Every state has their own set of rules when it comes to various things. Selling property or buying a flat in Goa is one of them.
We have to remember that Goa is heavily influenced by the Portuguese and many of their rules still linger around. Goa still follows their rules on marriage, divorce or succession. Most of the rules existing at that time have been modified to match the Indian rules after liberation. However, if there isn’t a corresponding Indian rule, the Portuguese one stands.
Documents relating to the Deed of Succession, Deed of Renunciation and Wills are still strictly governed by Portuguese law. All these documents are public records and maintained by a Portuguese officer.There are rules about gifting or disposing inherited land, only 50% of this can be disposed, the rest falls under a non-disposable quota.
There are a few documents you have to check before buying or acquiring any land.
Pay attention to the type of land you’re getting your hands on. There are rules preventing development on agricultural land, if you acquired this land for development, it is basically useless.
If it is agricultural land, you have to have it converted to nonagricultural land, since all land is considered agricultural land.
Make sure everything has been approved by the Town and country Planning and the Development Authority has approved the construction plan.
Whether the area has been approved by the Municipality or Village Panchayat, especially if it is near the coast line.
Make sure it has been approved by environmental authorities, they raise an objection if the development area exceeds 20,000 square meters.
Check to make sure there aren’t any tenants on the land and if there are they should be compensated.
As far as engineering and architectural aspects go, the best thing to do would be to consult a registered civil engineer or architect and a lawyer to help with the legal aspects.
After giving the seller a deposit to block off the property, you have to hand him a bunch of your documents. In the meantime, he is going to verify everything you gave him to make sure it is legit. You have to hand him a signed paper with the intentions of both the people involved, i.e. he wants to sell and you want to buy.
Sometimes you may be asked for Memorandum of Understanding, you may have to contact your lawyer to get this sorted out.
According to the law, if you want to purchase an Old Portuguese house, the kind you see all over Goa, you can do so as long as all parties with a stake in the house are willing to sell. Even if a minority party isn’t, there is no law to force him to and you have to fight for the house in court.
There are even rules about constructing farm houses. The farm house built has to be used for the purpose of storing farm equipment, be it cattle, manure, machinery or anything else relating to farming.
The stamp duty and registration fees vary in Goa, depending on the amount you are spending to get the plot of land. 25 to 50 lac, implies you pay 3%. 50 lac to a crore needs you to pay 4% and anything North of a crore costs you 5%. As far as the registration fee goes, that’s 2% on the consideration. There isn’t any reduction of these amounts for anyone. Sorry ladies, no special privileges here.
If you are buying a flat in Goa, you have to
· Identify a realtor
· Check your budget and see how flexible you are in terms of a different location or increasing the amount you were willing to spend.
· Finding the right property
· Checking the value of the property you intend to purchase
· Due Diligence is where the lawyer goes over all the documentation making sure everything is alright and there are no error or technical flaws
· The lawyer of the seller has to draw up a document called agreement to sell, in some parts of Goa, they ask for a deposit during this step. You may lose this deposit if you back out now.
· Finally, you can settle for the sales deed. Here the buyer is officially made the owner of the land.
We have to remember that Goa is heavily influenced by the Portuguese and many of their rules still linger around. Goa still follows their rules on marriage, divorce or succession. Most of the rules existing at that time have been modified to match the Indian rules after liberation. However, if there isn’t a corresponding Indian rule, the Portuguese one stands.
Documents relating to the Deed of Succession, Deed of Renunciation and Wills are still strictly governed by Portuguese law. All these documents are public records and maintained by a Portuguese officer.There are rules about gifting or disposing inherited land, only 50% of this can be disposed, the rest falls under a non-disposable quota.
There are a few documents you have to check before buying or acquiring any land.
Pay attention to the type of land you’re getting your hands on. There are rules preventing development on agricultural land, if you acquired this land for development, it is basically useless.
If it is agricultural land, you have to have it converted to nonagricultural land, since all land is considered agricultural land.
Make sure everything has been approved by the Town and country Planning and the Development Authority has approved the construction plan.
Whether the area has been approved by the Municipality or Village Panchayat, especially if it is near the coast line.
Make sure it has been approved by environmental authorities, they raise an objection if the development area exceeds 20,000 square meters.
Check to make sure there aren’t any tenants on the land and if there are they should be compensated.
As far as engineering and architectural aspects go, the best thing to do would be to consult a registered civil engineer or architect and a lawyer to help with the legal aspects.
After giving the seller a deposit to block off the property, you have to hand him a bunch of your documents. In the meantime, he is going to verify everything you gave him to make sure it is legit. You have to hand him a signed paper with the intentions of both the people involved, i.e. he wants to sell and you want to buy.
Sometimes you may be asked for Memorandum of Understanding, you may have to contact your lawyer to get this sorted out.
According to the law, if you want to purchase an Old Portuguese house, the kind you see all over Goa, you can do so as long as all parties with a stake in the house are willing to sell. Even if a minority party isn’t, there is no law to force him to and you have to fight for the house in court.
There are even rules about constructing farm houses. The farm house built has to be used for the purpose of storing farm equipment, be it cattle, manure, machinery or anything else relating to farming.
The stamp duty and registration fees vary in Goa, depending on the amount you are spending to get the plot of land. 25 to 50 lac, implies you pay 3%. 50 lac to a crore needs you to pay 4% and anything North of a crore costs you 5%. As far as the registration fee goes, that’s 2% on the consideration. There isn’t any reduction of these amounts for anyone. Sorry ladies, no special privileges here.
If you are buying a flat in Goa, you have to
· Identify a realtor
· Check your budget and see how flexible you are in terms of a different location or increasing the amount you were willing to spend.
· Finding the right property
· Checking the value of the property you intend to purchase
· Due Diligence is where the lawyer goes over all the documentation making sure everything is alright and there are no error or technical flaws
· The lawyer of the seller has to draw up a document called agreement to sell, in some parts of Goa, they ask for a deposit during this step. You may lose this deposit if you back out now.
· Finally, you can settle for the sales deed. Here the buyer is officially made the owner of the land.