Every day, we receive questions, questions and more questions about Jagaha.com, what we do and how we do it. here’s our blog which covers all the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) that we receive from clients and owners alike. For any other queries, you will always find a happy voice at the end of 9029000670 or email our team at [email protected].

Q: What is Jagaha.com?

Q: Who is the owner of Jagaha.com?

A: Otis Critchley and I am an American, who has been living in Mumbai since 2011. Long story short, I moved over to Mumbai as an investment banker and got into residential real estate that then turned into commercial real estate. The private limited company that owns Jagaha.com is Bandra Rentals Pvt Ltd that was set up to provide services for expats looking for residential properties in the Bandra area of Mumbai.

Q: When did Jagaha.com start?

A: We officially launched our commercial real estate platform on April 22nd 2016, BUT I (Otis Critchley) started the process solo around May of 2015, where I came up with a mock-up, hired a developer and started the process. It wasn’t until about September 2015 that I had essentially shifted over the employees of Bandra Rentals to spend their time sourcing commercial properties in Mumbai for our site. The website was supposed to launch in December of 2015, but took four months later where we took full advantage. I hired up a team and instead of launching with just over 1,000 properties we launched with over 3,000 properties in not only Mumbai but also in Thane & Navi Mumbai.

Q: Does Jagaha.com deal in residential properties?

A: Jagaha focuses exclusively on the commercial real estate. We are fully aware that over 80% of the value of real estate is in the residential segment, but we focus only on commercial for a few reasons. Firstly, I am most interested in commercial real estate and get an extra kick working with different businesses knowing how important finding the right space actually is and not just in a flowery way, but actually impacts the bottom line of each and every business. And we recognized that in Mumbai and beyond that the ability to shortlist & research adequate properties is very difficult to do online. Secondly, from a business perspective, we found it very important to have a niche and that the commercial real estate market was underserved online versus the residential market.

Q: Which areas does Jagaha.com cover?

A: Jagaha covers all of Mumbai from south Mumbai to just beyond Powai and covers Thane further north as well as Navi Mumbai to the east. The day will certainly come where we will expand our firm beyond the Mumbai metropolitan area, but we have seen too many start-ups try to take on all of Pan-India in one go and get over-extended without having a money making system that is the place. Once we have a good grip of the Mumbai market in terms of brand, number of deals closed etc. we will then consider expanding other important cities within India.

Q: Where exactly is the property located?

A: At Jagaha.com, we provide transparency, no doubt about it. However, we do not provide the building name on our site. There is a tremendous amount of works that goes into every single property on our site from visiting the property to taking pictures, videos, writing descriptions etc. But to get a very good idea where the property is, we have pinpointed the location of the property on Google maps. Just go to the property’s respective property page and scroll down and voila! You will see where the property is located.

Q: Do you have to pay for marketing on Jagaha.com?

A: Not only to have your property listed on Jagaha.com is free, we do all the work. The only thing you need to do is coordinate with a member of our team to set up the time when they should come by to your property to take pictures, videos and take down all pertinent information to better sell your property. Then it goes over the operations team that beautifies the photos, buts the videos together and markets your property online. And it doesn’t stop there. Once someone inquires on your property, it goes directly to Jagaha’s real estate advisor team who will take it ahead and arrange an inspection for your property.

Q: When does Jagaha gets paid?

A: The only time Jagaha get’s paid is when Jagaha closes the deal for you. Other property sites have an advertising model where it costs to list properties on the site. We do not charge any fee and pick up all the costs to list all the properties from showing up at the property to getting the property on our portal. We feel that unless we add definitive value, we shouldn’t be paid and this encourages our firm to try to provide the best experience for all of our clients. Lastly, and needless to say, we are a business and require money to continue to provide transparency and improve the experience and the end result for commercial real estate transactions in Mumbai.

Q: Why does Jagaha.com charge brokerage?

A: For a property portal to make money, they have three choices:
1) The advertisement model
2) The brokerage model
3) A combination of the two
We have decided on the brokerage model because we feel that we should only get paid when we close the deal for you & your firm, whether looking an office space for rent or searching for a restaurant for sale in Mumbai. Up until we execute the deal for you, we provide all of our services for free for both the landlord in marketing his/her property online from start to finish to our users who are searching from properties, receiving consultation from team Jagaha, going out on inspections. Again, Jagaha pays for everything and only asks to be paid when we ‘crack the deal.’

Q: Is the brokerage for residential property and commercial property different?

A: The standard brokerage of 1% for re-sale properties charged to both parties and the rental brokerage of 1 to 3 months is the same. However, it is very rare for someone to enter into a residential lease for a lock-in period that would generate a brokerage payment of more than one month’s rent whereas commercial leases can stretch beyond ten years. In Mumbai the rental rates are for below 3 years, one month’s brokerage, for less than 5 years two month’s brokerage and for over 5 years 3 months brokerage.

Q: What is the mode of payment?

A: At Jagaha.com, we see ourselves as part of modern India (and look forward to making India proud in the coming years), so when we close a commercial real estate deal for our clients we require that client’s pay in cheque and not cash.

Q: Can we pay brokerage in installments?

A: No. We have tried this in the past with some clients, but it simply wasted time, energy & money. Payment for our services is required to be paid within full within fifteen days of the registration date.

Q: Do you negotiate on brokerage?

A: No. We provide an endless amount of services for those looking for properties and those marketing their properties. We only charge our fee which is 1-3 months commission for lease deals & 1% for resale properties on outright – this is the standard fee in Mumbai. And we only ask for our fee once we’ve cracked the deal for you!

Q: If I inquire on a property, how much time will Jagaha.com take to revert back?

A: Ideally we would give you a call while you are still on our commercial property site! However, given we are a start-up and there are times when our entire team of real estate advisors may be tied up tending to clients. We can ensure that we will get back to you within in a day or so. Again, many times we would get back within an hour, but given the nature of our business model, our real estate advisor team will get back to you asap! And we very much look forward to finding the commercial space in Mumbai for your firm.

Q: How to post my property on Jagaha.com?

A: Posting your property on Jagaha.com couldn’t be easier! You no longer have to post anything at all. Our property team at Jagaha.com does all the work. All you have to do is contact us regarding your property and a member of our team will sort out a time to come by your commercial property to take videos, pictures, take down all the important information to market your piece of Mumbai real estate and then that information will be given to our operations team that will upload the property to Mumbai’s commercial property site!

Q: How often does Jagaha.com gets inquiries?

A: Jagaha.com gets inquires twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and the number has increased dramatically from 2017 to 2018. We are nearly getting over 1,000 inquiries per month for properties on our site, meaning about 1,000 different businesses and investors inquire on properties on our site per month (mind you we only do commercial real estate & we only do the Mumbai area). Then from those inquiries, the real estate advisor team filters down clients to see the respective properties that match the client’s specifications.

Q: Does Jagaha.com have any mandates?

A: Jagaha.com right now is keeping its business model very straightforward. To get the maximum amount of commercial properties in Mumbai verified on our site and then find the best commercial space available for our users by closing the deal! Marketing one’s property on Jagaha.com is free and for property seekers as well. And as a business we need to charge a fee as we need the money to run! Given we are very focused at this time on making sure our users have the best experience possible, we have yet to pursue or accept any mandates, but will be open to the idea in due time when we feel we can provide exceptional value to developers.

Q: Is Jagaha.com a start-up?

A: It most certainly is! We launched on April 2016 and have been building up our firm (and our brand) each day. We look forward helping your firm ‘Move Forward.’ To get a better feel of who we are please check out our social media channels.

Q: Is Jagaha.com a marketing site or a real estate brokerage firm?

A: Jagaha is both a marketing property site and Mumbai’s most active commercial real estate agency. We have an online to offline model. To start any search in 2018 and beyond, one will go ‘online’ to begin the search or to look further into an existing search. If you are not online in 2018, then it will become more and more difficult to generate real estate leads. The way we generate real estate leads is by accumulating the maximum amount of commercial properties in Mumbai and verifying every single property in person before putting them on our site. Once the inquiry is made, it then goes over to our real estate advisor who will further help with your requirement until closure. Jagaha is a full-service online portal for Mumbai commercial real estate.

Q: What makes Jagaha special compared to other property sites?

A: Jagaha.com is a full-service commercial property site with 100% verified properties. Jagaha not only has the most commercial properties in Mumbai, Thane & Navi Mumbai listed on our site, but it also boasts that every single property has been verified in person by a member of Jagaha’s property team. In addition to having the largest number of commercial properties in the Mumbai metro area, Jagaha also has its own commercial real estate agency (which in terms of the number of inspections per week, is easily #1 in Mumbai, rather the most active!) so we can help you close the deal from start to finish. Jagaha is a one-stop shop for all of your Mumbai commercial real estate needs.

Q: How much is commercial real estate commission in Mumbai?

A: In Mumbai, commercial real estate commissions are as follows:

• Resale Outright: 1% of total value
• Primary Outright: 2% to up to 8% (property developer pays)
• Rental less than 3 years: 1 month’s rent
• Rental 3 years to 5 years: 2 month’s rent
• Rentals 5 years or more: 3 month’s rent

The above are the market rates in Mumbai and are largely applicable for residential as well; however, rental deals are often from year to year and very rarely are there contacts for more than 3 years. Please note, Jagaha.com charges the same rates as mentioned above.

Q: How do I list a property for sale & lease and where?

A: It’s a simple process, at least at Jagaha.com. Currently, you can put your name, telephone number and email in the respective section on our homepage or you can call us or you can email us at [email protected] and aside from coordinating with a member of our commercial real estate team, you don’t have to do much of anything else. We do all the work for you! We will show up to your property take all the visuals and information we need to best sell or rent your property then hand it over to our operations team whose job is to create a URL of your property where Jagaha’s large user base can inquire. We have a team of commercial real estate agents that take these inquiries and will give information regarding the inquired property, but also will offer other properties on our site as per the client’s specifications.

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