4 Tips To Ensure Easy Real Estate Buy For NRIs
The Indian real estate market has completed a full circle. From the highs in the early 2000’s to the lows of 2008 amid a global recession, the realty sector has matured over the years. One thing that remains a constant with it is the NRI’s interest. A large number of NRIs have invested in the Indian real estate market and equal numbers are seeking good opportunities to enter the market. But the sail has not always been smooth for the NRIs as the real estate market here continues to be unorganized at times with various dubious elements prevalent. Here is a look at some of the tips that can help a NRI buyer looking to invest in the Indian real estate market in the near future.
Know your rights as NRI: Before you make up your mind to invest in the Indian real estate market, make sure you understand your rights as a NRI and the kind of properties you can invest in legally. All NRI real estate purchases are monitored by the Foreign Exchange Management Act commonly known as FEMA. According to FEMA guidelines, NRIs can only purchase residential or commercial property. So if you are looking to buy any agricultural or farming land, know that it is not permissible under the prevailing FEMA guidelines. So much so that even if a residential or commercial building is built on a designated agricultural land, the purchase is deemed illegal for NRIs.
Hire the services of a lawyer for clean purchase: As a non-resident Indian, you need to be extra careful when making any real estate investment. Many people have been cheated by dubious builders and brokers where the projects have been unnecessarily delayed or cancelled, leading to mental and monitory stress for them.In case you are purchasing a built up property, ensure that the seller produces the original title deed of the property. It is rather good to hire the services of a legal advisor or a professional lawyer so that he can help check whether all the property related documents are legally correct. In case you approaching a broker to help you in your property buying, then check his credentials too. Many NRIs blindly trust brokers who are not trustworthy, leading to problems at a later stage.
Have exit options in place: Irrespective of whether you are making a real estate investment for self-use or as a future investment, always make sure that you have adequate exit options in place before signing on the dotted line. You must be aware of the caps on possible exit routes for NRIs while selling property in India. In case you may need to sell the property and take the funds back to your country of residence, you can repatriate a maximum of $1 million per year in case the initial payment was made from a NRO account. It is therefore a good idea to plan your investments by keeping an eye on the possible exit options. This is even more relevant in case you are investing in real estate as a future investment.
Make use of social media: Make use of social media to check the reputation of the builder before zeroing down one for your investments. Some of the big names in Indian real estate also have faced customer grievances. Make sure you check various real estate portals and forums, apart from the builder’s official website to get an idea on customer feedback about their services. Some builders cater exclusively to the NRI segment and they are usually more reliant than other lesser known builders. Choosing the right builder and the right project is an important decision and you should spend time doing a lot of research before short listing the right projects to invest.
