Buying a home in India from abroad
What applies, what to see, how to act from afar, how to pay.
This is a checklist, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and differ by state, so confirm each step with a lawyer and a chartered accountant in India.
The checklist
The rules that apply to you
- Under India's foreign-exchange rules, a non-resident Indian or an Overseas Citizen of India may buy a home or commercial property in India, but not agricultural land, a plantation or a farmhouse, except by inheritance.
- Payment has to come through normal banking channels: an inward remittance, or your NRE, NRO or FCNR account in India. Never pay in cash or through someone's personal account.
- Tax is deducted at source on property purchases above a threshold, at different rates when the seller is a non-resident. Ask a chartered accountant which applies before any money moves.
The documents to see before you pay anything
- The title chain: the sale deeds that bring the property to the seller, and the seller's own registered deed. A lawyer should read them, not only the latest one.
- An encumbrance certificate from the sub-registrar's office, covering enough years to show there is no mortgage or claim outstanding.
- The municipal record in the seller's name — the khata or mutation extract — and the latest property-tax receipts.
- For a flat: the approved building plan, the occupancy or completion certificate, and the housing society's no-objection certificate for a resale.
- For a new project: its RERA registration, checked on the state RERA authority's own website, and the carpet area stated there.
Doing it from where you live
- Most people act through a power of attorney given to someone they trust in India. Give it for this property and this transaction only, not a general power over everything you own.
- A power of attorney signed abroad has to be attested at an Indian embassy or consulate, or apostilled where the country allows it, and then stamped in India within the time the state's stamp law sets.
- Ask for a video walk-through of the home on a call you arrange, and for recent photos with the date on them. Confirm the address yourself before anyone visits on your behalf.
Using the listings here
- Every listing on iks.homes shows how its advertiser's ownership was checked, where the evidence came from and when. Treat it as a starting point for your own lawyer's checks, not a substitute for them.
- You contact the advertiser directly, from the details on the listing. iks.homes never asks you for money, a deposit or your documents to hold or unlock a listing.
- Do not pay a token amount before your lawyer has seen the title documents and the encumbrance certificate.