Due to falling interest rates our income has dropped considerably and we are toying with the idea of letting our house in Goa for the periods we are not in residence. Does anyone on this forum let their property themselves? We do not want to use an agent as we would like to be flexible. Are there any pitfalls we should be aware of?

Also has anyone used reliable web sites to rent houses in Goa (besides ownersdirect)?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

http://www.Lazydays.co.uk are very good, but also very fussy about what property they take on their books. Have a look at their website. Friends also use Ownersdirect, and one guy has set up his own website.

Are you planning on targetting "holidaymakers" or long-stay?
Obviously the first category nett more per week, but are more labour intensive, and you need lots of bookings per season.

I would not suggest you try to do this without advice. There are many rules and regulations and if you do not comply the fines are spiteful.

Suggest you check your "Sale of Agreement" for letting clauses, also check with your developer as he should give expressed permission to let, due to the fact he "owns" :curse:the property (presumably not you ?) and during these troubled times MAY have to inform the local police about lettings
Sounds crazy ? ...... this IS Goa....:curse:

Good Luck

K-C

I agree, if you are on a lease you will need to get permission from the developer. If you have the Sale agreement then you would need a NOC for the local Panchyat. You will also have to fill in a C5 (I think thats what it's called) for everyone who stays at you property, this has to be handed onto the police station within a couple days of guests arriving. You would also have to register for Luxury Tax, this is a percentage of the rental money you may recieve. failure to register results on fines of 100% of tax due. The list is endless.

(SNIP) I had been to the registers office this afternoon and yes he accepts sale deeds from FN (Non - Indian). But you have to be on certain immigration status.

A FN cannot lease an apartment or any property without a bussiness license. So if you don't have a bussiness license than forget about leasing your apartment legaly. Yes you can lease it on Good Faith.

Powerhouse,
Its FORM C and not C5. You can view it here
http://goanewz.blogspot.com/search/label/C%20-%20FORM

What immigration status - please give us details.

Noni,
Its better you ask your immigration lawyer. He will be in a better position to analyse your case and advise you accordingly. Sometimes you need to exit India and come back on a different visa to register your property. Since its all legal its time consuming (max 9mths) and requires a lot of patience. Sometimes you will have to spend the whole 9mths living in India. After all this troubles the end result will bring smile to your face and you will achieve the resident status in India.

Hi Noni

I have a PIO card and have registered the deeds of my house. Our developer has not objections to us renting. We would like to do short term holiday lets only.

Regards
Christa

This question has already been asked on the thread 'Is It Possible...' but we are asking it here. Give us the name of a trustworthy immigration lawyer by PM or otherwise Milward. If you won't give us names to help us then your advice is of no use. We have all experienced the confusion of advocates who tell us their interpretation of the law, how can we be sure that an immigration lawyer won't do the same.

best ignore this silly trolling - there are no immigration lawyers in India because there is no immigration into India - there are no immigrant or settler visas - vide HCI London.

AndyD 8-)#

Daff,
You should contact an immigration lawyer and explain your situation and he will advise you accordingly. I have no clue about your immigration status in India therefore I cannot advise you. Tell your lawyer you need to obtain a resident status in India. I checked with my lawyer if he can take a case but he is busy preparing for the coming elections & I don't want to recomend someone I don't know.

a_f_d,
Great find!!!!

Hi Christa,

I would suggest that you have a word with Dukes or Lazydays, even if you dont' want to use a company to let out your property they are experienced and hopefully will be able to offer you accurate advice. Also I know from experiance that it is not as easy as it sounds and a company can save you a lot of hassell.

Quite Agree, enough is enough, Milward is Banned from the BE site.