Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

In today's Herald...........

http://oheraldo.in/News/Main%20Page%...ner/77964.html

I thought things were supposed to be improving? This looks like they are getting worse............ much worse!


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Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

This was first announced last year, but as you say, it is not good news.
They even seem to be checking PIO/ OCI sales.

AndyD 8-)₹

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

All of my friends who bought property in the noughties have now sold up and either leased or gone elsewhere.Even my old friends Mr & Mrs 2 %( the commission they earned on houses sold), who encouraged their close friends to buy have sold up.I dont know why this madness took hold in the first place considering the complexities and greed surrounding fixed property in India. i used to nod my head side to side when the sales speel started and go away and laugh because if there is one thing that traveling in India has taught me is that there is always 4 sides to any situation in India and that its impossible for a foreigner to make money by investing there and getting the money back legally without having to visit the money changers in Calingut and stuffing it down your knickers at Dabolim ! North Korea is a much better place to invest in than India and much safer too because at least there they do have laws that make sense where as in India nothing makes sense especially when it comes to money and outright greed

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

As a side issue and just for interest (no pun intended) and leaving aside question of laws, why would investing in North Korea (zero human rights) to make money, be good business sense but an Indian person making money out of a foreigner be "outright greed"?

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

Agreed I couldn't quote follow the logic of that especially as none of speak Korean! or have strange haircuts

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

Then you did not read it properly.....because the laws in India are so arcane and contradictory you might as well invest in North Korea because at least in NK they have a constitution and a government you completely understand. Maybe i should i spell it out for you no one but a fool would invest money in NK and expect some sort of return.When my close friends all decided that they would buy property in Goa and that everything was going to be hunk dory, i laughed because in all my years experience i have not met one person other than a man who married into a Karnatikan family, who has made money or safe guarded their investments in India/Goa without problems arising.Not one.Its in the nature of the beast.

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

What do you mean Bipat its quite alright to con foreigners out of their pension money just because they are white ? Bit BJP if you ask me mate. And that whats it comes down to that people were conned by builders, Goan friends, solicitors and they all had smiling faces until the crunch came and the money flew out of the window......When no conscience is involved thats what i call greed pure and simple Mrs BJP

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

I understand what you are saying now..
Several of the British owners who bought properties at one of the Acron developments have sold and not had too many problems returning their money and left enough in India for many holidays to come. Maybe thats because the agreements were on a leasehold basis.

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

PJ, we were not talking about being "conned" and criminal activity, but about investing and "making money in India" as you described it.

My point was that "making money" by investment is no different from "making money" by selling property are not Indian people entitled to make a profit?

There is no great conscience in business deals anywhere in the world the aim is to make as much money as possible money isn't it?

Not sure where BJP comes into it, I am not a supporter and certainly not of Congress. Think of myself as a 'centrist' although OH has in the past called me a communist!!!

(Why this obsession with being white? do you think difficult business deals are any different for the local population? Our family has been trying to sell a shared patch of land (not in Goa) for 20 years, difficult because of encroachment by a neighbour who hopes to be given it!!!! )

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

Yawn.


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Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

Acron are among a minority of builders in Goa who have gained a reputation for acting fairly and with integrity towards foreign property owners and their predicament who, after seeking all best professional advice in Goa at time of payment that purchase was legal, now find themselves under pressure of confiscation and penalty.

This is collectively humane and decent; it is also good business practice since word of mouth amounts to powerful marketing, and reputation in business is everything. They appear not to be a fly by night company, and not only in this for the short term, fast buck.

By anecdote, the majority of builders are not being as understanding, there's a surprise!

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

Braganza is OK too they will take the lease back but then you have to get the money back because its looking very difficult now to put in a bank to spend in the future.Most of my old friends are not coming back due to the radicals changes that have occurred in Goa/India in the last 10 years.Also there is the threat from ED and the dreaded letter arriving with the threat of confiscation on the horizon.I personally dont think that there is any hope of a political solution to the problem and especially from this government here at the moment. Camerons too busy trying to drum up trade between the UK and India to let a little problem involving 400 ex pats who in all likelihood don't vote anyway. Technically the continuous roll over lease that most of my friends have is illegal because the longest time you can lease a property in India is 5 years.If Braganza popped his clogs tomorrow and his son took over the business he could grab the lot quite legally too.

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

I almost bought from Braganza. When I met the charmer he gave me complete details of his UK account - I can dig them out now - where he wanted the staged payments to be made.

I assume many who did buy put their payments - or most of them, the'black' part - into said account. So where's the problem with repayment and repatriation, he must be sitting on crores in the UK and all of it bypassed the Indian Tax Authorities.

Since the D of E investigations are partly about the legitimacy of foreign exchange into India to buy the properties in the first place, why aren't the ITA all over the numerous builders who stashed their proceeds of sale directly oversees. That's tax avoidance on a very large scale, revenue India badly needs.

Anyway, they keep banging on about 480 foreign bought properties. I doubt there are even 200 left now with those on Agreements of Sale who have managed to get out. That's not a lot of people to upset the demographic of approximately 1.5 million (2011 Census) in Goa, never mind the semi permanent influx of out of State migrants who probably didn't figure on the Census.

Bizarre that a State which depends almost entirely economically on seasonal tourist influx should have political leaders some of whom - e.g., that dickhead Goan who lives in UAE but is always on about 'selling our motherland', he loves it so much from the distance of his Dubai condo - show such contempt for such a paltry number of foreigner residents.

Bizarre also that this is a virtually unique situation in India whereby rule of law is attempting to be upheld by rigorous investigation spelled out in the media, even when that investigation is based on retrospective interpretation and definition of ambiguously worded legislation.

'Soft target' and racially motivated victimisation come to mind.

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

Some times i think the whole foreign to property scandal is just a smoke screen to keep peoples attention away from the real scandal which is how much black money has been hidden in Goa by buying property.There is no National Land Register in India, unlike the UK, so its quite easy to buy villas and apartments, especially if they are in gated communities with guards.No chance of them being squatted.In Riviera Palm 2 there are at least 5 apartments that have never had a resident at all. My friend leased on from a Delhi investor and he said it was completely unused in the flat.Everything was still in its original rapping paper.At one time in Goa you used to get a certificate of exchange when you changed money or you went to Mapsua Market now you just pop into calingute and Bobs your uncle.No record at all. Millions of pounds, dollars and Euros just vanish into thin air.....wonder where it ends up ?

Re: In To-day's Newspapers
 

Each lease is for less than 5 years so is legal, admittedly you depend on goodwill for the roll-over. Indian law also specifically allows a contract committing to roll-over a lease (even indefinitely); whether that would cover non-residents is moot.
There are undoubtedly a few bad apples i n the builder/ developer community but from what I've heard most are prepared to re-assign an Agreement for Sale for a consideration that leaves plenty of room for profit (taxable of course).

AndyD 8-)₹