In the current climate, IS the end goal the deed of sale? Do you want your name on something? Do you want to be made visible? Do you want to make yourself liable for investigation?

I want my deeds, I do - but I don't want to render myself liable for investigation (more heartache & sleepless nights) - so is playing the waiting game the correct thing to do?

H.

I am with you Hemingway, I would like my deeds but since they changed the rules on visas that is unlikely to happen and I do not really want to make myself liable for investigation. Our neighbors who bought at the same time as us got residency and their deeds and are being investigated.

Yes IMHO if you have an Agreement of Sale just sit tight with it and DONT try and register at this time.......you WILL leave yourself open to investigation by the Directorate of Enforcement.

Precisely!! I've been thinking about what to 'write' in my e-mail to Manmohan Singh & Sonia Gandhi (although I don't think she's too relevant now as Pratibha Patil is the President) & I reckon the approach should be along the lines of:

If a 'purchaser' cannot authenticate the source of their funds - i.e they came in with a carrier bag full of sterling, then go ahead, investigate them.

If a 'purchaser' can account for their funds/remittance but it doesn't quite dot the I's & cross the T's of FEMA, then allow the purchaser to sell & allow them to repatriate their funds to the UK without any hassle (i.e. let them get the f**k out of India with their cash in hand so they can get a good night's sleep - never to darken the doors of the place again!).

That's all I want to say 'eloquently' innit

H.

p.s. - just seen Remy's post & I agree whole heartedly with him - as keen as I am to get my deeds - LEAVE IT, DON'T REGISTER - bide your time.

Hi Hem, Rem, K8 and all my fellow sufferers of goa property grief :

What Lewis is trying to do is gather facts and has guarenteed your anonymity in doing so. He is trying to identify the full extent and nature of the problem that so many of us are facing, and what/who is caausing us to be in this position. He is not going to use the information you provide in any way which will identify any individual, or cause them to be investigated.

He is not asking any of you to submit for your deeds at this time, and you are right to sit tight on that at present, but he is asking you to provide him with an account of your circumstances by personal message. You do not have to state your name or address or the name of your property in Goa, just an outline of what happened.

I have contacted Lewis and he has a good plan that could and is likely to genuinely help us all. I cannot say anymore about it on the open site because the plan relies on stealth and confidentiality, but I would say to all of you who have shown doubt or fear here (which I totally understand, we are all running scared ), please contact Lewis by pm and ask. If you give him a chance to explain, I think your fears of giving the information will be greatly reduced.

We are all in this mess, and I truly believe that the only way forward is together as united we are a force to be reckoned with.

In the meantime Happy Weekend to you all

Dread
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Quote from Dreadsoc
"I have contacted Lewis and he has a good plan that could and is likely to genuinely help us all. I cannot say anymore about it on the open site because the plan relies on stealth and confidentiality, but I would say to all of you who have shown doubt or fear here (which I totally understand, we are all running scared ), please contact Lewis by pm and ask. If you give him a chance to explain, I think your fears of giving the information will be greatly reduced.

We are all in this mess, and I truly believe that the only way forward is together as united we are a force to be reckoned with."


Yes I can fully endorse Dreads statement, please get behind this plan and contact Lewis by PM ! You have nothing to fear but everything to lose by the current Goan "administration"

Thanks K-C

Sell the damn thing.

Hi Emsirrah

I agree for those that can sell and get their money back and out of Goa, then do it whilst you can.
However I am not convinced everyone with a Goan property is going to be able to do that satisfactorily. There are those who are being offered half what they paid, there are those who on 'buyback' have to pay ridiculous sums of money to convert names on sale agreements, and there are those whose builders suddenly want to 'go legit' and put it all through books, meaning they are likely to have losses as well, and not be able to get their cash out of the country. Also there are the folks who have their deeds and are being investigated and cannot sell.
There is a significant purpose for this poll, and it is likely to have benefits for us all, so please pm him if you would like further details. That goes for anyone reading this thread.

Dread

Must admit, I'm toying with the idea of asking the developer how much cash he will want to sign a new sale agreement in the name of another person's name (after they'd paid me for the place) - then of course there are the issues of 'finding a buyer' & assuming the buyer is Indian & we get paid in Rs, getting the money out of India. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

H.

Our story for those who have just come onto EP

We have been wintering in Goa since 1994 and have spent some of our holidays here since 1984 and my dream was to buy a flat here. My hubby always said no but 4 years ago I talked him into it (wish I had kept my mouth shut) we did buy but when we came to register was told it was not possible so realised there was going to be problems.
In April of this year we had an offer from an Indian neighbour to buy our flat and we only had 1 day to decide what to do as we were leaving for the UK at the end of the week – I did not want to sell – this was my dream flat in Goa but with all the grief other people were having we did not think we had any other choice. I have shed many tears over all this but nothing compared to people who have registered.
BUT – we have come back to sort things out and have found a nice flat for 10 thousand a month which is very well equipped and we have bought a washing machine and water filter etc so we are not “camping” as I thought we would be.

Our developer - I am not telling you who they were for their sakes - charged £200 to change the name on the sale deeds to our buyer. It was not a problem and they were quite happy to do it and thought our buyer was paying this sum so did not charge foreigners price.
Yes we have been very lucky and glad to be out of it but never thought in all my life I would ever have to say this.

Hi Emsirrah

Thanks for your postings here, especially for sharing your circumstances.
I am pleased to hear that your developer was fair. It just goes to show that there are some decent ones out there, and we forget that because of the less decent ones. Glad you found a happy place to be now.

Have a great weekend

Dread
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I agree Dread, nice to see a success story. We have all toyed with the idea of selling back to the builder and the wanting to enjoy your homes in Goa... A conflict between head and heart! Many of us simply live in fear of exploring that possibility because of the fear of being exposed to the DoE or lack of trust with builders and advocates! This is why your voice needs to be heard by responding to this poll and telling us your story, keep them coming!

Lewis

Anyone who as been able sell and get their money back with out losing out financially my hat is off to you I'm very happy for you.



Unfortunately some builders are not giving the option of changing the name on a sales deed or agreements.Or even allowing you to find a buyer and asking for a commission big or small to change the sales agreement to the buyers name.
If you are on a lease with a right to deeds once you comply with FEMA like us. The builder is just waiting for your lease to end so he can sell the property on and give you just what you paid for it minus fixture fitting and furnishing.Im not saying all builder in Goa are pulling this stunt. I have heard of some builders bending over backwards to help people but not our builder.

Last year we came very close to giving in to our builder and walking away at a loss,he almost took our hand off when we mentioned the possibility to him.

When I visited RBI to asked about how we would repatriate our money,they sat us down and explained,the builders are borrowing no money from the banks to build these properties,then they are selling them on a lakhs more than you people paid using your money,"why are you allowing them to do this?".
They explained the procedure for repatration of funds, that we would pay no Tax as this builder was only going to give us back what we paid for it etc,etc.They told us to go away and think about this before we made any decision.What he was indirectly saying was "don't do it". So we came out of RBI with our minds made up. To fight this till the end of the lease, either way we lose unless we get the deeds and are allowed to sell and get out of Goa properly.The clock is ticking for us so I see this as a step in the right direction.
All together by the time our lease is up we will have spent 23 weeks(tweekers Im afraid) in our property,a property we furnished as we would have done back in England as I'm sure others have done. Every furnishing, light fitting, cushion,bathroom and bedroom fitting etc,etc was bought with love and I am dammed!!! if I am going to give this all to a greedy builder to rub is hands all the way to the bank.

I support the work you are doing and this Poll 100%,if I can help in anyway other than fill in the poll and PM you my story which I have been happy to do. Please PM me and let me know.
GC

Some people are paying their builders between £10K and £15K to revert leases back to them. This is disgusting.