Hi
I read with interest the articles on buying property in Goa but they were all posted in 2006/07. I was looking for some up to date advice on buying property in Goa as we have found an apartment we like. The property is about 10 years old, owned at present by a scottish person they do not have the deeds. I read somewhere that you cannot take a profit out of India so if they bought in 10 years ago for £20,000 and we pay £55,000 what happens when we come to sell it would we only get the original £20,000 back. I read that you could only sell it back to the developer at the original price. Any advice on buying property in Goa would be graetly appreciated.

If you or your spouse are not of Indian origin then forget it. Things have not improved regarding foreigners owning property in India since the Buyer Beware thread was started.

The fact that the owners of your prospective purchase do not have the deeds should tell you something.

Sellers who only have a sale agreement have been able to sell to Indian buyers by paying a percentage to their developer, who is still the legal owner, in order to change the sale agreement and enable the new Indian owner to register the deeds.

Once again, if you or your spouse do not have any Indian ancestry - forget it.

Hi Jackie

Firstly welcome to British Expats. You have certainly come to the right place for advice on buying property in Goa.

My advice to you is that unless you are a PIO (Person of Indian Origin) or OCI (Overseas citizen of India) or NRI (Non resident Indian), then avoid buying any property in Goa as you will be entering into an almighty stressful nightmare.

PLEASE READ the whole BUYER BEWARE thread on this forum. You will then understand why I am giving you this advice.

There are hundreds of British folk who have entered into buying property in Goa, most of whom did so according to the letter of the law. Laws changed and were applied retrospectively, the Directorate of Enforcement was set up and is investigating people, and the Registrar was then closed to many foreigners registering deeds to ther properties. Lawyers give you bad advice (actually some deliberately mislead you and con you), and for some of those who have stayed under the radar, they are having to pay extortion money to get out of the situation, sometimes as much as 15 lakhs (about 20 grand).

Reading the Buyer Beware thread will expand upon this further and tell you everything you need to know, after which you will hopefully keep hold of your money, or invest it where you will not basically be robbed of it.

Dread - buyer beware
x

Thanks for your comments, were are not looking to retire for another 5 years so hopefuuly the situation in the future may be clearer.

Thanks for these comments we will keep our money for now and hope in 5 years time when we are ready to retire the situation may have improved. I was also concerned about buying property now, with all the brits selling up and when we retire there would be brits to communicate and socialise with.

A wise decision Jackie. The way things are going, a Brit will be as rare as hens teeth in Goa, and retiring here in the future may just require prior lessons in the Russian language !
Hope you continue to join in on some of our other threads. Don't be shy, just have a go.

Dread - x

Jackie,

I'm a Jocko, built my house just over 10yrs. ago. No deeds. But I'm not the one you refer too!!!! Been in court 10yrs and could well be there 10yrs. more.

My advice to you would be to forget it. Forget Goa. Lots of countries would welcome you, have a look around. PLEASE.

Wally.

Yes I know what you mean about the Russians, there does seem to be a lot of them in Goa now.

We really fell in love with Goa thought, the people were so friendly, obviously the sunshine and the fact that our pension would go further in years to come.

Not necessarily - India's middle classes (which already exceed the population of the USA!) are growing in number and wealth, and recently have for the first time started to spend money instead of saving it. This was quite noticeable this season with groups of young well to do Indians coming down to Goa and spending money freely in the restaurants and bars. This is bound to put up prices here - and Goa is already more expensive than Mumbai (excluding the lunatic fringe of places that make ludicrous prices a special feature).

AndyD 8-)#

Hi all

First time I have been on this website so I hope I'm in the right place (and in the right hands). I have read with interest all your comments and they were very useful!

I've made the plunge and brought something via the OCI route. I'm going out in May time to kit up my apartment. Basically, I need all movable objects from beds to cups.

Now I'm only out for a week, and was wondering could any of you please guide me in re: to best places to shop?

Kind Regards

Sukh666

Hi

Ah! Just now read you are an OCI - lucky you.

Hope some of our friends from the south can help you,

I've come across a problem - my mother was born in India, so was my grandmother and a few more generations back - foolishly we bought a property in Goa first thinking we had 5 years to get my PIO card - now I am having real problems getting this ( I know should have done it the other way around but hindsight is a wonderful thing) , the IHC will not accept baptism certificates and unless I can get birth certificates I am going to be in the same difficulties as others - i.e. a property on a 5 year lease with a builder who is unlikely to extend without a hefty payment that we don't have !
Unfortunatey my forebears are all deceased so getting sworn affidavits is out - any suggestions gratefully recieved !

You don't need forebears for an affidavit, but you will need someone 'of standing' living in your mother's birthplace who knew her and her family history, to state that she was born there. These witnesses must be trusted by a local attorney as it is he/she who will prepare the affidavit and present it to the court.
Any school or other records; to present along with the affidavit at the visa centre will help. Obviously you will need your own birth certificate (I presume you were born in the UK).

Hi dogooder

Welcome to BE.

I hope you can trace some evidence to help you in your quest for your PIO card.

Dread - x