Re: Acron Homes
 

Wow TDK, what a post, spirituality, commonality, bonding , caring , sharing acceptance too.

I really liked this para but still it seems ironic (or maybe strangely perfect in the great scheme of things). I know exactly how you feel and where you are coming from, you phrased and expressed it far better than i ever could.

The thing that i found most difficult to accept about my loss in goa was the time invested in planning and project managing the house restoration. Even down to planning and landscaping the garden it was the best i could do, every tree and shrub carefully researched and placed.

These things are still there of course for others to enjoy and all will decay and tumble down eventually, so my intervention will be short lived. And who am i to resent the theft of time. In its place i have the gifts of objectivity and introspection that have been tested and honed by the experience. So maybe i am a net gainer after all.

I dont know how old you are TDK , but i am approaching my 62nd birthday, so i have been around longer than some and just being on this planet for a long time helps a lot.

I just wanted to touch base with you on a personal level as quickly as i could, i will get back to you with the technical bit in part two and thank you again for your response.

kind regards
douglas.

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi TDK,

Part two coming up as promised on the techy bit and ideas for moving things forward property wise.

First task is to identify the owner or freeholder of your property, (he/she may be different from the developer), if you havnt already done so.

Check the validity of the freehold and ensure there are no incumberances(mortgages, leins etc) if you havnt already done so.

To recap now , you have an agreement to sale that is valid because you were resident when you signed it. It is in writing, it is signed and witnessed and you have paid the consideration, it also appears to have been notarised , so it has certainty.

An agreement to sale is simply a promissory note, it does not give you any right of ownership although it is the first stage in the sales process.

Ideally you should have registered the agreement to sale with the registrar and paid stamp duty at 1% of the value of the property. By not doing so you have committed a technical offence under the 1908 registration act according to a f d.

You have no real right of occupation of the property unless your agreement to sale specifically permits occupation, although the freeholder/developer may be allowing that.

Next step is to give you the right of temporary occupation, draw up a simple 58 month lease in your favour. No need for a rollover clause , not worth a light. You already have the promise of execution of a sale deed in your favour at a later date (if conditions permit) via the agreement to sale ( i am assuming there is no sell by date clause in the agreement to sale) so you dont need the option to buy clause in the lease either.

Ask the freeholder (or developer if he has authority, (ask to see it) to sign the lease.

Ideally register the short term lease with the registrar, mine was on 500 irp stamp paper and you have then secured your home for max 5 years as best you can, you may or may not get a rollover at the end of the period.

Moving on now to the possibility of getting all or part of your capital back.

You again need the cooperation of the freeholder, you could find a buyer ( a qualifying resident) and introduce them to the freeholder. The freeholder sells the property to the new buyer, if there is a book profit the freeholder pays the cgt , deducts his expenses and makes a gift of the net amount to you.

No lock in under this system, you didnt own it or sell it , the freeholder did.
( i am assuming the freeholder is not a FN)

If the freeholder is really cooperative you could ask him/her to sign a power of attorney in your favour, this would allow you to act as if you were the freeholder with regard to a specific property.

This is the ideal situation, you carry on as above , find the buyer, execute the sales deed to the new buyer and gift the net proceeds to whoever you wish.

I paste a draft poa as an example.



Power of Attorney for Sale

THIS GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY executed on the day of

Two Thousand:


B Y : [Name/s]


IN FAVOUR OF : [Name/s]




WITNESSES AS FOLLOWS:

I. WHEREAS I am the absolute Owner of all that Property [Details] more fully described in the Schedule below and hereinafter referred to as the "SCHEDULE PROPERTY";

II. WHEREAS I deem it necessary to appoint Agents and Attorneys to carry out certain acts in connection with the management and disposal of the Schedule Property;

III. NOW KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS THAT, I ________ __________________________ above named, do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint (1) MR. and (2) MR. above named, as my true and lawful Attorneys, in our name and on our behalf, to do either jointly or severally, all or any of the following acts, deeds and things, in regard to the Schedule Property :-

(a) to manage the Schedule Property and pay all taxes, rates and cesses, charges, fines and other levies in regard to the Schedule Property and obtain receipts and discharges;

(b) to appear for and represent us before all Government, Statutory, Local, Revenue, Tax and other Authorities as also Courts and Tribunals in regard to the Schedule Property;

(c) to submit applications and affidavits, statements, returns to the Government and/or any other Statutory Authorities concerned to obtain necessary clearances, exemptions, sanctions and permissions required under any Act/ Law;

(d) to enter into agreement/s for sale of the Schedule Property and to sell and convey the Schedule Property and execute Deed of Sale in favour of purchaser/s; and do everything necessary for completing the conveyance and registration of such Sale Deeds; and to sign all Forms, Affidavits, applications in that behalf;

(e) to receive the sale consideration, advances, earnest money deposits, part payments and balance payments in regard to the sale of the Schedule Property and issue receipts and acknowledgements therefor;

(f) to apply for and obtain all clearance certificate/s and/ or no objections required from the concerned Authority;

(g) to apply for and obtain necessary clearances, permissions and consents required in connection with sale of the Schedule Property;

(h) to represent me before all Government, Statutory, local and other Authorities as also Courts and Tribunals;

(i) to initiate, prosecute and defend all arbitration, legal, Revenue, tax and other proceedings relating to the Schedule Property and in that behalf, engage the services of legal and tax practitioners, instruct them and remunerate them;

(j) to sign and execute pleadings, applications, petitions, affidavits, declarations, memoranda of appeal, Revision and Review, Returns and other papers/documents and to receive and accept service of processes, Notices, Orders and acknowledge them;

(k) to settle, compromise, compound, withdraw any Suit/ proceeding relating to Schedule Property and obtain return thereof; and to do all things and be in charge of conduct of such or proceeding;

(l) to pay all rates, taxes and cesses and obtain receipts therefor;

(m) and generally to do all other acts, deeds and things necessary in regard to disposal of the Schedule Property;


I HEREBY AUTHORISE my said Attorneys to delegate all or any of the aforesaid powers to anyone else;

I HEREBY AGREE AND UNDERTAKE TO RATIFY AND CONFIRM all and whatsoever my said Attorneys may lawfully do pursuant to this Power of Attorney;


S C H E D U L E

[Details]


IN WITNESS WHEREOF we have executed this POWER OF ATTORNEY in the presence of the Witnesses attesting hereunder:


WITNESSES:

1)


E X E C U T A N T E


2)


[Note: Format only to be modified to suit the transaction/ authority sought to be given]

So to summarise, find and court the freeholder, explain your predicament that has arisen through no fault of the freeholder.

Ask him/her for their help in resolving your problem and outline solutions.

Present the draft 58 month lease and power of attorney to them for their approval.

Get the freeholder to sign the approved documents( witnessed).


regards

douglas

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi Douglas, I'm sorry i couldn't reply as quickely as i wanted to & i just want to say a really Big Thankyou for your kind replies and i'm truly grateful & moved that you have been so generous with your time and expertise in providing me with such a clear step by step solution to my property situation. I'm only 34 & a 1/2 so still have an awful lot to learn in this game, so i really appreciate the wisdom and experience that you've shared with me & others also in the other postings in this site (& a wicked sense of humour)! I know at times i've struggled a bit with your direct approach, but the bottom line is that you are genuinely & selflessly trying to prevent others from loosing their hard earnt dough and sanity so i can understand better now,the need to say it as it is inorder to wake people up to the cold hard facts (contraversial as this maybe).

I think considering the ammount of time and energy you personally invested in your own property and garden, you must have really intergrated the teachings on non-attachment into your life which is ultimately worth alot more than the property itself, and at least these realizations are transferable to the next life, unlike 5 year leases or freeholds!!:lol: Anyway i truly hope that you will be able to sell it soon to atleast have a bit of closure and cash! My feeling is that you and other freeholders will be able to eventually when/if the registrars re-open. Anyway you must please keep us all up todate on how your situation progresses.

As for your techy part 2, inorder to give it the time it deserves, i still need to study it more & to do the checks you recommended, but i really appreciate your suggestions including the POA sample document you kindly posted.

As far as the owner of the freehold of my property, according to my Agreement of Sale, 2 family members of the developer (all Indian nationals) had entered into an Agreement of Sale with him for the land for the whole development when my Agreement of Sale was written, as i reserved the appartment at a very early stage when only the preliminary drawings had been done. However, within a few weeks of the Agreement of Sale being issued, the developer informed me that his relatives (the freeholders from Mumbai) came to Goa & transferred the freehold to him, although i will certainly need to clarify this when i'm next in Goa. I also had a lawyer (who i later sacked) look over the Agreement of Sale, and ammended it slightly before i had it completed/notarised/signed by all parties, but stupidly i didn't spend as much time as i should have on studying it (due to time constraints). I'll also need to clarify with the developer about there being no incumberances as i can't see anything about it in my A.S.

I'm still a bit confused about the stamp duty as my A.S. is a bit ambiguous but seems to impy i only need to pay it after completion of the development, and i have a written quote from the developer of Rs8,300 for stamp duty & registration fees. However my lawyer more recently told me i'd need to pay Rs23,843 (S.D.) and Rs 23,000 in registration fees (just for a lease agreement)!?

Anyway atleast my A.S. has clauses which specifically permit occupation on its completion (which was last January), as well as clauses which entitle me to obtain the freehold, or to be granted a 5 year Lease (''pending compliance with the requirements of the laws regarding aquisition of property by FNs''). The clause also states that the lease will be ''renewable at the option of the purchaser as provided by law without payment of any additional consideration'' (which i suppose gets them off the hook nicely when/if the law prevents me from renewing)!

I suppose atleast 1 advantage of just having a lease is that there is no lock in and and according to Acron lesees have the right to repatriate their sale proceeds back to their country on termination of their lease because the lease wasfunded by 'deposits' towards the lease. However, as i have an Agreement of Sale (not of Lease) and i stated 'property purchase' on my payment transactions, i'm not sure if i'd qualify or not for this loophole!

Anyway i really appreciate your suggestions on the best way for me to get my capital back including using a POA if possible which i will certainly look into more and its too bad you're not my f/t lawyer!!

Ok well i'd better stop rambling on and sorry this is long winded but i wanted to give a proper response so thanks again for all your help & advice and

All the very Best from TDK

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi,
Just read TDK have got our Deeds out - plenty of pretty coloured India Non Judical stamps on the pages:rofl:
Just want to quote a few paragraphs (sorry)
AND WHEREAS THE PURCHASER NO. 1 issued with 5 year X visa for India ......... valid from ............... Purchaser No. 2 5 year x visa................ in the previous financial year beginning from lst April 2002 - 31st March 2003 has stayed in India for more than 183 days, being in India from ..........to..... thus totalling 236 days.
WHEREAS THE purchasers are not having any business or employment in their parent state and are staying in India for an uncertain period as they are retired persons for the purpose of their retirement, and in view of the above, the purchasers are persons residing in India within the meaning of Section 2(v) and sub-sections thereof, of the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999, as they have resided in India for more than 182 days in the previous financial year and ARE NOT PROHIBITED FROM PURCHASING IMMOVABLE PROPERTY IN INDIA.:thumbup::thumbdown:

Another part says:-
That in the event of any part anywhere in the said property being lost by the purchasers on account of any lawful claim made by any person/s the Vendors and their heirs shall recoup the Purchaser of all such loss together with all litigation expenses that may be incurred to protect his title to the schedule property. That if ay any time it is found that any other person/s has got right, title and/or interest in the said property and/or there is any DEFECT IN THE TITLE OFTHE VENDORS WHEREBY THE Purchasers's right. title and interest in the said Apartment is in any way affected and/or at stake then the Vendors shall be liable to cure the defect in the title of said apartment at their own cost and expenses and ensure that the purchasers get a clean title to the said flat.

.................................................. Affidavit................................

Cop out :confused:
We (Mr. & Mrs Noni)
We say that we shall be obtaining the Sale Deed pertaining to the said Apartment to be registered before the - Sub-Registrar of Bardez. We say that we shall be responsible for ALL ACTS AND CONSEQUENCES ARISING from the registration of the said Sale Deed, by Civil Registrar cum Sub-Registrar of
Bardez. We say that the Civil Registrar cum Sub-Registrar of Bardez:cry_smile::broken_heart: shall NOT be responsibe in any manner whatsoever in respect of registration of the above sale deed.

WE SAY THAT THE CIVIL REGISTRAR CUM SUB REGISTRAR SHALL NOT BE ANSWERABLE FOR ANY ACTS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF GOA OR RESERVE BANK OF INDIA ON ACCOUNT OF REGISTRATION OF THE ABOVE SALE DEED

And like lemons we swore the affidavit :rofl:

Re: Acron Homes
 

Just heard of two people who have received 2 year x visa from London, they originally had 5 year x. Were told if they had an X on their passport they would get another. although lesser one.
Others have gone out of Goa (have purchased!) tried to get an x visa, but were told only tourist visa, showed their documents of having purchased and were told they had bought ILLEGALLY.
Now perhaps people will listen to Douglas

Re: Acron Homes
 

.......and now it begins.:ohmy:

Remy

Re: Acron Homes
 

Sounds like they got lucky, or maybe they've started to ease up. I only got a 6 month Tourist after having a 1 year X extended to make my stay 19 months consecutive. If they had applied for an extension on the 5 year X, would they also have got the letter? We'll never know. Additionally will they be able to extend in Panaji?

Re: Acron Homes
 

Did they purchase and register or just have the Agreement?:confused:

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi,
Purchased and Registered?

Re: Acron Homes
 

:beer::rolleyes:

Just opened my mail - Am taking this as good news.

Plucked up courage to ask the Advocate if there was any news with regard to Department of Enforcement.
Reply: I have no feedback on your case, nor on the others dealt with by me. The Department must be busy sifting though the tons of paperwork they have generated. I would think they will only get back if there is something that needs further investigation.

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi all,

My exclusion letter incorrectly states that it is illegal for FNs to buy property in india without permission from RBI. The Mamlatdar in panjim verbally told me the same thing, ie they would not process my application for mutation unless i had specific permission from RBI.

Neither of these statements are correct, a resident FN with suitable purpose and an intention to stay for an undetermined period has general permission to transfer immovable property in india without reference to RBI, according to FEMA.

The panjim registrar had previously registered a freehold in my name on the resident/general permission basis.

So misinformation and misunderstanding all around.

regards
douglas

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi Douglas,
Do you mean from the quotes of our Deeds?
Regards Noni

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi Noni,

I am not understanding the above request for an opinion, please give me some more info .

Kind regards
douglas

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi TDK,

Thank you for the first few paras , the content is truly appreciated.

I am direct that is true and some people dont like it, i justify it most of the time , but maybe i step over the line ocasionally.

Your personal development is impressive for your age , i didnt even start looking within until i was about 38, some never do.

Your AS sounds comprehensive , but you do need to establish who you are dealing with on the freehold and check out their title documents at the registry and mamlatdars office. Ask them for a nil incumbrance certificate.

Stamp duty on a registered AS is 1% of the consideration (if and when you follow up with a sales deed it is only a further 1% instead of 2%) Registration fee is extra. According to afd the register is currently closed to FNs registering AS as well as sales deeds anyway. Dont bother to try and register , just go for the POA.

I dont understand the high stamp duty on your proposed lease, my receipt says 600 for registration fee, 100 for copying and the deed is writtehn on 500 irp stamp paper , so 1200 in all. it was registered in panjim on 6th june 05.
The rent payable according to the deed is 2,500 a month so maybe it is pro rata to the rent, rather like stamp duty and sale consideration.


Maybe your lawyer is confusing sale deeds and AS. Worst way someone is trying to rip you with forged stamp paper.

If you can identify the freeholder and prove title (free of incumbrance) along with a POA you are effectively the freeholder, just focus on that route.

Regarding acron, the info cornishboy gave us is different, he said that acron sells the property/lease to the new buyer on your behalf at the original book price, any profit is paid as a separate payment by the new owner to the original lease holder (black money) .Thats assuming anyone would be stupid enough to pay a high price for a short term lease that is.

I think i have covered everything.

Thanks again for your extensive reply.

regards
douglas

Re: Acron Homes
 

Hi, Douglas,
Regarding the above I was just wondering what you thought of the wording of the quotes from our Sales Deeds?

Regards NONI