FAQs on the guidelines of NRI investment in real estate of India

Posted by Anurag Mishra on March 20th, 2017

What is the best time for an NRI to buy property in India?

When the value of Indian Rupee falls increasing the value of foreign exchange is the best time for investment in the Indian real estate by the NRIs. Moreover one should keep a check on the RBI grants and the various offers given by banks and developers to attract foreign capital and Foreign Currency Non-Resident Deposits.

Which are the property types that an NRI can purchase in India?

The general permission issued by the RBI states that a Person of Indian Origin or an NRI is free to purchase any residential or commercial property in any part of India which won’t require any specific permission from any authority or the RBI.  In case a NRI or a PIO (Person of Indian Origin) wants to buy any agricultural land or farmhouse or a plantation, he or she has to obtain a specific permission from RBI.

What are the RBI guidelines on procurement of home loan for NRI on residential property?

RBI has granted general permission to banks and financial institutions and the Housing Finance Corporation (HFC) which is registered with National Housing Bank to give home loan for NRI for buying residential properties in India. These loans granted should be on the same basis of granting loans to the Indian residents. The loans should be given in Indian Rupees and is payable in Indian Rupees too. The regulations of RBI states that the loan amount won’t be credited directly to the NRI’s account and should be disbursed to the builder or the seller. This loan should be procured by an equitable mortgage of the property being bought by the NRI. Although the lender is allowed to accept any other property or asset in India as security.

What are the procedures for repayment of the loan by the NRI?

The home loan for NRI from the banks, financial institutions or the housing finance companies can be serviced through many channels and he or she can pay the EMI by way of easy remittances through the banks. The NRE (Non Resident External) account or the Foreign Currency Non –Resident Deposit account (FCNR) deposits can also be used in servicing the loan and his or her NRO account also. According to the guidelines set by the RBI, the rental income accrued or received from such properties can also be used for the purpose of servicing the EMIs.

What is the number of properties that an NRI can purchase?

There are no restrictions for the number of properties an NRI can purchase.

What is the procedure for repatriation of the sale proceeds of the property?

If the NRI has purchased any property through home loan the repatriation of the whole amount of the sale proceeds are not allowed. The NRI is allowed to repatriate only the sale proceeds of two properties outside India as per the guidelines. The guidelines state that the repatriation amount is restricted to the amount paid in foreign currency. This will necessarily include the funds which were remitted directly from abroad or the money utilized from the FCNR account or the NRE account as well. If the funds were utilized from the NRE account the amount repatriated would be limited to equal amount of foreign currency that was used at the date of payment.

Is there any lock-in period for the selling of the property?

There is no lock-in period for selling the property bought by a NRI. The NRI can sell the property anytime and an amount equal to one million USD can be remitted every year from the NRO account.

{Source: http://dreamzinfra001.blogspot.com/2015/01/faqs-guidelines-nri-investment-realestate-india.html#.WM_Up9KGPIU}