silent protests that they wish to carry out to discussions on quality of construction to opinions and plan of action. The world of homebuyers had converged on Facebook much before they actually become neighbours and this has led to the rise of coercion groups, quite unlike pressure groups which consisted of just a handful of people. In most cases, these coercion groups are also coming together to move the court and the RERA against defaulting developers.