Best ways to save money while redoing your home by Boman Rustom Irani

Renovating your humble abode is a very exciting task for most people. Whether it is your first bachelor pad, your first apartment as a newlywed couple, your brand new house after having children or your old home, which desperately needs a facelift; home improvement or overhaul can be exciting and daunting at the same time.

Just like while buying a home, most people go overboard, when it comes to the pre-decided budget, same is often the case for home renovation also. So how do you get your dream home and also make sure that you are not left penniless in the process. The following tips should come in handy:

1.      Having a budget in mind (possibly on the lower side with some wiggle room) is the most important and safest way to make sure you don’t go overboard while renovating your home. While it is a good idea to expect the budget to go overboard, make sure you have an upper limit in mind.

2.      How much do you want to spend on basics – flooring, ceiling, plumbing, etc. and how much do you want to spend on frills – fireplace, bathtub, LED TV, etc. Make sure to take care of the necessities first and attend to the luxuries later. You don’t want a leaking bathroom, while watching your favorite show on your home theatre system.

3.      If you are planning to hire a contractor, make sure he knows what all you are expecting from this renovation project. Also, you can get quotes from two or three contractors to compare and study and get the best possible rate.

4.      Delays are a given when redoing your home, so be prepared. But if each delay is causing you more labor cost and other costs, then make sure to clarify the same with the contractor in advance.

 Boman Rustom Irani’s tips to save money while redoing your home should really bring you one step closer to your dream home.

Steps You Should Take To Protect Your Business Ideas

Good business ideas are hard to come by and when you do happen to think of an idea that sounds like it good generate good money, it is very important to protect it. In order to do so, you need to take certain steps that will ensure that your ideas cannot be used by any other individual or company.

Has this idea been used before?

Before you rush off to begin establishing your new business, conduct some market research to understand what are the scope of your business and the potential of your concept to materialize into reality. You also need to note whether or not an idea such as yours has been used before to ensure that you are not infringing upon someone else's copyrights. Hire a lawyer who specializes in copyrights and patents to help you establish your business successfully and to fully know what steps you need to take in order to make it marketable to investors, clients and consumers.

Establish your rights over the idea

Ensuring that you hold monopoly over your own idea requires taking certain necessary legal steps. These include taking forms and filling out the paperwork you need in order to get patents, trademarks or copyrights as these will let you use your ideas in the market openly. On doing so, you will also have to set up court dates in order to make your business an official one. You can always receive help or advice from a lawyer who specializes in these matters. Once the courts hand you the official documents stating that your concept is a recognised and legitimate business idea, you can finally put your thoughts into action.

Build up your brand

Consumers distinguish between different brands through identifying means such as logos, corporate colours, brand image and other symbols that are used to help a brand stand out from the others. Use these symbols to mark all your corporate stationary such as business cards, envelopes, letterheads and legal paperwork. This step will also prove to be useful once you start using marketing techniques to generate public interest and awareness for your brand, not to mention sales as well. In order to design these symbols, you can hire a small designing company or, if you are inclined towards the field, design it yourself. Remember, your symbols will represent who you are and the way you design it will send out a messages to your consumers.

Market your brand

Now that you have an established brand, one of the key ways to protect it from dying in the market is to generate consumer awareness about the brand and the products that it offers. This can be achieved in various ways such as constructing a website for your business including the corporate history, detailed descriptions of various products and a few pages portraying your skill in the industry. You can also release press releases in established newspapers or business journals in order to gain attention in the market. If you're worried about the amount of money you'll end up spending while using the mass media as a communication medium, you can resort to staging low-budget events in public areas such as malls, which is also a good way to let the consumer come in contact with your idea directly instead of through an advertisement. Although advertising is also a good way to generate public interest and awareness but it is quite costly and should be implemented only after you have managed to generate sales and are sure of your footing in the market. This is an extremely vital step as a brand's success depends on how many people know about the brand in the first place. - By Boman Rustom Irani

Tips for saving money on Travel By Boman Rustom Irani

With the ever increasing cost of living, it may get a bit challenging to cope up with the expenses of traveling extravagantly, for an economic class person. However, that should not restrict a person from going out on vacations and occasional retreats, at all.  The most apposite solution for such a situation is planning a modest budget and saving a reasonable amount of money while travelling.

As we all know, saving while traveling may get slightly complicated. Taxes and fees, unexpected needs, impulse spending, emergencies, etc. are just unavoidable. There is no doing away with these expenditures. However there are many other ways by which you can keep the overall budget balanced.

First and foremost, do a thorough research about the city or country that you are going to. Everything starting from traveling expenses, hotels, food, entertainment to amusement spots, currency etc. In this way you will get a rough knowledge of how much you are going to be spending on your trip.

If you are on a tight budget, travel during off-seasons. Scheduling and timing your travel may save quite some money, plus you don’t have to face the hordes of people everywhere.

Secondly, consider tours and travels packages. An all-inclusive deal that comprises of the air or train fair, accommodation, food, entertainment etc. are often cheaper than booking everything individually.

If you are traveling by flight, make sure that you pack your luggage lightly and weigh your luggage while packing. Usually 30-40 kilograms is the limit for free baggage allowance for economic class, make sure you don’t exceed it.

Book your room in advance to avoid any last minute issues. There is no need to plan your stay at a luxurious inn as most of your time will be expended on sight-seeing. Try negotiating with the clerk about the rates of the room or ask him for some sort of perks and advantages like a discount or a free upgrade. Also, make sure you book a hotel which has morning breakfast included in the cost so that you don’t have to go out every morning searching for a restaurant. This saves time and money both.

If you are staying for a long period at one place, you may rent an apartment on a short term basis as it may cost you lesser than hotel rooms. Whenever you are traveling, it is always recommended to carry copiously amount of food, snacks and drinks with you. In this way, you wouldn’t have to spend too much on local bistros, plus you get your regular stable meal in case the native food does not match with your taste buds.

At the destination, try to use the local public transport such as trains, buses etc. instead of renting a car. In this way you can experience the place just like any other native resident! Also get a map of all the local routes and directions just in case you get strayed!

Control your desires and urges to shop, especially the ladies! Try to find markets or bazaars where you get decent deals on local items such as apparels, handicrafts, toys, merchandises etc. Avoid shopping at malls and expensive shopping centers as it will only increase your expenditure and the overall budget.

Whilst traveling, you may need to be in touch with people back home. Instead of spending a fortune on roaming charges, buy an international SIM card. This will reduce your mobile bill by at least 50 per cent.

By taking these petty steps and precautions, you can save a decent amount of money. Follow the above mentioned advice and you will notice less of a trench on your bank account! – Contributed by Mr. Boman Rustom Irani

Boom in Real Estate by 2020 – By Boman Rustom Irani

There are many conflicting facts that one will face when looking to purchase a home in the current scenario. If you are one who is interested in real estate as a long term purchase then you have to make the correct choice. To do so, you need to have a proper understanding of the possible boom in real estate in the next ten years or so. So what is it that will define a great opportunity when you are looking for a long term investment? Before that, let us look through the possibilities of real estate in the present and the near future by Boman Rustom Irani:

• Echo boomers are stepping out of their baby boomer parents’ homes and have now started going to college and becoming a part of the working population. This means that there is a very high volume of immigrants all over and this is creating a high wave of demand for rentals in particular.
• The other major factor adding to the demand for rentals is the increasing age of the boomers.
• The next point to be taken into consideration is that the boomer who own homes but do not have their children living with them are basically faced with the question of what to do with the extra property that they have. Since the market conditions are not exactly favourable for the selling for real estate property, renting of this extra space becomes the top priority for everybody. This, in turn places a downward pressure on the market thanks to the whole substitution effect – there is an increase in the number of households, which effectively suppresses the need for new homes.
• The boomer children are getting back on track with families that are comparatively smaller. This has resulted in a more limited housing demand.
• The pressure put on by rising taxes and the increasing rates of interest will definitely dampen the possibilities of new construction. This will only add to the pressure downsizing the housing needs.
• Many might lose confidence in investing in a house as a wealth repository due to the losses from the recession, the increase of credit requirements for home purchases and the increase in down payment. All of this will only turn buyers to renters, to an extent where renting a home may soon become the norm rather than buying homes.
• The growth of population has also slowed down considerably and this might also place some pressure on new housing and infrastructure.

So where exactly does the “boom” in real estate take place? Keeping all of this in mind coupled with the development of structure and architecture, let’s see how there will be a boom in real estate by 2020.

• Properties will have timeless architecture, which provide great lifestyle features like easy transportation for the masses, easy access to employment, shopping, walking and many more. Structures like these will be the future of real estate and will be big investments of the time.
• Homes that are considered as single-family homes in the current times, will be supporting multiple renters in the future. A few minor changes to the homes and the entire value of the house may happen.
• Futuristic homes will be highly efficient for living with features like low utility costs and easy maintenance.
• Properties with the optimum combination of location, accessibility, opportunity as well as quality of living will indeed upgrade the economy values.

Given the rate of development currently seen, real estate by 2020 will have most of its structures being a wonderful combination of all of the above-mentioned features. Providing luxury features at increasingly competitive rates is the aim of most real estate developers. Overall, the buyers stand to benefit the most – By Boman Rustom Irani.

To follow Boman Rustom Irani, you can visit his linked-in and FaceBook profile .

Boman Rustom Irani – Success Story of a Construction Tycoon

The corporate counterpart of the two famous ‘Boman Iranis’, Boman Rustom Irani is the driving force behind the success story of the well-known real estate brand ‘Rustomjee’. He founded the Rustomjee Group in 1996, and now serves as its Managing Director and Chairman.

In December 2006, Mr Boman Rustom Irani got married to Perizaad Zorabian, who is a Bollywood actress well-known for her roles in movies like ‘Bollywood Calling’ and ‘Jogger’s Park’. While she is currently the proud owner of a restaurant called 'Gondola' in Bandra, Mumbai, he is an engineer who is pursuing a management program through the Harvard Business School. He is a first generation real estate developer and an entrepreneur, who now has over 16 years of experience and profound knowledge about the real estate industry. He has helped Rustomjee evolve as one of the foremost, most sought after and respected premier real estate companies in Mumbai today. He is a smart businessman who has used his experience, knowledge and international exposure to develop powerful and successful business strategies which has taken the Rustomjee group to new heights, so to speak.

Under his leadership and guidance, Rustomjee has become a respected corporate and a well-known brand in a very short span of time. Rustomjee was among the first real estate companies to receive an ISO 9001 certification in 2001, and has now upgraded to ISO 9001:2008 certifications. Rustomjee has constructed and delivered about 5 million sq. ft. of real estate area, developed as residential projects, townships and impressive commercial spaces in and around Mumbai. Two of the biggest, well-planned & best-selling integrated townships in Virar and Thane are both Rustomjee projects, with a prime focus on value-for-money housing.

KRPL’s upcoming projects headed by Boman Rustom Irani boasts of a development portfolio of approximately 30 million sq. ft. in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR), making it one of the leading real estate developers in & around Mumbai. These projects currently in the pipe-line include Rustomjee Seasons at BKC Annex, Rustomjee Paramount in Khar (West) and Rustomjee Summit in Borivali (East).
Mr. Boman Rustom Irani, being a self-made man, realises the importance of education and the plight of the underprivileged. Thus he founded and is chief benefactor of the ‘Rustom Irani Foundation’, which manages and runs institutes in all areas of education from pre-school to post-graduation, with more than 12000 students. His vision and mission to ‘Make Education a Priority’ has driven the Rustomjee Institutes to achieve an enviable reputation. He is currently the Secretary of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) and also the President for MCHI - Mira Virar City Unit. He is also on the Board of Directors of Raymond Limited (India).

In June 2012, Boman Rustom Irani was on Radio One 94.3 in an interview with RJ Mansi to discuss the rising costs of residential apartments in Mumbai, proposed policies, affordable homes and disparity between demand and supply. He feels strongly that there must be a roof above every Mumbaikar’s head, and he discussed what efforts would be required to realize this dream. He passionately believes that ‘a home should be designed according to the people that live in it.’ Playgrounds for children, huge expansive gardens, gyms, clubhouses, jogging tracks & staircases especially created for the elderly, are all because Rustomjee cares about building homes with ideas, and not just steel and mortar. To know more about Boman Rustom Irani - Visit his FaceBook Page.

About Sh. Boman Rustom Irani

Sh. Boman Rutom Irani is the Chairman and Managing Director of Rustomjee Group, and is the driving force behind the success story of the Real Estate brand ‘Rustomjee’.

Born in 1969, Mr. Boman Rustom Irani is an Engineer currently pursuing a management program from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Irani is a first generation real estate developer and an entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience and profound knowledge about the industry. He has coupled business acumen with international exposure to put into use powerful and very successful strategies.

Having founded the Rustomjee Group in 1996, Boman has used his strong sense of acumen and expertise to evolve the Company as one of the foremost, most sought after and respected premier real estate company in Mumbai. Rustomjee was one of the first real estate firms to receive an ISO 9001 certification in 2001, and had now upgraded to ISO 9001:2008.

Under his leadership and guidance, Rustomjee has earned the distinction of a respected corporate and a well-known brand in an extremely short span of time. With a development portfolio of more than 30 mn sq ft in MMR region and a sound track record of sustained growth, customer satisfaction, and innovation, Rustomjee has constructed and delivered about 5 million sq. ft. of development through a number of residential projects, townships and impressive commercial spaces in and around Mumbai and has been ranked among the best developers in Mumbai. 

He is also the founder and chief benefactor of the ‘Rustom Irani Foundation’ which manages and runs institutes in all spheres of education from pre-school to post-graduation, with the capacity of more than 12000 students.  His vision aligned with his mission to ‘Make Education a Priority’ has led the Rustomjee Institutes to achieve an enviable reputation in a short span of time. The students from these institutes have made their presence felt at the State, National and International Levels.

Mr. Irani is on the Managing Committee of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI). He is currently the Secretary of MCHI and also the President for MCHI - Mira Virar City Unit.

Some of the key Rustomjee projects currently under construction are:

• Rustomjee Oriana, Bandra (E) – A lavish 21 storey tower comprising 3 BHK and 4 BHK apartments
• Rustomjee Elita, Upper Juhu – One of the most premium projects, comprises of a 14-storied residential tower with four levels of parking and a pristine landscaped garden
• Rustomjee Elanza, Malad (W) – High-end residential complex in the heart of a suburban business hub, having three elegant towers of 36 storeys each, offering 2 and 2.5 BHK apartments
• Rustomjee Urbania, Thane (W) – A 127 acre integrated township, designed with a fusion of open and covered spaces, offers residential, commercial, retail, education and entertainment areas, all in the same township. Amenities such as an exclusive clubhouse, landscape garden with a jogging track and also ramps for kids and senior citizens are some of the many benefits on offer
• Rustomjee Evershine Global City, Virar (W) – The largest township in the western suburbs and also the highest selling, being developed along with Evershine Developers. Spread across 217 acres, the township comes with a host of social infrastructure features like wide roads, 12 acres of recreational area, a large clubhouse, world class schools with large playgrounds, hospitals and a proposed shopping mall 

Some of the upcoming Rustomjee projects are:

• Rustomjee Seasons, BKC Annex
• Rustomjee Paramount, Khar (W)
• Rustomjee Summit, Borivali (E)
• Rustomjee Elements, Upper Juhu

Some of the completed Rustomjee projects are:

• Rustomjee Ozone, Goregaon (W)
• Rustomjee Central Park, Andheri (E)
• Rustomjee 7 JVPD
• Rustomjee 9JVPD
• Rustomjee Shimmer, Juhu
• Rustomjee La Solita, Bandra (W)
• Rustomjee Buena Vista, Bandra (W)
• Rustomjee Adarsh, Malad (W)
• Rustomjee Riviera, Malad (W)
• Rustomjee Acres, Dahisar
• Rustomjee Natraj, Andheri (E) – Commercial Office
• Rustomjee Aspiree, Sion – Commercial Office