tracy beevis

Is there anybody out there who can explain the basics of buying a property in Goa from sale of agreement through to Land registry. The main thing I need to know is has anyone been successful/unsucessful in registering their property/apartment with the Land Registry in Goa, as we have only last week read in the uk press that many cases are being investigated especially when it comes to people who have set up compaines in order to purchase a property - they are being referred to as "bogus companies" and the article in the press is indicating that people will now have trouble registering their property with the Land Registry. If this is happening this in turn means we would never actually own our property. Can anyone help or throw some light on this matter?

TONY P

Hi Tracy, you couldn't have picked a more difficult subject to ask for help on.
My suggestion to you is to:
1) Find an Advocate/Solicitor (Easier said than done)
2) Find an Accountant, which is also not easy, but from what I have been told they can be of much more use if you are actually going to set up a "working business" as opposed to a company that is only being set up to enable a party to purchase a property.
As far as I am aware, you as an individual need to fulfil certain residential requirements before you can purchase any fixed property in India. This includes living in India for a continuous period of 183 days (Some sites say 180 or 182) during one FINANCIAL year, NOT a calendar year.
Acron and certain other property companies operate a different method of transferring ownership to the purchaser, about which I am unsure but it appears to consist of a 5 year lease agreement after which time the property reverts to the lessee, I don't know if this is completely correct nor the legalities behind it. I do suggest that you read all the Acron Homes threads and any others on this site. There has also been considerable discussion as to whether purchasing fixed property is legal on a tourist visa, which then throws up all sorts of other problems as to which type of visa you actually require. Maybe direct contact with some of the people who are purchasing from Acron can explain their method.
Are you looking for a permanent move, retirement home, setting up a business or a holiday home investment?
We are going over to Goa on 1st February and will be seeing an advocate then and also trying to make contact with an accountant, I will PM you of the outcome if you like and try to lift the clouds of mystery that surround this matter. Oh yes. This reply is given without prejudice to either party, and no warranties are given or implied as to the relevance, correctness or legal standing of any information given or implied within the reply either as a whole or as a part thereof. And that really rather sums it up!

tracy beevis

Thank you for your reply - I have just returned from Goa whereby I have seen plans for an apartment which is not due for completion until another 18 months. The advice I was given whilst in Goa was to open up a company as we are not able to comply with the 182 day ruling. Our developer put us in touch with an advocate and we went along to see him, whereby we have opened a business and are now just waiting for confirmation that the company has been certified. The business has been purchased purely in order that we can buy a property in Goa legally (or so we thought!) We have also opened up a personal and business bank account. We have returned home with our sale of agreement and the wording of this agreement appears to cause a lot of "red flag" areas, but the main one being that there seems to be talk, as per an article in the uk press only a week ago, that people are now having trouble getting their properties registered with land registry and that about 500 cases of people buying in Goa are being investigated. It would appear that these 500 cases are people that have purchased on a tourist visa and not complied with the 182 ruling. However this atricle is further implying that companies which have been set up purely to purchase a property in Goa are now also/or may be under invesigation and it further implies that is where people are having trouble registering their property with land registry. In the uk when purchasing a property a solicitor would deal with the land registry but in the terms of our sale of agreement that has firmly become our responsibility and if 18 months down the track we are deemed to be a bogus company we may not get the land registered in our Company name, therefore we would never own our apartment. We have spoken to our advocate since we have returned home informing him of these articles and he was totally unaware of these said investigations and thanked us for letting him know. However, because the law appears to change daily regarding the buying of property in Goa we are in a position whereby we have to decide whether to take a chance that in the next 18 months the law will be clarified that we can/cannot register our land in our Company name. Its taking a gamble, a bit like the stock market!!!! At the moment we do not want to take the gamble and are seeking advice elsewhere as to a possible way round our problem, as we are still very keen to purchase our apartment - i think its known as "rock and a hard place".
So as you can see I have done some homework but I was just hoping that someone who has reached thepoint of registering their property in their Company name was facing any difficulties in doing so. May be I am taking these articles in the uk press too seriously but usually there is no smoke without fire as they say.
Good luck when you go to Goa and if when you return you have any news which may be useful to me can I kindly ask you to let me know. Also if our acquire any further info I in turn will let you know if ou want?
And once again many thanks for your reply I do appreciate it

djcampbell777

Just to let you know that Acron offer a 5 year lease agreement that is renewable ongoing and that if sometime in the future you are able to qualify for residency you can tranfer the deeds to freehold and the property becomes yours. As per the information from the reserve bank of India a 5 year lease is the only type of property a person of non indian origin is able to obtain unless you qualify for the 182 day residency, that must be on an X visa not tourist visa and because of all the issues at the moment an X visa is very difficult to obtain, even for those who set up a business. I have purchased a property with Acron and hope in the future when the dust settles i will be able to take the freehold. Fingers crossed!

tracy beevis

Thank you very much for your reply. Just a couple of questions for you if you dont mind. The first one is (1) how far down the track are you with purchasing your property and (2) what is an X visa?

We are only at the very early stages of purchase ie: looking at a lump of dirt with nothing on it and choosing an apartment off plan which is not due for completion for another 18 months.

I really look forward to hearing back from you as if you are quite a way down the track of purchase you could be very helpful to us.

Many thanks

Regards

Tracy

karlq

hi my wife and have also aquired a villa off acron,we bought ours off plan in november 05, the completion date is march 08.we also have gone on a 5 year lease,till we are able to do the 182 days,if not you just renew it for another 5 years. plus there are a few pro s and cons of having alease, as to do with your visas,you dont need atourist visa, the lease is proof you own property in goa,and you can extend your visa in india. i must say acron were very good,all the paper work and my lease, was all complete within 24 hrs. acron did advise us not to entertain going as a ltd company,he did warn that the indian goverment,were changing the laws. also i opend a bank account in march 06 with the icici bank,all i had to do was give my freinds adress in goa for my corrispondence, and they send all my accounts on line,i know people who have had their accounts shut down after 6 months, as i will say again acron are very good and very helpfull. we hope we have helped a bit karl & jenny

TONY P

Having read your reply my biggest concern is that you are using somebody that the developer introduced, the phrase "Conflict of Interest" springs to mind.
Always try and find an independent solicitor or advocate for any legal dealings.
When we get back from Goa I will PM you with any info worth having.
The law doesn't change, just the way it is being interpreted by all the various concerned parties.
Do the thing properly, and remember you may have a problem in the future in taking any profit you make out of the property, out of India, also if I remember correctly, sales of Indian property by people, outside India, are not accepted as legal contracts of sale in India. I know that sounds like gobbledygook but that's as clear as I remember it

djcampbell777

Hi Tracy i have sent you a private email

David

Sally49

Can I just add a bit to this final paragraph as I have also researched and found this information. IT DOES SEEM TO BE CURRENTLY ILLEGAL to sell property outside of India. In other words, you cannot sell your property on to another English person. They would simply not be allowed to register the title at the land registry.

Sally49

Tracy

After reading your full post, you are in the same position as us at the moment in that your property is some way from completion. Ours is due Dec 2007. We have not yet signed our purchase contract with the Developer, so what we have decided to do is just hang fire. We are going to "sit" on it for as long as possible because during 2007, foreign purchasers who are ahead of us, will start to find out whether or not they can register their properties via the business route.

Also, there are elections in the Spring and I want to see what happens there, ie if any new Government might try to make it even more difficult to buy via the business route (or make it easier?).

This would be my advice to anybody who is in our position - just sit tight and don't let your developer bully you into paying further instalments just because he wants his money. Remember, it is not him who will lose out financially at the end IT'S YOUR MONEY!!!!!!!!

Milward

Sally,
If you don't pay the developer how can he complete the project. He could have sold the same apartment to someone else and got his money. Don't you agree.

Furthere more in the comming election there will me many new faces since the people are tired of the old politicians since they feel that they have sold Goa to foreigners. I belive after the coming election it will be difficult to buy property for non - indians. The rent option is the only possibility if you don't get a bussiness visa.

This is what i feel.

Milward

Sally49

To be honest Milward I agree with you about the new Governement.

Although I have some sympathy with the developers, they should have checked out the legalities of whom they were selling to first, otherwise they can hardly be surprised if they end up not getting their money. So from that regard, that's just tough if they end up going bankrupt!

The property business is tough and there will always be winners and losers, but personally, I don't intend to be one of the losers and if that means my developer is, well that's his look out. He should have thought of that before he sold me the place.

Sally

tracy beevis

I must admit I am right behind Sally. Our sale of agreement,which we have not signed yet and I hasten to add, not parted with any money yet either, gives me no protection whatsoever. Everything in our sale of agreement covers the developer and lawyer, not that I am blaming them because in these situations we are all trying to protect ourselves from any further repercussions further down the track in a legal sense, as all parties concerned , ourselves/developer/lawyer all seem so unsure of the legalities surrounding non-indians purchasing property in goa (or am I am being nieve when I say that) Until I am quite sure about things, if my developer wants to sell my apartment to a another, then he can do so, because I plan to do nothing until I am fully aware of what I am entering into, should I sign any sale of agreement. It's all a terrible shame really, because I can only speak for myself, but I have no desire to try and make big/fast money from buying in Goa, all I want to do is plan for my retirement and live out my twilight years in the most beautiful place I have been to, but I want to do it knowing I will actually own the place having worked hard all my life for it!!!

boscodias

please see the website of the reserve bank of india regarding the purchase of land/property by persons resident outside india go this page http://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/Bs_FemaNotifications.aspx it has all the notifications with respect to all your queries.

tracy beevis

Thank you for the website - Can I kindly ask you to direct me to the notifications which I need to know about, as when I go into the website I am having trouble finding the notifications I need to know about, and I am just going round and round in circles trying to fund them.

Your help would be very, very appreciated.

Thanks

Tracy