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Deal with it

8 step guide to renting out your property

As a property owner, make sure you select the right people to inhabit the space when you eventually lease it out.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

If you are leasing out your property, you need to be very careful about letting it out to the right persons. Your tenants should not be allowed to default on rent and utilities payments, they cannot do anything illegal inside your property, and they cannot conduct themselves inappropriately. These are some things you will have to do as a property owner:

1. Settle all society dues for a year. You don’t use the property, but you still have to pay maintenance, water charges, any pending electricity and gas bills, parking charges, property tax, etc. Meet with the building’s accountant and find out how much you owe the society per month. If you are not able to make a trip to the building every month, it is better to write out a cheque with a lump sum amount and hand it over to the treasurer. Take a receipt for the same and ask the society to inform you in case of revised charges.

agreement2. Do a discreet background check. You will have to inform the society via a written letter that you wish to lease out your flat or shop for a certain number of months. You cannot lease out without the society’s permission to do so. When you find a potential candidate for your property, find out what the person does, where he or she works, how long they intend to use your property, how many people will reside in or use the space, etc. Enlist the help of a broker to carry out this step, but do not agree to lease out the property till you meet the candidate and are satisfied with him or her.

3. Ask for post-dated cheques. After you have informed the society that you have found a person for your house or office, introduce them to the building chairman and secretary. After this, be very clear on all the terms; what the security deposit will be, the monthly rental, the condition in which you expect the property to be handed back, which modification you will allow or get done inside the property, the system to settle utilities payments, etc. Insist on the person handing you a series of post-dated cheques – be alert the moment the person says they will pay you every month. Some tenants have been found to stop paying the rent and continuing to occupy the property. Also, do not agree to the tenant paying your rent via NEFT unless absolutely certain that they will do so.

4. Register the agreement. This is an important step, but many landlords do not insist on it because they don’t want to shell out the stamp duty and registration charges. However, registration of the house or office agreement makes the transaction legal and will absolve you of any wrongdoing in case the tenant uses your property mischievously. You and the tenant each get to keep the registered agreement.

5. Insist on police verification. This is the most important step. The mandatory police verification must happen for the new tenant because it is a certificate from the police station verifying the tenant’s credentials. This certificate must be included with your registered agreement copy.

6. Take immediate steps in case of indiscipline. Before the tenant starts using the property, give him or her a checklist of Dos and Don’ts. Insist on them maintaining decorum while using the property, and that their conduct should not reflect poorly on you. Remember that the building society is within its rights to ask you to vacate the tenant if their conduct is found reproachable. If you hear any complaints from the society about your tenant, remedy the situation at once.

7. Do not allow the tenant to change the main lock. A big red flag for any owner is the knowledge that the tenant wants to change the main fixed lock to the property. Do not allow this under any circumstances, because it suggests a malafide intention. For the tenant’s safety, allow them to use a detachable lock to use when they are not at home, and do not keep a copy of the key to this lock – in case a theft occurs in the property, the tenant should not be able to point a finger at you and declare that you may have carried out the theft.

8. Visit periodically. Your job as the owner is not complete just by doing the paperwork and collecting the rent. In the initial days, make it a point to visit the tenant for a chat after informing them of your arrival, and observe how they are using the property. If you find that any unauthorised repairs have been carried out without your permission, or if anything inside the flat or office is broken or damaged, tell the tenant that you will deduct the damages from the security deposit. Keep in touch with the society as well, to hear their account of the tenant’s behaviour.

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Deal with it

6 ways to identify a shopping addict

Here are surefire ways to identify a shopping addict and get them help before they are completely broke and depressed.
by Reyna Mathur

All of us know at least one person who is so addicted to shopping, he or she will not think twice before spending even when they are broke. Do you identify with this scenario: A young girl works in a private firm. In her spare time, she surfs shopping sites and keeps adding items to her virtual shopping cart. Not a single day passes without her buying something for herself, and when packages arrive at her home and office on a daily basis.

Then her credit card bills catch up on her. Soon, she buys many credit cards to settle the bills on the previous ones – and also to increase her spending power. The situation soon lands her in huge debt, but through it all, she still can’t stop shopping.

If this sounds familiar, you or someone you know is a shopping addict. It is a dangerous addiction that lands people in a severe financial crunch, but like other addictions, this one too compels the victim to give in to his or her constant urges to acquire the next object of their fancy. Unfortunately, most people don’t take this addiction seriously enough, and fail to see that it is a form of mental illness.

It is easy to tell when a person is a shopping addict.

1. Constantly wanting to buy things. All of us like to shop, but some people take it to another extreme level by buying something, big or small, every single day. If they pass by a store and see something on display that they like, they will buy it immediately without considering if they have enough money for it.

2. They are unable to rest till they buy what they want. There have been cases where shopping addicts have reported insomnia, anxiety and depression to their doctors and therapists, all brought on by their inability to buy something they really liked. They see it as a personal failure to be unable to gratify their own wishes, and this leads to feelings of inadequacy and unhappiness. In the West, there are support groups for people falling under this category, where people come together and share their fears and insecurities about themselves related to their finances. Many of them express a wish to get professional help after finally understanding that they are in the grip of an illness.

Shopping addicts3. They don’t much care how much something costs. All of us are fitted with an invisible ‘radar’ that alerts us when we are considering a purchase. The voice in our heads cautions us with questions like, ‘Can you afford this new TV? Shouldn’t you first pay off your maintenance bills before buying that dinner set?’ The difference with a shopping addict is that he or she can choose to ignore this radar at will, often leading them into a deep financial pit where they flounder but cannot come out of.

4. They are the biggest consumers of EMI spending. Many e-commerce sites have smartly tapped on to people’s tendency to purchase something expensive if there is a reasonable monthly EMI attached to it. A shopping addict will normally explore this option, because it means they can adopt the same principle and buy several more items that month.

5. They borrow money to go shopping. We are conditioned to spend only what we have in our pockets, so it goes against the grain to borrow money. However, most of us borrow money for sudden unavoidable expenses and we set targets to repay the money back as soon as we can. But a shopping addict, normally running short of money owing to his or her spending habits, has no qualms borrowing money to buy a new mobile phone or an expensive saree or even to go on a trip. There is a very high chance that the money will not be repaid on time, because the person will never have enough cash to pay back the loan in time.

6. They don’t use most of the things they buy. For a shopping addict, the thing is in acquiring the object of their affections, not necessarily in using it. With so many purchases piling up one over the other, it is little wonder that they get around to using even half the items that they buy so passionately.

(Pictures courtesy www.addictioncam.com, feinlawyer.com. Images are used for representational purpose only)

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Deal with it

Hurrah for separate Investigation Units in police stations

Praja Foundation reviews the implications of the new order which stipulates that all police stations will have one Investiation Unit.
by Praja Foundation, Mumbai

Congratulations to Mr Sanjeev Dayal, Maharashtra’s Director General of Police for the long awaited announcement to separate Investigation Units (IUs) from law and order police. The Standing Order No. 24 of 2015, which follows the Supreme Court directive, means that IU officers and constables will not be assigned to duties under any other category of investigation and will be exempt from extraction for law and order duties as well.

The order stipulates that all the police stations and district police will have at least one IU; numbers will increase depending on the average number of serious cases registered over three years. According to Dayal’s order, which will come into effect on July 1, 2015, each IU will investigate a maximum 15 cases a year. According to the Director General’s order officers in charge of the investigation wing will supervise the investigating as well as pairavi units, who follow up on the cases being tried in court. The order also mentions that that women police officers and constables will aid IUs. There is a stipulation that Mumbai needs 691 personnel for investigation, pairavi and women units; and these will be chosen from already existing personnel in the police force. There are also provisions for a fixed tenure for IUs with fully equipped legal, forensic, scientific and technological resources.

Praja has been consistently taking up the issue of separation of investigation and law and order personnel in its White Papers on the issue Law and Order and Policing in Mumbai. According to Nitai Mehta, Managing Trustee, Praja Foundation, “One of the urgent steps to address the issue of lack of IUs has been laid out by the Supreme Court directives on Police Reform in the Prakash Singh case of 2006, i.e. the separation of investigation from law and order. According to experts, this does not even require a legislative intervention. Even the office of the Police Commissioner or the Home Minister of the State has the power to introduce this much-needed change in the policing policy of the city, and perhaps the state as well.”

The gap between sanctioned and available IOs (Investigating Officers) needs to be bridged; a total of 4,301 IOs are sanctioned, but only 2,904 are working, a gap of 32 per cent! Although this gap has reduced from 50 per cent in 2013; total of 1,397 officers are still needed to bridge the gap completely. Due to this gap, investigations have not been conducted in an organised manner. Mhaske contends, “A study of acquitted cases shows that the chief reason for acquittal has been ‘lack of evidence’. This, in turn, showcases the performance of the IO, the public prosecutor and the lack of coordination between the two.”

Praja’s crime White Papers also present some startling data regarding conviction rates in criminal cases. Milind Mhaske, Project Director, Praja Foundation says, “Conviction rates in Class II serious offences (cases involving bodily harm, murder, rape, grievous hurt, kidnapping, abduction etc.) has been an abysmal 8 per cent in 2013 – 92 per cent of those charge-sheeted have got away scot-free! Overall, the conviction rate remains at a low 22 per cent”. To maintain law and order in the city, it is imperative that these figures rise.

Low conviction rates lead to thriving crime and, consequently, an unsafe city. These figures highlight the lack of IOs in the city. Mehta says, “Understaffing and multiplicity of tasks in the Mumbai Police Force is compromising investigation and there by leading to low conviction rates. A fully manned force will mean that the officers handling criminal cases will focus solely on these investigations, rather than being called on to man roadblocks and performing bandobast duties. Consequently, cases that make their way to the courts will be watertight and there will be an assurance that the guilty will be convicted”.

(Picture courtesy www.mahapolice.gov.in. Image is used for representational purpose only)

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Deal with it

Injection basics: Prepare your child for his shots

Young children must be mentally prepared for receiving daily insulin shots. Ease your child into the process with easy steps.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

A parent’s – any parent’s – biggest nightmare is watching their child in pain. Parenthood is all about fortifying oneself against the sight of one’s suffering child, so that the parent may give the child the strength to get through his or her illness.

Many parents are apprehensive when their young child is detected with diabetes and with good reason – the doctor might prescribe regular insulin shots. Any child is afraid of needles, and it can be daunting to explain to your child that he or she needs to take insulin shots every day. However, if you convince yourself that this is a necessary step in your child’s road to recovery, you can persuade your child that taking injections every day is a good thing. In time, your child will fear the process less and even be prepared to take injections by himself.

Here are 5 steps to follow in preparing your child to take injections:

1. Talk to the child calmly. Explain why your child needs to take daily injections. Tell him or her, “You need to take your injections so that you can grow up healthy and strong.” Every child needs to be told the reason behind your actions – don’t tell him that injections must be taken “because you say so.” Not preparing the child for the process can make him fearful and resistant to the idea. If necessary, have the conversation with your doctor present so that all questions can be answered.

2. Don’t be squeamish. If you show a fear of needles, so will your child. Show the insulin bottle and syringe to your child, and demonstrate how you will draw up the required dose of insulin before injecting him. Explain every step of the process, right down to how you will inject the needle. Tell your child that the needle will not hurt after a while, and that he must be absolutely still while being injected. Keep your tone measured – your aim is to remove the fear associated with the process.

3. Be careful with the injection. Be extremely precise with the dosage and leave out any air bubbles in the canister. Next, dip a cotton ball in cold water, squeeze it and rub it over the injection site. Pinch the skin at the injection site using your forefinger and thumb, and plunge the needle in slowly and completely. Talk to your child soothingly while the needle is in, and now push the plunger so that all the insulin is injected. Stop pinching the skin and slowly remove the needle. Apply gentle pressure at the site for five seconds. After the first few times, your child will learn to relax during the injection.

4. Supervise your child’s dosage. Your child may be in his teens and able to take the injection without your help – still supervise the process. Make sure the dosage is precise, and that the needle is completely plunged in. If there is an insulin leak (this happens when the needle has not gone in deep enough), don’t let the child take more insulin to compensate for the loss – this might cause blood sugar levels to plunge.

5. Consult the doctor regularly for dosage. As children grow, the requirement for insulin may vary. Regular blood tests are a must, and so are doctor consultations. Be precise in following the prescribed dosage. Also try and maintain a record of blood sugar readings, changed dosages and prescribed dietary controls so that your child’s diabetes may remain under control.

(Picture courtesy www.telegraph.co.uk. Image used for representational purpose only)

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A band of men saying ‘No’

The city-based Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA) is organising the ‘Say NO, Accept NO’ event for colleges located in Mumbai.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

A group of men and boys are talking to collegians in Mumbai to spread a simple but potent message: Say NO, Accept NO.

The brainchild of city-based gender rights organisation Men Against Violence & Abuse (MAVA), which has been working among the youth to prevent gender-based violence on women for the past 22 years, is organising ‘Yuva Abhivyakti 2015’, a two-day Inter-Collegiate cultural event between January 10 and 11, 2015.

The event, to be held at Amar Hind Mandal, Dadar West, would comprise poster making, essay writing, slogan writing, elocution, group singing and street play competitions on the theme of ‘Say NO, Accept NO’.

“The competitions aim at stimulating girls to say ‘NO’ to Verbal Abuse, Unwelcome Hug, Forced Marriage, Sexual Harassment, Domestic Violence, Dowry or anything about which they are uncomfortable, and simultaneously tell boys how they should accept the ‘NO’ of a girl,” explains Harish Sadani, Founder-Member, MAVA. He adds, “The competitions are open to all students studying in any college affiliated to Mumbai and SNDT Women’s University.”

For registration, interested students should contact leaders of respective competitions on the phone numbers given on the poster alongside. Alternately, they can send an email at yuvaabhivyakti2015@gmail.com.

“We hope that college students will participate in the event and its competitions in large numbers,” Sadani says.

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Deal with it

Maha Gov awards electronic limbs to accident victims

Mulund based social organisation Yuvak Pratishthan awards electronic limbs to 13 victims of train and road accidents in Mumbai city.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Mumbai and its people are increasingly at threat to life and limb owing to erratic and rash road driving, or worse, falling between the gaps in railway platforms and train coaches. After the Monica More train accident made headlines this year, many city-based organisations and individuals came forward to offer the girl’s family monetary help as well. However, what really helped Monica was receiving electronic prosthetic arms.

Another initiative in Mumbai recently witnessed the distribution of electronic limbs to 13 accident victims in Mumbai, at the hands of the Maharashtra State Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao. The recipients were accident victims who had lost their limbs in train accident, road or other accidents. Electronic limbs are typically powered by batteries and they are operated by means of electronic signals sent by the brain to muscles in the area (where the prosthetic is attached) telling it how to move.

The distribution programme was organised by Yuvak Pratishthan, which is founded by Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya. Interestingly, Monika More was also present on the occasion. 

See some pics of the distribution ceremony below:

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