Legal factors NRIs should keep in mind while investing in real estate in India

According to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, an NRI is a person resident outside India who is either a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin (PIO).

Documents required

Under KYC norms NRI must submit passport copy and relevant pages of passport having name, photo, date of birth and address and copy of PAN should be submitted. Overseas address is mandatory. Either the permanent or correspondence address must be an overseas address.

Payment Modes

NRI can open, hold and maintain different types of accounts with an Authorized Dealer (bank authorized to deal in foreign exchange) in India without the permission from the Reserve Bank.
NRIs can maintain NRO account for transactions in rupees without any approval from Reserve Bank of India. Payments for investments in real estate must be made only through the NRO/NRE Accounts and cannot be made through travellers’ cheque or foreign currency notes.

Modes of Acquisition

NRI may acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural land /farm house plantation property, by way of purchase and/or gift from a person resident in India or from a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or from a person of Indian origin resident outside India.

Documents of Title

Such documents under which the NRI will derive his title to the property including the earlier title deeds, revenue records, land records, no dues certificate and title certificate from a lawyer. Additionally the NRI may seek advice of a Chartered Accountant and a lawyer so as to rule out any legal glitch.

Financial Assistance

NRI may also avail a housing loan in Rupees from an Authorised Dealer (Bank/ Financial Institution).

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Get More Profit with Property Investment Sonepat

The giant real estate developer Jindal Realty Pvt Ltd launched an integrated township project in Sonepat by the name of Sonepat Global City. The self-sufficient township offers a cluster of palatial villas, urban farmhouses, independent floors and spacious plots in various sizes.

Those who want to buy plots in Sonepat; Sonepat Global City offers well-demarcated plots of sizes varying from 133 – 660 sq. mtr. (160 – 790 Sq.Yds). The plots are available adjacent to 65 meter wide road that connects to NH - 1, and have proper water, electricity supply and well laid sewerage facilities along with eco-friendly features like rainwater harvesting. Reasonably priced, the city plots give you the freedom to build your home in your own style. 

In case looking for villas in Sonepat, then Jindal Farm Villaz offer you incredibly beautiful villas designed by distinguished architects and featuring exclusive attributes like grand party lawns, splendid terrace gardens with pool and splendid surroundings to let your life a stylish and comfortable life amidst all luxuries. The well-planned infrastructure, calm and peaceful, pollution-free environment and pleasing and landscaped lawns enhance the joys of blissful living experience.

The forthcoming 5000-acre Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP Expressway) which connects four highways namely NH-1, NH-2, NH-8 and NH-10, are some of the developments that attracts the home buyers and make the area far ahead in their priority list. The KMP Expressway will allow easy accessibility of Sonepat from cities like Gurgaon and Bahdurgarh. Also KGP (Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal) expressway is planned to link Palwal with Sonepat via Ghaziabad and shall provide a bypass on the eastern side of the capital city. The various other institutional and industrial projects coming up in the city will change the realty horizons of Sonepat. The upcoming Rajiv Gandhi Education City will also add to the international status of the city as several universities are coming up with their branches in the campus. Even the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has its extension campus lined up in this education hub. This gigantic education city is anticipated to enroll over 1.5 lakh students of 10 proposed universities.

The eight-lane NH- 1 and the proposed Rapid Rail Transport System will ensure smooth connectivity via an extensive metro rail network. Thus, with improving infrastructural development and upcoming connectivity projects, the demand for property in Sonepat will also increase making the place a hotcake for realty investors.

The remarkable employment opportunities due to several industrial units set up in the adjoining areas will also result in an increased housing demand. Several businessman and professionals are planning to establish their corporate offices here and are eyeing the area for residential purposes as the property appreciation prospects are great and the rates are also quite competitive.

Unlike Delhi which is engulfed in smoke and pollution, Sonepat offers a much clean and green living environment. Its affordability complimented by availability of huge land parcels, strategic locations promises to provide huge returns on investment both in terms of rental value and capital appreciation.

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Sonepat: An Emerging Real Estate Hotspot in NCR

Sonepat, a gateway to Haryana and a prominent region in Delhi-NCR is all set to become the paradise for residential and commercial real estate. And why not? At a time when the Delhi real estate is saturated and prominent regions in the NCR like Gurugram, Noida and Gaziabad have already exhausted their realty development potential; Sonepat with all its advantages is shining bright and offering umpteen opportunities for growth.

The real estate of Delhi-NCR region is making news for quite some time. Last week only, it was announced that circle rates in Noida would be sharply increased and stamp duty would also be raised by 2 per cent, thereby making properties even more costly. On the contrary to this, a month earlier, Haryana Government decided to slash its circle rates by 15 per cent in Gurugram so as to lift the real estate market out of the slump, however, the situation has remained grim and nothing has changed till now. So, to say, the real estate market of NCR is ailing and the situation is expected to remain the same for quite some time.

Further, with the sky-high real estate prices prevailing in regions like Noida and Gurugram, realtors are left with no other options but to look for new realty destinations in the region which has both locational advantage and the land for development is easily available at affordable prices. This search of realtors has led them to regions like Kundli, Sonepat and Kurukshetra in the NCR which are now boosting of good real estate activity.

Particularly, Sonepat, which is nearly 50 kms from New Delhi on NH-1, has recorded remarkable growth and is a growing real estate hotspot in the NCR region due to world-class developments happening in and around it.What more? Unlike the other areas in NCR, the prices are still very much stable in Sonepat, making it ideal for real estate investment and development. Thus, this small town in the NCR region is seeing frenetic residential and commercial activity, turning eye balls of many developers’ to the region who are already out on the way of building their mega townships and commercial properties in Sonepat.

In fact, in the beginning of this year only, Wanda Group from China signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) to develop a world-class comprehensive industrial park known as Wanda Industrial New City, at Kharkhoda in Sonepat. Investment to the tune of $10 billion is expected to be made by the Group.

Factors working in favour of Sonepat

Nearly a decade back, Sonepat used to be an agricultural town but now it has grown into a real estate hub with large-scale development in residential, commercial and even in the retail sector. This change has come mainly due to the inclusion of Sonepat in the NCR region. Since then, the region is growing at a very fast pace and property prices have increased four times in the past few years, yet they are not too high as compared to other regions of NCR. Industry experts firmly believe that in the coming few years, Sonepat will become a modern city with first-class infrastructure developments.

At present, there are many factors that are working in favour of Sonepat like:

1. Proximity with Delhi: With its prime location i.e., merely few kilometres from Delhi and situated on National Highway (NH-1), Sonepat has everything to become a realty hotspot in the NCR region. Further, Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi is also easily accessible via Ring Road, Outer Ring or Grand Trunk Road from this area.

2. Availability of land at affordable prices: For real estate development in any area, what is needed the most is the availability of land and that too at affordable prices. Well, on these grounds also, Sonepat is emerging as an exceptional real estate investment destination as the prices are not too high here.

3. Large-scale infrastructure developments: The infrastructure is also well-developed in and around Sonepat due to presence of large industrial base and being an educational hub. The Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway has made access very smooth from cities like Bahadurgarh and Gurugram to this place. Further, the second phase of 83-km long KMP Expressway connecting four highways i.e., NH-1, NH-2, NH-8 and NH-10 is also supposed to start next month. These mega scale infrastructure developments are also giving a boost to the real estate activity in the region.

4. Presence of world-class educational hub: The city is also being developed as an international-level education hub due to The Rajiv Gandhi Education City, a futuristic project by the Government of Haryana, hosting 10 universities. This has given a lot of importance to the area. Spread over an area of 2,500 acres with investment of nearly Rs 15,000 crore and creating job opportunities for about 50,000 people, this educational hub is touted to give a boost to the real estate sector in the region. Not only Rajiv Gandhi Education City is being built but Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is also showing interest in the area and has already taken possession of 50 acres of land offered for the extension of its Delhi campus. All these developments are also responsible for increasing the real estate activity in the region.

5. Huge industrial growth in the region: Besides being an educational hub, Sonepat is also being developed as one the largest industrial zones of Haryana. Leading brands like Atlas Cycles, Hilton Rubber, ECE, Hindustan Everest Tools and Satnam Overseas already have their units in the city and many more are planning to come here. This is definitely leading to a lot of job opportunities and attracting many people to the region. Hence, the real estate sector in Delhi Ncr region is touted to grow.

6. Drawing attention from other nations: Even other nations are eyeing this region for large scale realty development like Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group has already offered a mega city proposal (spreading over 3500 acres) to Haryana Government. In addition, other Chinese firms such as Chinese Manufacturer of Power Equipment Chinese Fortune Land Development Company have also showing keen investment interest in this region.

7. Other developments: Apart from the huge-scale infrastructure development happening in and around Sonepat, hospitals, recreational centres and resorts are also coming up in the region.

Future outlook

Thus, Sonepat has a bright future ahead. As a result of its strategic location and affordability factor, it is luring many investors and builders alike. In fact, the town is undergoing major transformation as far as real estate activity is concerned. This rapid development could be easily gauged from the changing skylines of the city.
With fast paced infrastructure development and modern lifestyle projects comprising residential, commercial, industrial and educational set-ups coming up in Sonepat, it will soon become the major real estate hub in Delhi NCR and a remarkable future destination for urban living.

An upcoming SEZ, the Rai Industrial Area, a proposed cyber city, extended Metro, and Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) at Kundli (to reduce the travel time from ISBT to only 20 minutes) can further provide a fillip to the real estate activity in the region. In fact, the Kundli-Sonepat region is developing so fast that some market analysts believe that it will be the next Gurugram in the state.

Thus, those who are on the lookout for huge land parcels for property development and residential or commercial property for investment purposes must not lose this opportunity. Sonepat has all the potential to provide huge returns in terms of capital appreciation and escalating rental value in future.

                                 By - Gaurav Jain, Managing Director & CEO, Jindal Realty Pvt. Ltd.

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How will Demonetization of 500 and 1000 Rupee Currency Affect the Real Estate Industry?

Mr Modi’s sudden announcement of banning the 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes has taken the entire country by shock. In his surprise address to the nation, he declared that these denominations from now onwards shall be treated as an illegal tender. This bold step to scrap the higher currency notes has no doubt created havoc in the economy but after a period of time shall prove to be a wise move.

With this initiative the government plans to unearth all the higher denomination currency out of the system, and put a control on the corruption and flow of black money.

Although the decision is in favor of the nation but it might affect individuals and businessmen especially small time traders, grocery shops etc. who transact in hard cash only. Whereas shops and showrooms that accept debit/credit cards are expected to witness a spike in their sales.

 Mr Modi also stated that land purchase and real estate are two of the most dominant sectors of the Indian economy. This announcement is expected to have a ripple effect on the gold and real estate industry which are major physical investment instruments for black money hoarding. People will start having more trust on the jewelry industry than currency and the demand for pure gold will increase.

Real Estate India majorly runs on cash transactions from people who pile up their undeclared money and invest it in property in India. It is a popular mode of parking idle and unaccounted money and a huge number of real estate transactions in India are either not reported or under-reported in order to avoid property transaction taxes.

In many of the big cities or metros it has been observed that the initial transactions are through proper banking channels but when it is time to resale, the seller often accepts hard cash in order to save on the capital gains tax. For the buyer also, cash transaction is more convenient since they report a lesser value at the registration office and thus save on the stamp duty charges.

Experts feel this announcement will initially lead to a crash of real estate industry. The crash will happen gradually when the people will start feeling the pressure and will be forced to sell their properties at a lower price due to a reduction in the potential buyers. However it will recover quickly as in property market, unlike gold industry there isn’t any index price and it is determined by demand-supply balance of the market.

The housing prices will come down but that too will help in the revival of demand in the dampening residential realty. This step has been welcomed by many of the big time real estate players of the country. Terming it as signs of a maturing economy, this initiative will help in the institutionalization of real estate India.

Organized builders and listed companies will not get a hit as since last few years land buying was being done via proper banking channels and hence they would be on a gaining end. Most of the property projects or land buying in primary sector is being done through bank finance. The number of housing units is publically known and the builders in India will not take the risk to sell some units in white and some in black so the element of black money is absent.

This decision will adversely impact the secondary market where the ratio of legal to black money- 60:40 are considered to be normal. The unorganized builders in India and the resale property industry will feel the pinch since most the land purchasing was being done in cash. It will hit the overall sentiments of secondary market which is expected to stop the use of cash and remain silent for a few years resulting in a considerable drop in property prices.

This tremendous step was required to bring transparency in the Indian Real estate industry which will have far-reaching and positive effects on the whole.

Thus, this fantastic and bold decision can be termed as the government’s biggest Surgical Strike till date. Or we can say it is just the beginning of a better future…

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Sonepat Real Estate Scores High With all New Sonepat Global City

Sonepat, a city located just a few kilometres away from North West Delhi, is nowadays being referred as the future destination for urban living experience due to its infrastructural growth and upcoming lifestyle projects across all segments. Property in Sonepat is available at reasonable rates as compared to other parts of NCR and assures good returns to all its investors.

The forthcoming 5000-acre Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP Expressway) which connects four highways namely NH-1, NH-2, NH-8 and NH-10, are some of the developments that attracts the homebuyers and make the area far ahead in their priority list. The KMP Expressway will allow easy accessibility of Sonepat from cities like Gurgaon and Bahdurgarh. Also KGP (Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal) expressway is planned to link Palwal with Sonepat via Ghaziabad and shall provide a bypass on the eastern side of the capital city. The various other institutional and industrial projects coming up in the city will change the realty horizons of Sonepat. The upcoming Rajiv Gandhi Education City will also add to the international status of the city as several universities are coming up with their branches in the campus. Even the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has its extension campus lined up in this education hub. This gigantic education city is anticipated to enroll over 1.5 lakh students of 10 proposed universities.

The eight-lane NH- 1 and the proposed Rapid Rail Transport System will ensure smooth connectivity via an extensive metro rail network. Thus, with improving infrastructural development and upcoming connectivity projects, the demand for property in Sonepat will also increase making the place a hotcake for realty investors.

The remarkable employment opportunities due to several industrial units set up in the adjoining areas will also result in an increased housing demand. Several businessman and professionals are planning to establish their corporate offices here and are eyeing the area for residential purposes as the property appreciation prospects are great and the rates are also quite competitive.

Unlike Delhi which is engulfed in smoke and pollution, Sonepat offers a much clean and green living environment. Its affordability complimented by availability of huge land parcels, strategic locations promises to provide huge returns on investment both in terms of rental value and capital appreciation.

The place is becoming the talk of the town and is attracting several realty players, big and small, public and private, to come up with all types of projects in the city. Top developers like Jindal Realty, TDI, Eldeco, Ansal API, Parker and Omaxe have some landmark projects lined up in Sonepat.

Sonepat Global City, by Jindal Realty is a self-sufficient township project that offers a host of residential options varying from palatial villas, independent luxury floors, urban farmhouses and spacious plots in different sizes. A Commercial centre also forms an integral fixture in this massive township development. Strategically located, it covers approximately 650 acres of amazingly landscaped area in Sonepat. The project is an environment-friendly residential venture with features and facilities like swimming pool, multi-utility hall, sports facility, indoor games room, dedicated play area for the toddler’s, health-care facilities and many more recreational activities. The other infrastructural facilities available are wide and well-lit metaled roads, regular water and power supply, sewerage treatment plant, rain water harvesting modern security systems, theme parks and wide walkways with well-developed and manicured surroundings. 

For those who wish to construct their homes as per their requirements, the township also offers plots in Sonepat varying in sizes 160-970 Sq.yds. They are available adjoining to a 65-metre wide road and have proper sewerage, water and electricity connection. These well-demarcated budget plots form an important part of this enduring development.

Thus, the huge township project of Sonepat Global City is engulfed with super-rich qualities and facilities and offers you a completely ultra-urbane living experience. It aims to provide you with a futuristic living environment that will pamper you with its state-of-art infrastructure and comforts.

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