Your Trusted Partner in Real Estate
At PropRelator, we make property discovery simpler, clearer, and more reliable. Whether you're searching for your dream home or exploring real estate investment opportunities, our team provides the insights, guidance, and support you need to make confident property decisions.
Can I actually buy property in India?
Yes - and you don't need RBI permission
If you hold an Indian passport and live abroad, or you hold an OCI card, you can buy residential and commercial property in India under what's called the general permission route. No application to the Reserve Bank, no special approval, no ceiling on how many properties you own. The rules sit under FEMA, and for a straightforward home purchase they're less complicated than most people expect.
Two things do need care: what you buy, and how you pay for it. Get those right and the rest is ordinary conveyancing.
Quick eligibility check
- Indian citizen living abroad (NRI) - yes
- OCI cardholder - yes
- Foreign spouse of an NRI/OCI - jointly, for one residential property, subject to conditions
- Foreign national with no Indian origin - generally no, without RBI approval
What you can buy - and what's off the table
You can buy
- Apartments
- Villas and row houses
- Residential plots in approved layouts
- Commercial property and office space
You can't buy (not under general permission)
- Agricultural land
- Plantation property
- Farmhouses
There's a common misunderstanding here worth clearing up: you can inherit agricultural land, and you can receive it as a gift from a resident relative. What you can't do is go out and purchase it. If a seller or an agent tells you there's a workaround, treat that as a reason to walk away - FEMA penalties on property transactions run to multiples of the transaction value.
See NRI-eligible projects in BengaluruHow the money has to move
Every rupee needs a banking trail
This is the part that quietly decides what happens years later when you want to sell and send money back. Payment has to come through normal banking channels - an inward remittance from abroad, or from your NRE, NRO or FCNR(B) account. Cash, foreign currency notes and traveller's cheques are not an option, at any amount.
NRE account - funded by your foreign earnings. Money in it is freely repatriable, and so, later, are the sale proceeds of the property you bought with it. Interest is tax-free in India.
NRO account - for income you earn in India: rent, dividends, a pension. Taxable, and repatriation out of it is capped at USD 1 million per financial year across all sources combined.
FCNR(B) - foreign-currency fixed deposits. Repatriable, and useful if you'd rather not carry rupee exchange risk.
The practical takeaway: if there's any chance you'll want the full sale proceeds back abroad one day, fund the purchase from NRE or FCNR money and keep every remittance advice, bank statement and receipt. That paperwork is what your bank will ask for later - and reconstructing it after ten years is painful.
Talk to us before you transfer fundsDocuments you'll need
Most NRI purchases that stall, stall on paperwork - usually one missing attestation. Here's what to have ready before you start.
Identity and status
- Passport (and OCI card, if applicable)
- PAN card - non-negotiable, you can't register or file returns without it
- Overseas address proof: utility bill, driving licence, or residence permit
- Recent passport-size photographs
If you're not travelling for registration
- Special Power of Attorney, notarised and then apostilled or attested at the Indian consulate
- The PoA holder's ID and address proof
If you're taking a home loan
- Employment contract or appointment letter
- Last 3–6 months' salary slips
- 6–12 months of overseas bank statements
- Overseas tax returns or Form 16 equivalent
- Visa or work permit copy
From the seller or builder
- Sale deed and mother deed (title chain, ideally 15–20 years back)
- Encumbrance certificate
- Khata certificate and extract
- Approved plan and commencement certificate
- Occupancy certificate for ready properties
- RERA registration number for the project
- Latest property tax receipts
Indian banks will lend to you - the terms are just slightly different
SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Axis and most major lenders run dedicated NRI home loan products. Typically you'll see funding of 75–85% of property value, tenures shorter than resident loans, and rates a little higher - the extra sits there to cover income verification across borders.
A few things that catch people out:
EMI payments
EMIs must be paid from your NRE, NRO or FCNR account. A direct debit from your overseas bank to an Indian lender is a FEMA problem, not a convenience.
Plot-only loans
Most lenders don't finance bare land, and the ones that do offer lower LTV and shorter tenure. Plot-plus-construction is usually the better-funded route.
Tax benefits
You can claim the interest deduction on a let-out or self-occupied property when you file in India, the same as a resident would.
Get pre-approved
Get pre-approved before you shortlist. It sets a real budget and makes you a far more credible buyer in a negotiation.
We'll put your file in front of the lenders most likely to say yes, and handle the back-and-forth on documentation so you're not chasing a branch from another timezone.
Check your loan eligibility
We'll put your file in front of the lenders most likely to say yes, and handle the back-and-forth on documentation so you're not chasing a branch from another timezone.
Check your loan eligibilityPower of Attorney, done properly
Most of our NRI clients complete a purchase with one trip, or none. The mechanism is a Power of Attorney - but the type matters.
Give a Special Power of Attorney, limited to this one transaction and this one property. A general PoA that hands over broad authority over your affairs is an unnecessary risk, and it's the source of most PoA horror stories.
Special Power of Attorney
Use a Special PoA
The sequence is: draft it in India so the wording matches what the sub-registrar expects, sign it before a notary in your country of residence, then get it apostilled (if your country is in the Hague Convention) or attested at the Indian consulate. Once it reaches India, it has to be stamped and adjudicated in the state where the property sits, within three months of execution.
Sign & Apostille
Alongside that, we run the parts that don't need your physical presence: video walkthroughs of shortlisted units, live site visits on call, floor-plan and view comparisons, and a written summary after each visit so you're deciding on record, not on memory.
Stamp & Adjudicate
Once it reaches India, it has to be stamped and adjudicated in the state where the property sits, within three months of execution.
We Handle the Rest
Alongside that, we run the parts that don't need your physical presence: video walkthroughs of shortlisted units, live site visits on call, floor-plan and view comparisons, and a written summary after each visit so you're deciding on record, not on memory.
Tax, in plain English
We're property consultants, not chartered accountants, so treat this as orientation and get your specific numbers from a CA. But these are the four things worth knowing before you commit.
Buying from a resident seller
You deduct 1% TDS on the sale value if it's above ₹50 lakh, and deposit it. Straightforward.
Buying from an NRI seller
Completely different rules - tax gets deducted on the full sale price at long-term rates plus surcharge and cess, and the filing route is different from the resident one. If the seller is an NRI, tell us early; using the wrong form here creates a mess that takes years to unwind.
Rental income
Taxable in India. Your tenant is required to deduct TDS before paying you. If your actual liability is lower than what's being withheld - and it usually is, once the standard deduction and loan interest are counted - you can apply for a lower-deduction certificate rather than waiting on a refund.
When you sell
Property held over 24 months is long-term, currently taxed at 12.5% without indexation for non-residents. Reinvestment relief under Sections 54, 54F and 54EC is available to you on the same terms as residents. And if India has a double-taxation treaty with your country of residence - it does with most - you can usually claim credit at home for tax paid here. You'll need a tax residency certificate to use it.
Repatriation, and why it starts on day one
How easily you can move sale proceeds abroad depends almost entirely on how you paid in the first place.
Bought with NRE or FCNR funds, or a direct inward remittance?
You can repatriate the full sale proceeds. There's a cap of two residential properties for which this full repatriation applies.
Bought with NRE or FCNR funds, or a direct inward remittance?
You can repatriate the full sale proceeds. There's a cap of two residential properties for which this full repatriation applies.
Bought with NRO funds, or selling an inherited property?
Repatriation runs through the USD 1 million per financial year limit - and that limit is shared across everything leaving your NRO account that year: rent, fixed deposits, sale proceeds, all of it.
Either route needs a CA certificate in Forms 15CA and 15CB confirming your taxes are settled, and your bank will want the original purchase documents and remittance proof.
One planning point that saves people real money:
If you're selling two properties and the total crosses a million dollars, splitting the sales across two financial years avoids a year-long wait on the balance.
Bought with NRO funds, or selling an inherited property?
Repatriation runs through the USD 1 million per financial year limit - and that limit is shared across everything leaving your NRO account that year: rent, fixed deposits, sale proceeds, all of it. Either route needs a CA certificate in Forms 15CA and 15CB confirming your taxes are settled, and your bank will want the original purchase documents and remittance proof.
One planning point that saves people real money:
if you're selling two properties and the total crosses a million dollars, splitting the sales across two financial years avoids a year-long wait on the balance.
Six steps, one point of contact
Tell us what this property is for
Investment, rental income, a home for your parents, or somewhere to return to. The answer changes the location, the configuration and the developer. We'd rather spend twenty minutes on this than send you thirty listings.
Avoid properties that don't match your budget, location preferences, or investment goals.
We shortlist, you don't scroll
Based on your budget, preferred areas and timeline, we come back with a handful of options that actually fit - with pricing, payment schedules, RERA status and what's around each project.
Avoid spending time browsing endless listings that may not be relevant.
You see it before you decide
Live video walkthroughs, recorded tours, drone footage where available. We'll walk the site on a call with you and answer the questions you'd ask if you were standing there. If you are visiting India, we'll compress a week of visits into two wellplanned days.
Compare projects, configurations, amenities, and location advantages in one place.
Shortlist the best properties that align with your goals.
Due diligence, before any money moves
Title chain, encumbrance certificate, approvals, RERA registration, builder track record. You get it in writing, in plain language, not as a stack of scans.
Understand project quality, connectivity, amenities, and future growth potential.
Funding and paperwork
Loan pre-approval if you need it, guidance on which account to pay from, PoA drafting and attestation support, and coordination with your CA on TDS.
Get assistance with documentation and finding a financing solution suited to your requirements.
Booking, registration, handover
We negotiate, sit through registration on your behalf if you've given PoA, and stay on for handover, khata transfer and - if you want it - finding a tenant.
Make your property decision with greater transparency and peace of mind.
Move forward confidently with PropRelator by your side.
