All about Home

Easiest Way to Add Equity in Your Property

Taking out a loan is a popular and easy way of making improvements to your home; whether you want to add an extension to your existing property, convert a room to a different use, or fit a new kitchen, loans available in the UK financial market suit the purpose. Not only these loans allow you to make changes and improvements to your home, but it can also increase your house value. The increase in equity of your house may be more than the original cost of the extension or improvement you add.

Research shows that home buyers in the UK are willing to pay substantial premiums for refurbished or improved properties. Adding special features can definitely up the sale price of your property.

Home improvement loans can be used to add value to your existing property in several different ways. First, and most obviously, buyers prefer houses to be ready to move. They want to move into furnished houses compared to the properties requiring investment or refurbishment. Older properties can also benefit a lot from modernization. Putting in a new kitchen or double-glazing an old house to save on energy bills can be a plus point when you are putting your home on the market. Buyers also love special features like solarium, extensions, and attic conversions, and these features increase your house value significantly and make it a much more desirable prospect in a crowded real estate market.

The first consideration when finding a competitive homeowner loan for renovation purpose is, of course, the loan interest rate itself. The interest rate may vary depending on your financial status, the amount being sought and the repayment period. It’s worth looking around at the offers from several loan providers. The Internet is a useful tool in this regard, allowing you to compare prices at a glance and saving a lot of time and money. By comparing at different lending companies, you will quickly get an idea of which deals are competitive and which are less so. So, it is always worth shopping around in order to find a competitive loan deal, as the details can vary more than you might think.

However, you should look beyond the headline interest rate on offer and check the small print to avail a low rate homeowner loan. In particular, things to look out for include the options and penalties for early repayment, penalties for missed payments, and the details of any insurance scheme which you might wish to take to cover your repayments in case of accident, sickness or death. All of these factors definitely make your loan deal cheap and affordable.

Dubai Properties Exhibited at Mumbai Extravaganza Targeting Indian Investor

Leading master real estate developer Dubai Properties has participated at the premium luxury show ‘Mumbai Extravaganza 2008’ in Mumbai, India to showcase its latest portfolio of realty developments including the latest to be announced ‘Mudon’ project, to an elite audience of high net worth visitors and top tier conglomerates.

Mohamed Binbrek, CEO, Dubai Properties, said, “Mumbai Extravaganza gave us an opportunity to present investors with instant information on the latest developments from Dubai Properties, as well as introduce our latest project launches to a new market.

Indian nationals are amongst the top investors within the booming real estate market in Dubai”.

In 2007, Indian Nationals spent Dh4 billion on real estate in Dubai and over the past 10 years, they have spent a total of Dh6.5 Billion on the Dubai property sector.

While the majority of these buyers were Indians living within the UAE, 10% of them were living in India or otherwise, proving the existence of a substantial demand for Dubai real estate from outside the UAE.

Waterfront Property – Reasons It Is So Desirable

Who Likes To Choose Vacation Homes On The Waterfront? This is for People of sharp taste who admire a calm way of life. People get themselves a home where they can go to on a vacation or on weekends just to go away from the hectic city life, the noise, and all the work just to spend some peaceful time alone or with the family

An individual’s hobbies and interests will mainly decide their vacation pick. If the person is enjoys water-skiing, fishing, swimming and boating, they are liable to prefer a vacation home closer to the waterfront. This will offer access to a dock and obviously, the water. And what type of vacation home the person chooses will depend entirely on the time he would be spending here.

There are many people who live in these places too. These are people who never thought life could be so great on a waterfront and after a vacation never wanted to leave. When most of these people returned to their city homes they could not put up with all the noise and yearned to go back. Many waterfront owners don’t even dare dream about leaving their homes and living in he city. The waterfront homes are extremely peaceful and fun to live in.

The people who live on the waterfront are very diverse in behavior and culture. There are fishermen who have lived all their lives in these places and cannot even imagine of leaving their homes. Many others are people who have visited these places and fell in love with the serene atmosphere and made the waterfronts their homes to live a peaceful life. And some people, who came to these places for a vacation, loved their stay and are now unwilling to go back. Life in the waterfront is indeed very tempting.

One thing to be noted that most of the waterfront homes are situated in remote and secluded areas and some in resort areas. So these places may not suit the needs of everyone. One has to choose a place that suits him and his family the best. The real estate promotes options for holiday abodes such as condos, cottages, and timeshares. And what type of vacation home the person chooses will depend entirely on the time he would be spending here. As the individual is likely to visit these places once or twice throughout the year, it would be a total waste keeping it vacant for the rest of the year.

Maybe these places could suit the people who love to come to the beach, take long strolls, think, write poetry and love to be left alone. Or maybe if you just adore scenic locations and have all the time in the world and do not mind seclusion. These type of people need to look for different types of homes in a different location. The resort waterfront homes may not suit them. They may be looking for a home near a secluded and quiet lake.

We can all be grateful for the wide variety of waterfront property homes and the different types of people who live in them. Vive le difference!

Intellectual Property- Its Meaning and Development in India

“If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it.” Thomas Jefferson.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is the privileges given to the owners of works that are created with the help of individual intelligence. These creations can be in the business, technical, fictional and arty domains and can have various forms comprising, of scripts, inventions, software, a suite or a trade name.

The term “intellectual property” was introduced in the case of Davoll et al. v. Brown in October 1845 in the Massachusetts Circuit Court. In this Justice Charles L. Woodbury held that “only in this way can we protect intellectual property, the labors of the mind, productions and interests as much a man’s own…as the wheat he cultivates, or the flocks he rears.” Section 1 of the French law of 1791 also stated that “All new discoveries are the property of the author; to assure the inventor the property and temporary enjoyment of his discovery, there shall be delivered to him a patent for five, ten or fifteen years.

The basic purpose of IPR is to guard the rights of an author for his work and simultaneously permit the general public to view his creativity. IPR law also puts time limits on the rights given to these authors so that a balance is maintained. Intellectual property, like any other form of property can become a material of trade, can be owned, sold as well as bought. This type of property is gradually becoming important for ensuring competition in a knowledge based economy.

Intellectual property is divided into the following categories:

? Copyright

? Patents

? Trade Marks

? Design Rights

? Passing off

? The law of Confidential information

Copyrights, are mainly issued for the protection of original expressions of art, literature, music, drama etc. – for example, Pepsi has a copyright on the phrase “Yeh Dil Maange More”

Patents are the rights granted to the inventor on new inventions which are not common – for example, Graham Bell got a patent on his invention of the telephone.

Trademarks are mainly issued for protection of the make or the brand name and symbol that may be used by the brand owner-for example, the name ‘Coca Cola’ is a sheltered trademark and only the makers can use it.

Design is issued for the protection of artistic or visual features in products – for example, a toothbrush with large bristles can get a legal protection for its unique design.

Confidential information and trade secrets can also be protected by imposing restrictions on the physical use of that information and also imposing contractual obligations upon the persons dealing with that information – for example, the formula for making Coca Cola has been kept secret in this manner.

There are various organizations that are working towards the protection of intellectual property. Some of them are as follows:

(a) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Geneva which sanctions various treaties in the field of intellectual property.

(b) Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (relating to patents, trademarks, designs, etc.) of 1883.

(c) Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (relating to copyright) of 1886.

(d) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) through which patents can be obtained in different countries by filing a single application.

(e) World Trade Organization (WTO), which contains the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). This agreement creates an obligation on all the members to recognize intellectual property rights in their country.

In India the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is the supreme authority for all matters concerning WIPO. There have been remarkable developments in the field of intellectual property in India which is evident from the statistics shown below:

(a) In the year 1999-2000 there were merely 4824 application for patents that were filed whereas in 2006-2007 a total of 28,882 applications have been filed.

(b) There were merely 2824 applications examined in the year 1999-2000 whereas in 2006-2007 the number has gone up to 14,119 in 2006-07.

(c) There was a backlog of 5 lakh cases which has been brought down to zero now.

(d) The process of renewal of Trademarks certificates is now being done instantly and new applications are examined within a week.

(e) In 1999-2000, 8,010 registrations of trademarks were done which has increased to 109,361 now that is almost 13 times of the earlier figure.

(f) In the last four years there were 3.38 lakh trademark certificates issued, however in the last 64 years there were merely 1.65 lakh marks were registered.

(g) There have been 39 Geographical Indications products registrations since September, 2003. These include Darjeeling Tea, Pochanpally Ikat, Chaddar, Mysore Silk, Chanderi Saree, Kullu Shawl, Solapur Bidriware, etc.

(h) In the field of designs also the filing of applications has increased from 2874 to 5372 in 2006-07. The number of examined applications has also gone up to 5179 in 2006-07. The registrations in designs have also gone up to 4431 in 2006-07.

Current developments in the Intellectual property in India

(a) Establishment of NIIPM

The Government has already approved the proposal for establishment of a National Institute for Intellectual Property Management (NIIPM) at Nagpur. The Institute will perform training, education and research in this field.

(b) Modernization of the IP Offices

To provide additional employees, establish a higher level of computer network to support on-line processing, strengthen the data base and novelty search facilities, to make the people aware of generation activities, and to provide an access to international treaties/conventions easily the government is planning to modernize the IP offices. This proposal will be taken up in the 11th five year plan.

(c) Madrid Protocol on Trademarks

Madrid Protocol, administered by WIPO, is an uncomplicated, facilitative and lucrative system for the registration of International Trademarks. If India becomes a member of this then the Indian companies will have an advantage of registering their trademarks in all the countries which are the members of this protocol by filing a single application. The amendment of the Trade Marks Act is in progress so that our country can be a member of this protocol.

(d) International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA)

ISA and IPEA’s provide search reports on uniqueness and examination reports on patentability of various inventions. In India a scheme is under consideration to get recognition for the Indian Patent Office as an International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Co-operation Treaty.

(d) Mashelkar Committee

The Indian government has established a group of technical experts to examine the following patent law issues:

(a) Whether it would be compatible to the TRIPS agreement to limit the grant of patent for pharmaceutical substances only to a new chemical entity or to a new medical entity.

(b) Whether it would be compatible to the TRIPS agreement to exclude micro-organisms from patenting.

The bottom-line is that India is one of the most responsible members of the WTO. Besides creating waves in the global software industry India has framed stringent laws for the protection of IPR in the country. Bill Gates, the chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, has rated India as one of the strongest pedestals for software development. It is evident from this statement that if a person like Bill Gates who is so much aware of the IPR issues can designate India as one of the upcoming destinations for the software development then the foreign companies should not worry about the protection of their intellectual property rights while investing in India.

Home Equity Loans UK

If you want cash to cover some immediate personal expenses then one of the inexpensive ways is to take a secured home equity loan. Home equity refers to the difference between the actual market value of your house and the amount you owe to your bankers. The amount of money advanced in a home equity loan is a little less than the exact amount determined as home equity.

A home equity loan should not be taken lightly as one may need quite some time to repay the loan. It is not hassle free either as compared to other kind of loans. Once the application reaches the lender containing details of your property it is processed and bonafide officers of the bank perform the due diligence for valuation of a property. Once an exact value of your property is determined it is matched with your requirements. If the value of the property and the loan amount requested match then the loan is approved and the money disbursed to the customer. The loan amount disbursed is slightly lower than the value of the property keeping in mind any unexpected depreciation in the value of your property.

Homeowners usually go for these kinds of loans when they need money for home improvement purposes or to make fresh investments in buying land or property. Home equity loans can be fixed rate or adjustable rate loans depending upon the choice of the borrower. The interest paid on these loans is tax deductible unlike other consumer durable loans where the interest is not tax deductible.

Some lenders offer these home equity loans as a revolving line of credit to the customer where interest is charged only on the amount of money that is used by the borrower. The option to generate money though a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit should be exercised with great care as any default would lead to forfeiture of your residential property by the lending institution.