We offer only the finest quality, says Cardoso

KIRTH GEORGE

PANJIM: After finishing his education at the Institute of Hotel Management, Goa, he moved to the US to work in the hospitality industry. He then returned home to set up a construction company. Agnelo Cardoso, founder and director, Nathan Constructions Pvt Ltd spoke to the Herald about his journey, his company and his future plans. 

HERALD: How did you get into the construction business?

AGNELO CARDOSO: Well, I was working in the hospitality industry in the States when my father died. I had to decide whether to continue in the US or come back and be with the family and I decided on the latter.

While in the States I was inspired by the story of Donald Trump. So when I returned in 1998, I decided to get into the realty space offering only the best. My father already had a business in fabrication and carpentry, so I took it from there. I started with a few restoration projects during which time I learnt the practical side of the industry. I also did courses in real estate management from the Accommodation Times Institute.

HERALD: What kind of projects do you do?

AC: For individual bungalows, we now take up only high-end bungalows. We call this the ‘Dream Home’ vertical and here we do bungalows only worth Rs 5 crore and above. We are currently doing three such bungalows in Goa. This is a vanity buy and the clientele for this segment are usually filmstars, politicians and CEOs. We do the whole gambit from identifying the plot to interiors and handing over of the dream home to the client in a manner that is engaging yet hassle free for the client. We give complimentary flight tickets for four passengers at three different stages: At the time of identifying the plot; at the time of acquisition of the plot and the time of planning for the interiors of the Dream Home. We also assign each client a ‘Dream Watcher’ from our operations office to supervise and be a single window link to the client for any communication related to the project. We also gift the client an Apple iPad at the land acquisition stage loaded with software that allows the client to remotely monitor the progress of their Dream Home.

HERALD: Do you have anything for clientele with a lesser than Rs 5 crore budget?

AC: We do. This category can opt for our Holiday Home vertical. Currently we have a project with 50 studio apartments and 15 villas in a total area of 7500 sqm coming up at Varca and about 5 minutes from the beach. Each unit comes fully loaded with 50 amenities including Internet, door phone security, inverter, TV, AC, fridge etc. So the client can come only with his clothes and the rest will be found at the unit. This gated property will also have a swimming pool and an in-house restaurant. A studio is priced about Rs 35 lakh and buyers need to pay the full amount upfront. Apart from ownership of the unit, the client can also avail of our guaranteed buy back scheme where we offer Rs 10 lakh premium after two years.

Clients can also avail a guaranteed rent back option where we offer Rs 2,000 a day all year round. The rent back agreement can be signed for a duration of two years with an option to renew on expiry. When we rent back the clients unit we will manage the property much like a 3-4 star property and earn revenue from that. So it is a win-win for all concerned and this makes hospitality our third vertical. We intend to have 12 such projects in the next 10 years.

HERALD: What is the kind of revenue you will generate from all your verticals?

AC: Well aim to be a Rs 500 crore company in the next 5 years. 

HERALD: What is your USP?

AC: I think we offer only the finest quality; we offer total solutions for investors/ home buyers; we value the trust factor; we tend to build relationships with customers; we tend to deliver ahead of time and eventually our clients will own a brand that they can be proud of.