Samspeak The beginning of the second half of 2012 has me thinking how we have fared in the first half of the year. As some of our oldest regions move into the third year of operations, I see our Agents referring to themselves as Real Estate Consultants, I see them attending trainings, up skilling themselves, using RE/MAX tools, promoting themselves and most importantly building a Repeat & Referral business for themselves. The recently held 4th Annual Convention of NAR India had all the Speakers speaking about the importance of Market Research, Knowledge & Training for an Agent to be successful in today’s

competitive market. Being a RE/MAX Agent helps you gain that edge with regions like RE/MAX Gujarat, RE/MAX Hyderabad, RE/MAX Bangalore and RE/MAX Delhi NCR empowering their Agents with continuous training. The first six months of this year have seen various new Developments like 28 new Franchisees joining the RE/MAX family, our tie-up with Property feast that has resulted in our property listings getting featured on 11 different platforms, regions like Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi NCR starting Referral Exchange Meets to help our Agents close transactions within the network itself, our newest region RE/MAX Chhattisgarh signing their first Franchise, our latest management tool FRAMES meant for Regional Offices & Broker Offices going into the implementation mode and the introduction of RE/MAX Member Services Support System ( RMS), a technological platform to enhance the turnaround time between the regions and RE/MAX India. The second half of the year will also see some interesting developments with RE/MAX India cementing their relationship with narindia.com's MLS, 99acres.com, REALTOR.com, Mitula and Vivastreet for synchronizing our listings on their platforms. Our Broker Offices and Agents will very soon also have their own personalized websites on the remax.in platform, an ultimate promotional tool for each one of them. Last but not the least, in order to help our Offices & Agents achieve their aim of delivering quality service to their customers, RE/MAX India will be launching a Quality Assurance Review program shortly. With all the action that is in store, I am very sure that 2012 will be a year to remember for each one of us. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all the new Franchise Owners and Broker Associates and wish them all the very best for their journey with RE/MAX.

Sam

News from RE/MAX India

The New leaders of RE/MAX India:

Continuing with the RE/MAX philosophy of creating Leaders from within, RE/MAX India is proud to announce the promotion of two of its most important Pillars, Manpreet Grewal & Puneet Verma as Vice President – Franchise Development & Vice President – Franchise Sales respectively. In their journey from January 2009 to June 2012, they have not only been a part of the pioneering team but have also been instrumental in the growth of RE/MAX in India, we are very sure that under their leadership, RE/MAX will definitely be ABOVE THE CROWD!! Heartiest congratulations to the two of them and we wish them all the very best!!

Franchise Owners get trained at the National Headquarters

In what was one of the most interesting Franchise Management training classes, 10 Broker Owners from cities like Ahmedabad, Pune, Ludhiana, Delhi, and Jodhpur got trained in the month of April. Learning the importance of Recruit, Retain, Charge, Collect & Gain Market Share, each one the Franchise Owners have set for themselves some solid targets which we are very sure they will achieve. We wish each one of them all the very best in making their RE/MAX Franchisees a SUPER SUCCESS!!

11 RE/MAX India Affiliates get empowered as Trainers 11 RE/MAX India Affiliates underwent a The-Train-

Trainer session with Gail Lyons (International

Trainer with NAR). The trained trainers are now all

set to train the Real Estate Fraternity across the

country in International Designation courses like

Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR) &

Certified Residential Specialists (CRS). RE/MAX

India wishes it’s Trainers all the very best in their

endeavor of up skilling the industry at large.

Chairman of RE/MAX India adds another feather to his cap and furthers his dream of promoting Exclusive Mandates The Chairman of RE/MAX India, Sam Chopra got nominated to Co-Chair the Government Affairs Committee on the Governing Body in NAR India. He also an opportunity to address an audience of 700+ Brokers who attended the NAR India Convention on the importance of getting Exclusive Mandates to ensure that all the Brokers follow a philosophy of “ Maximum

Impact with Little Effort”. The presentation made by him was very well received and most of the Brokers in attendance understood the importance of getting Exclusive Mandates. The Chairman’s dream of professionalizing the Real Estate Industry and helping Brokers get their worth is well on its way!!

2 new additions to the 125+offices, 45+ cities, 20+ regions network!!

The Regional Sales Team of RE/MAX India headed by Puneet Verma has now taken the RE/MAX name into the regions of Jodhpur & Lucknow by signing with Mr Narendra Choudhary as the Franchise Owner of RE/MAX Solution Specialist, Jodhpur and Mr. Sanjay Srivastav, Mr. Sunil Srivastav, Mr. Navin Kr. Singh & Mr. Sarvesh Srivastava as the Franchise Owners of RE/MAX Designers Wing, Lucknow. We wish the two new Franchisees all the very best for their journey with RE/MAX.

RE/MAX India rankings on the internet RE/MAX India is very proud to announce that the work of its Technology team is finally paying off and the www.remax.in website is now gaining a prominent ranking on the search pages for a lot of keywords that are used often when users search things related to Real Estate. Just as an example popular searches like Join Real Estate offices in India, Real Estate experts in India, Professional Realtors in India, Join real estate in India etc are some examples of key words for which we have gained a ranking on the first search page on google.com. SEO for the website is still in progress and we will have more good news to share with you by the next newsletter.

RE/MAX India organizes its 2nd Annual Broker Owners Convention

In what turned out to be an action packed three days, RE/MAX India Affiliates attended the NAR India Annual Convention on the 23rd & 24th of June and the 2nd RE/MAX India Annual Broker Owners Convention on the 25th of June in Mumbai. After Networking & Learning at the NAR India Annual Convention, RE/MAX India Affiliates attended the Annual Broker Owners Convention with the intention of sharing best practices and learning from each other.

The one day event had prominent speakers like Sam Chopra ( Chairman RE/MAX India),

Gordy Singh (A 100% Club Award winning Agent from Canada who helps run a 300 Agents office by providing Agent training and support), Asif Khan ( Team leader of Team Khan who has achieved many elite sales levels like the Chairman’s Club, 100% Club, Platinum Club and the coveted RE/MAX Hall of Fame ), Anand Choksi ( Top Performing Broker Owner of RE/MAX India), Rani Wilfred ( Broker Owner of one of the fastest growing franchisees in RE/MAX India), Sahil Shah ( Regional Manager, RE/MAX MGM), Puneet Verma ( Vice President – Franchise Sales, RE/MAX India) & Manpreet Grewal (Vice President – Franchise Development, RE/MAX India). With topics like Systems for Success in the RE/MAX network, Tips on how to run a Team, Creating a Repeat & Referral business, How to build Profitability through Scalability, How to deal with uncomfortable situations while recruiting etc. that were covered, we are sure that all the attendees went back enriched with tips and tools they could implement in their offices.

The convention also saw the Heroes of the First Half of 2012 from January to June being recognized and rewarded for their achievements.

Debutant Recruiter - RE/MAX Prime, Pune Largest Franchise Office – RE/MAX Advantage, Ahmedabad

Most Productive Franchise Office – RE/MAX Advantage, Ahmedabad

The Think Tank of RE/MAX India gets together for the 6 monthly Regional Owners Review Meet in Mumbai The Regional Owners of RE/MAX India got together in a Review Meet in Mumbai amidst the NAR India Annual Convention & Annual Broker Owners Convention. In addition to setting targets for H2 of 2012, key issues like imparting training for International courses like CRS, ABR under the RE/MAX Academy of Real Estate to train the industry at large, collaboration with other technology partners to enhance lead generation for our listings etc were discussed.

WHEN BROKERS SHOW THAT THEY CARE!! Blood Donation Camp by RE/MAX Gujarat:

RE/MAX North Gujarat took its first initiative to extend a helping hand to the society by organizing a blood donation camp. The Regional Office was given complete support by its Broker Owners & Broker Associates. The region lead its team well in setting an example of showing how to give back to the society which is the very reason for our existence and success. RE/MAX India is extremely proud of all those who were a part of this cause!!

RE/MAX Chhattisgarh collaborates with SEWA WELFARE FOUNDATION:

A month into the network and RE/MAX Chhattisgarh is already well on its way in contributing to the community and making a place for itself. The team at Chhattisgarh joined hands with the SEWA Welfare foundation to welcome the Kayast community. On this occasion more than 5000 people participated from different areas of Chhattisgarh. RE/MAX Chhattisgarh created a grand welcome gate to welcome all the people. This gate was placed for 4 days from 28/04/12 to 01/05/12 in the capital of Chhattisgarh, Raipur. In this procession 3000 glass of Jaljeera were distributed by the regional team.

NEWS FROM OUR REGIONS

RE/MAX Punjab Regional Office & Broker offices in ACTION:

RE/MAX Punjab organizes BO meet:

RE/MAX Punjab organized a Broker Offices meet which was attended by all the Broker Owners from Punjab A, Punjab B

and Chandigarh, Mohali Panchkula. This meet served as a great platform for all the Broker Owners to discuss upcoming projects, share best practices and network.

RE/MAX Property Professionals, Broker Office from Chandigarh participated in the Paramount Exhibition:

RE/MAX Property Professionals participated in the Real Estate Banking and Financial Expo which was organized at the Parade Ground in Sector 17, Chandigarh. The exhibition received a footfall of near about 3500 people. RE/MAX Property Professionals promoted the Yellow

Stone Project, Sector 66 Mohali in the exhibition and received an overwhelming response.

The visitors were from different fields and regions like Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, etc. The feedback received from visitors indicated that the show provided them with a platform for an introduction to Realtors like us who would help them in servicing their Real Estate needs. The four-day sessions have paved a way for hopeful capitalists propelling them to invest through RE/MAX. RE/MAX India is extremely proud of the office for using this medium to market themselves.

RE/MAX Bangalore all ready to set the market ablaze under the leadership & guidance of the new Regional Owner

The new Regional Owner of Bangalore Siva Kyasa has kick started his region with a bang by recruiting a team of 5 strong Franchise & Administrative Consultants. The newly recruited team recently got trained by the Vice – President Franchise Sales, Puneet Verma who flew down to Bangalore to ensure that the team gets trained to become competent in sales. The Broker Owners of the region also got together for a Broker Owners Meet in which the Regional Owner got Sterling Builders and other veterans like a Legal expert, a CA etc to come talk to the Broker Owners to increase their knowledge.

With the new developments, we at RE/MAX India are very sure that RE/MAX Bangalore will soon become a force to reckon with in the Bangalore market.

RE/MAX Delhi NCR

The regional team in Delhi NCR has been pretty active in selling Franchisees and helping them develop. From conducting BA orientation trainings every month, conducting Discovery Days for Franchise Sales, helping Broker offices conduct Discovery days for Agent recruitment, getting

product training for their Associates from

Developers, signing up three new Franchisees in one quarter, the region has seen a lot of action in the past quarter.

RE/MAX Delhi NCR ended the quarter with a grand event on the 28th of June called “Business Opportunities in Real Estate Brokerage” which was attended by 200+ prospects. This event was also used by the Broker Owners as a platform to convert their prospects to RE/MAX Agents. This event also saw some good speakers like Gail Lyons ( International Trainer), Baro Shalizi (Liaison for India from NAR) and Anand Choksi ( Top performing Broker Owner from RE/MAX north Gujarat) speaking to the audience. The grand event ended with an Awards Evening where the top Performers of RE/MAX Delhi NCR like RE/MAX Hallmark Realty (Most Productive Office and Largest Franchise Office) and Shruti Dey (Most Profitable Broker Associate) were recognized and rewarded.

RE/MAX India congratulates the team for conducting such an event and the award winners for their performance. We wish you all the very best for the rest of the year!!

RE/MAX Madhya Pradesh 1 Affiliates create a presence through self promotion

In a classic example of how our Affiliates implement what they have been trained on, Latha Rawal Broker Associate of RE/MAX Property Services has been actively using the tool of self promotion to create a presence for herself in the region of Bhopal. Others like Praveen Rawal, another Associate from RE/MAX Property Services have been using yard signs to promote their listings to create an awareness in the market which will ultimately lead to brand recall. Kudos to the Broker Owner Mr. Rakesh Agarwal whose expert guidance has helped the Agents in implementing such tools.

OUR STAR PERFORMING REGIONS!!

YOU KNOW WHAT SETS A RE/MAX REGION APART???VERY SIMPLE...STRONG LEADERSHIP AT THE REGIONAL OWNERS LEVEL AND A STRONG REGIONAL TEAM!!

The performance of our 22 regions in the first half of 2012 has clearly shown that there are 2 regions that are leading the race in all parameters. A study of the two regions has shown that if it wasn’t for the Regional Owners and the competent Regional team this would not have been possible.

RE/MAX North Gujarat:

Broker Owner Meets, Sales Power training, Blood Donation camp, Awards & Networking Nights, Participation in Franchise Opportunity shows like FRO and BOS, winning awards at the International level, Conducting Discovery Days... The region of RE/MAX North Gujarat seems to be doing it all and that is the reason why it is 12 offices and 65+ Agents strong. With strong offices like RE/MAX Advantage which have closed 100 transactions in a month to offices like RE/MAX Metro which have gone a step ahead in customer service by installing systems like customer feedback for creating Repeat & Referral business, the region seems to be well on its way of creating a strong presence for themselves in the region of North Gujarat.

RE/MAX Hyderabad:

The region recently completed two successful years with RE/MAX and we must say that it has been quite an action packed two years for them. With the team working under the strong leadership of Balajee and his second-in-command Meenakshi, they seem to be striking a fine balance between Franchise Sales & Franchise Development. From organizing Referral Exchange Meets for helping Agents share their inventory to taking the entire RE/MAX family for Team Building outings, recognizing and rewarding the Top Performers every quarter, holding Broker Owner Meets wherein they got featured speakers to speak to their Affiliates, giving back to the community by organizing blood donations camps, participating in Franchise Opportunity Shows & Property Shows, the region is actually leaving no stone unturned to create value for their Affiliates.

Heartiest congratulations to the two regions for being the very best!!

Let’s catch a glimpse of the kind of activities and initiatives that have set these regions apart from the others.

RE/MAX NORTH GUJARAT

RE/MAX HYDERABAD

RE/MAX INDIA WELCOMES ITS NEW BROKER OFFICES

REGION OFFICE NAME BROKER OWNER

Gujarat RE/MAX HALLMARK

REALTY Mr. Vivek Singhwal

Gujarat RE/MAX VIRTUOSO Mr.Muzammil Shaikh

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Mr.Dipesh Cheda

Delhi RE/MAX SAPPHIRE ESTATE Gaganpal Singh Thakar

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX VIRTUOSO Col. Rajesh Chaudhary

Pune RE/MAX PLATINUM NEST Nilesh Gore

Punjab RE/MAX 1st Realtors Anurudh Grover

Pune RE/MAX REALTY PLUS Narendra Mansharamani

Delhi RE/MAX Home of Realty Narendra Singh Choudhary

Mumbai RE/MAX CONNECTIONS Jay K Shah

Andhra Pradesh RE/MAX GOLD Somu Venkata Ramana Murthy

Delhi RE/MAX Solution Specialists Yuvraj Singh Shekhawat

Rest of Karnataka RE/MAX SIMM REALTORS Inam S Soudagar

Chennai RE/MAX CHOICE REALTY S. Kirubakaran

Mumbai RE/MAX Avana Realtors Parag Warke

Mumbai REMAX Stepping stone Sushil Kumar Kamble

Delhi RE/MAX Designer's Wing Sanjay Srivastava

RE/MAX INDIA WELCOMES ITS NEW BROKER ASSOCIATES

REGION OFFICE NAME BROKER ASSOCIATE

Mumbai RE/MAX PROPERTY SOLUTIONS Rajeev Pillai

CMP RE/MAX One URVASHI MIDHA

Gujarat RE/MAX Metro Chintan J Parikh

Gujarat RE/MAX Advantage AnandChoksi

Gujarat RE/MAX Advantage Pritesh Rajnikant patel

Gujarat RE/MAX Advantage Chintan Pathak

Gujarat RE/MAX MANN REALTY SOLUTIONS Chintan Patel

Gujarat RE/MAX Achievers Krunal Mahidadia

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Iqbal Shaikh

Gujarat RE/MAX REALTY SOLUTIONS Regan Prafulchandra Christie

Gujarat RE/MAX Achievers MAYUR P. RANPURA

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX PRIME Zahir E Taherbhai

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX PRIME Ashvir Nagar

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX PRIME Anki Peda Reddy

Delhi RE/MAX Realty Investmart Manish Patni

Chennai RE/MAX SureLinks J. SIDDARTH

Delhi RE/MAX Signature Realty Rohit Khosla

Madhya Pradesh 1 RE/MAX Property Services Girja Nandan Sharma

Andhra Pradesh RE/MAX REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS SOLTHI MADHUCHANDRA

Delhi RE/MAX HALLMARK REALTY Avinash Dwiwedi

Delhi RE/MAX HALLMARK REALTY Ravi Thakural

Gujarat RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Mr. Vivek Singhwal

Gujarat RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Vikas Kumar

RE/MAX NADUVAZHI PROPERTIES K Madhusudhan

Gujarat RE/MAX Virtuoso Muzammil Shaikh

Gujarat RE/MAX Virtuoso Zahirabbas Subedar

Gujarat RE/MAX Virtuoso Zuberkhan Pathan

Gujarat RE/MAX Virtuoso Mubin Kureshi

ROK RE/MAX Real Estate Consultants and

Solutions Santosh Madhurkar

Pune RE/MAX Virtuoso Agnes Pardeshi

Delhi RE/MAX SAndhra PradeshPHIRE

ESTATE GAGANPAL SINGH THAKAR

Gujarat RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ashish K Joshi

Delhi RE/MAX SAndhra PradeshPHIRE

ESTATE Mr. K. C. Srivastava

Delhi RE/MAX SAndhra PradeshPHIRE

ESTATE Amrit Pal Singh Bakshi

Gujarat RE/MAX Metro Hiral A Bhatt

Gujarat RE/MAX AAD REALTY Vishal M.Buch

Andhra Pradesh RE/MAX Realty Solutions S J Suresh

Andhra Pradesh RE/MAX Realty Solutions Sivar Sanjay Kumar

Delhi RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Milind Amshekar

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Satish Nula

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Salim Shaikh

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Anil Sharma

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Sachin Bangaloresode

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Dharma Dorve

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Sanjay Naidu

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Hemalata Naidu

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Prime Atul Mehra

Gujarat RE/MAX Advantage Shyam Arora

Gujarat RE/MAX Advantage Amit Vora

Gujarat RE/MAX AAD REALTY Ramandeepsingh Sawhney

Pune RE/MAX VIRTUOSO Rajkumar Bulland

Kerala RE/MAX PILOT REALTORS A.T.Usman

Andhra Pradesh RE/MAX Realty Solutions Sunil Kumar Singh

Chennai RE/MAX SureLinks S Hariharan

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX PLATINUM NEST Nilesh Ashok Gore

Mumbai RE/MAX CONNECTIONS Jay Shah

Mumbai RE/MAX CONNECTIONS Jigar Ashwin Shroff

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Ramchandra S Mogaveera

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Ganesh B Bhojane

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Jaishree Mistry

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Jasmin Patel

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Kulbir Singh

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Nasir Jagirdar

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Prabhakar I Pal

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Rahul Salve

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Ramesh Bangaloresode

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Sunil R Saroj

Mumbai RE/MAX MINERVA Umesh Tulsiram Jadhav

Gujarat RE/MAX AAD REALTY Parvesh Girgla

Gujarat RE/MAX AAD REALTY Ratan Maheshwari

Delhi RE/MAX Realty Investmart Hemant Negi

Delhi RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Sanjay Singh

Delhi RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Abhiram Kumar

Delhi RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ahsan Raza

Gujarat RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Dharmendra Yadav

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX ONE REALTY Pratik Patil

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX PRIME Shruti Toshniwal

Rest of Maharashtra RE/MAX Realty Plus Naren Mansharamani

Gujarat RE/MAX Advantage Jigar Pandya

BLR RE/MAX TLC Rakyesh Itekar

Gujarat RE/MAX Landmark Parag Soni

Gujarat RE/MAX Landmark Dipak Limbhachia

Gujarat RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Mahendra Parth

Delhi RE/MAX SAndhra PradeshPHIRE

ESTATE Diwakar Sharma

Gujarat RE/MAX Empire Sunny Pawar

Gujarat RE/MAX Achievers Anilkumar Patel

Gujarat RE/MAX Achievers Chirag Shah

Gujarat RE/MAX Achievers Ketan Chodvadiya

Gujarat RE/MAX Achievers Mayur Mehta

Gujarat RE/MAX Achievers Pinakin Bhatt

Gujarat RE/MAX Achievers Rohit KAndhra Pradeshoor

Gujarat RE/MAX Advantage Anil parekh

Gujarat RE/MAX Advantage Mahesh Patel

Gujarat RE/MAX MANN REALTY SOLUTIONS Paresh Solanki

Andhra Pradesh RE/MAX Realty Solutions Sajid Khan

BLR RE/MAX Ultimate Martin Yesudas A ArulAndhra

Pradeshpa

Chennai RE/MAX Konnect V. Arunalatha

Chennai RE/MAX Konnect V. Venkatraman

Chennai RE/MAX Konnect R. Geetha

Delhi RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Deepit Saraf

Chennai RE/MAX Konnect Ramu.P

Andhra Pradesh RE/MAX Property Champions V VANGARA VYSHNAVI

Gujarat RE/MAX Real Estate Solutions Janakkumar G.Shah

Gujarat RE/MAX Real Estate Solutions Ankit G.Shah

Punjab RE/MAX Professional Realtors Yoginder Kumar Digra

CMP RE/MAX Property Professionals. Taran Singh

CMP RE/MAX Property Professionals. Madhurima Budhiraja

Mumbai RE/MAX Matrix Vilas Gulab Kamble

Chennai RE/MAX Right Move P. Mani

CMP RE/MAX Property Professionals. Arjun Monga

Gujarat RE/MAX Metro Mrs. Bhavana Parikh

Punjab RE/MAX 1st Realtors Vikas Goyal

Master Regional Franchise Opportunity available for Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, West

Bengal, Rajasthan A, Madhya Pradesh B & Assam

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE EMAIL puneet.verma@remax-india.com

EVENTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

Franchise Sales Training – 19th to 22nd July at the National Headquarters

Accredited Buyers Representative Course – 2nd & 3rd August at the National Headquarters

Broker Owners Management Training – 5th to 9th August at the National Headquarters

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE EMAIL manpreet.grewal@remax-india.com

JOIN THE RE/MAX REVOLUTION, BECOME A PART OF THE EVER GROWING NEW FACE OF REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE!

REALTY BYTE

Should NRIs buy property in India now?

Source: The Economic Times

What are the things that NRIs need to keep in mind while buying property in India? They can purchase any number of residential or commercial properties, but cannot opt for agricultural land, plantation land or a farmhouse. They cannot acquire such property even as a gift, though there is no bar on inheriting it. If you are of Indian origin with a US or UK passport wanting to buy a property in the country, you need to have a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) certificate as eligibility proof. If you do not have this, you can produce your mother's or your father's birth certificate. You will have to submit these documents at the Indian embassy of your country.

Should NRIs buy property in India now?

The dipping rupee in the past few months has brought a lot of cheer to US-based NRI Tarun Arora. His loyalties are not misplaced, but his glee is justifiable. With the rupee weakening consistently, he will now be able to buy a house in India.

"I have been planning to purchase a house in Mumbai as an investment for some time, but since the property prices have been going up steadily, I kept postponing the decision," says the 35-year-old hardware engineer.

However, as the real estate market has now turned sluggish and the depreciating rupee adds more power to Arora's dollars, he is likely to acquire a property at a cheaper rate. "I expect the developer to offer a good discount as the demand for real estate is low. Also, my mortgage payments will be lower compared with the sum I would have had to pay a year ago," he adds.

Preferred option

Anuj Puri, chairman & country head, Jones Lang LaSalle, reveals that realty purchases by expatriates constitute about 8% of all property transactions in the country. "NRIs prefer to buy real estate as it is considered one of the safest investment avenues. It is also a source of rental income and there is surety that the capital value will appreciate," he adds.

Another reason is that there is a slowdown in most economies worldwide, while a few sectors are still lucrative in India. So, for the Indians who are living abroad and plan to return if they get better job opportunities here, investing in real estate while the prices are stagnant, makes sense.

Cheaper payouts

If an NRI finances the property through a bank loan, he would have to pay much lower monthly payouts compared with the amount he would have had to dispense a year ago (see How weak rupee benefits NRIs). The rupee was valued at 45.04 against the dollar on 22 June 2011, while it was trading at 57.15 as on 22 June 2012.

So, the buyer ends up saving nearly 27% on his monthly payouts. Also, in case he remits his savings to India, he can get more rupees for his dollars. While last year, he could have got Rs 45,040 for every $1,000 that he sent, he now stands to receive Rs 57,150 for the same amount.

How an NRI can buy property

What are the things that NRIs need to keep in mind while buying property in India? They can purchase any number of residential or commercial properties, but cannot opt for agricultural land, plantation land or a farmhouse. They cannot acquire such property even as a gift, though there is no bar on inheriting it.

If you are of Indian origin with a US or UK passport wanting to buy a property in the country, you need to have a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) certificate as eligibility proof. If you do not have this, you can produce your mother's or your father's birth certificate. You will have to submit these documents at the Indian embassy of your country.

An NRI can avail of a loan from a bank in India or its branch abroad to buy a property here. Says Sandeep Sadh, chief executive officer of Mumbaiproperty.com, a Mumbai-based real estate portal: "An NRI can get a loan of up to 80% of the property value just like ordinary citizens. The loan, however, will be disbursed only after the NRI registers the property." Most Indian banks have set up branch offices overseas to help the NRIs process these loans through their Indian offices.

There are some additional documents that an NRI may need to submit with the loan application form. These include a copy of the passport and visa, and a general power of attorney in favour of a local person as drafted by the bank and duly attested by the Indian consulate at the place of residence.

If he is employed abroad, some banks may ask for a copy of the appointment letter and contract, salary certificate, specifying name, date of joining, designation and salary details, as well as bank statements for the last six months (both domestic and international), and a copy of local income tax returns filed in the country of residence.

The down payment can be made through a direct remittance from abroad, traditional banking channels or deposit accounts in India. "Banks take into account the NRI's repatriable income,

along with any other income he might have earned in India, while calculating his loan eligibility," says Sadh.

An NRI can also transfer funds through his Foreign Currency Non-resident (FCNR) account, Non-resident External (NRE) account or a Non-resident Ordinary (NRO) account to buy property. An NRE account can be opened by depositing foreign currency in the account. This currency can be tendered in the form of traveller's cheques or notes.

An NRO account is similar to the usual bank account and can be opened by an Indian who is going abroad with the intention of becoming an NRI. An NRI can also open this account by sending remittances from his home country or by transferring funds from another NRO account that he holds. Such an account offers the same facilities as an NRE account, except that any repatriation done through this account needs be reported to the RBI by filling up forms that have been prescribed by it.

Applicable taxes

Other than the mandatory stamp duty and registration charges, the NRI buyer is also required pay taxes on the property if it is let out on rent. As for the rental income, the rules applicable to resident Indians are valid for NRIs as well.

However, the NRIs living in countries with which India has a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) can avail of lower tax rates. So, if you work in the US and receive income from India, you will have to pay taxes only in the US.

You can inform your Indian payer not to deduct tax at source by submitting a Tax Residency Certificate, issued by the US IRS to the payer in India. If you do not submit this and tax is deducted, you can claim credit in the US return. However, you will not be able to avail of tax deduction on home loan repayments unless you file your returns in India. --