Friday, November 25, 2011

How NRIs & PIOs can Buy Real Estate in India?

Buying a property in India is the dream of every NRI - non resident indian & PIOs, whether he or she is settled in the Gulf, anywhere in the west ranging from the UK, US, Europe or Australia. The trend to own a real estate in India has been fuelled by the host of options in premier homes, resorts and villas that are available nowadays. The time is also ripe as there is a surge in interest from everywhere in the world. NRI’s are mostly checking out online options these days to buy property in India.

Take time to look for the best option

If you think you can buy property during your two or a maximum of three week trip to India, you should do some real soul searching. Memories of visiting lawyers, property consultants would surface soon enough to discourage you from embarking on such a major investment in such a short time. If you are planning to buy a house in India for staying during your trips as well as for your retirement, you should plan well in advance.

As a NRI you may not know the story behind the several great real estate properties mushrooming all over the country, especially in metros across India. There could be long term plans of a flyover or an expressway close to your residence or a city railway project that could make your stay uncomfortable with the noise and pollution. Do an advance study of all upcoming projects near the proposed site before you think of investing as there could be many unknown facts.

And it is not possible for you to keep tab on each and every possible urban development planned throughout the year. You can invest in India as an NRI and offered special treatment compared to caps on resident Indians. Some of the real estate investment by NRI’s is governed by the FEMA or Foreign Exchange management Act. You can remit money from a bank outside India or use your NRI account in India.

Rules and regulations for buying NRI house in India

You would have to fill out form IPI 7 available at the Reserve Bank of India and you have to submit the necessary documents which will show that have already entered into an agreement to buy property in India. But you cannot sell the property before three years after acquiring or after the last installment date, whichever is later. India does not have easy outward remittance systems compared to its liberalized inward remittance policies. You won’t be able to remit money more than what was paid to buy the property.

The simple fact is that you cannot make any capital gains from the sale of the property bought in India. If you plan to make profits by investing in real estate, you would be disheartened as the profits cannot be taken away. The main reason why the government in India has relaxed the norms of buying real estate for NRI’s is to bring in more investments to the sector in foreign currency while at the same time offering them a chance to own house property for their stay in India.

Again, there is a catch. If you own more than one property in India, you will be allowed to repatriate only the sale proceeds of two properties not exceeding the amount they were bought with. The returns from the property cannot be repatriated as dividends. Even though real estate is a good buy in India, you need to check out several options with a wide array of reputed realtors catering to the NRI’s and their track record before buying property in India.

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