Transfer of Property and Registration
Transfer of property is a very pervasive and important issue faced by NRI Indians. All matters related to Transfer of properties may be agricultural, residential or commercial real estate falls under the purview of the states. As each state in India has different statutes, rules and applicable taxes that govern the transfer of property and real estate assets, it makes it more complicating for the NRIs to understand the documental process while executing the property transfers.
Legally, Property Transfer is the only way by which change of ownership from one person to another person can be done. A person who wants to actively control, manage, build, mortgage or sell a real estate asset, needs to have a clear and absolute ownership of such property asset. In case of NRIs it becomes even more important as they are physically far away from the property and generally the property has been received by them by way of an inheritance. Thus, to secure and manage the properties, it is very important to have the property transferred and ownership records updated in the land revenue records. Once the property transfer is completed and mutation executed in records the names of the new owners gets recorded and updated in the relevant Government records.
In India, transfer of a real estate asset/property does not happens automatically, rather, most often it is a time consuming and tedious process under law and it further varies from state to state as each state have different rules and processes. A person has to submit proper documentation, go through verification checks and complete all necessary legal formalities to finalize the process.
There are multiple ways through which a property transfer can take place. Though it may somewhat depending on which state of India the particular property is located. Further, the property transfer process can also vary depending upon the person from whom the property is being transferred is alive or not and is further dependent on whether the deceased person has left a Will or not. It is pertinent to highlight for our readers that a deceased person’s property can be transferred based on natural succession or a Will. And if the person dies intestate, means without leaving a will, their immovable assets get devolved upon all class 1 legal heirs of the deceased person.
An owner of a property can transfer their ownership rights to someone during their lifetime by way of various instruments available under the law. An Owner can transfer their title rights by way of a Gift Deed, Transfer Deed, Relinquishment Deed or Sale Deed, etc.
Irrespective of the mode of transfer of an immovable property, it is mandatory to register the instrument of transfer of property, either it is a Gift Deed, Transfer Deed, Relinquishment Deed or a Sale Deed, with the appropriate Government authority for it to become final, absolute and enforceable under law. Only after getting it registered with relevant authorities it becomes a legally valid document. The process of registration for a property transfer in India involves a payment of stamp duty and other registration costs that vary from state to state and are based on a percentage of the commercial value of the property and the minimum fixed price of the property fixed and notified by the Land revenue department of the State. Upon successful registration of the instrument of transfer it is mandatory that the mutation of the property should be applied for with the dept.
We at NRI Global Services provide end-to-end services and assist our clients for documentation and executing the transfer of properties into their names. We have thorough understanding of the difficulties that govern the transfer of properties across any state of India, and we have a reliable network of highly experienced lawyers and specialists in land revenue matters, that we can ensure for rightful and reliable services to our clients without facing any hassles and undue botheration and we further ensure that such transfers executions would be completely compliant with the prevalent laws and statutes of the particular states.
NRIs AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY INVESTMENT
It has been observed over the last one and half decade that Indian residents have become conscious of putting in their money investment in the commercial properties, viz the residential or agricultural property.
Earlier, an NRI mostly preferred to buy an agricultural land and build a big house in his village or city, where ever he belongs to. But, from a decade or more, it has been observed that NRIs are also preferring to make their investment in the commercial properties in India. Why this trend changed is to be noticed?
Well, the major reason is the rise in rental incomes from a commercial property than from an agricultural land or a residential property is very high. Further, the demand for commercial property has also increased over a period and is the main reason behind the shift in the trend. Additionally, the percentage of growth in valuation of a commercial property viz. an agricultural land or a residential house is much more. Further, growing economy and liberal policies of the Government of India are attracting investment by NRIs in the commercial sector.
Also Read: Can NRIs buy property jointly with resident Indian? Make this a hyper link pl and the content for the same will be listed separately in another page.