Facing hard home truths

Facing hard home truths
The Economic Times, January 11, 2010, Page 1

Overseas Indians often have big problems when investing in real estate in India

Ishani Duttagupta & Ravi Teja Sharma NEW DELHI

NEW Jersey-based Susheela Verma is embroiled in a bitter dispute with her own family members over a 10,000 sq ft property in Gurgaon. I had invested in the property in 1999 and issued a limited power of attorney to my brother to oversee the construction on the site. My nephew was employed by me with a salary to help with the construction of the house. My investment is a few crores, but since 2006 my brother and his family have taken over illegal possession of my house. And because I dont live in India they have bribed the local agencies, and Im not able to get my property back, she says. Theres hardly anything unusual about this episode, except when you learn that Verma is a lawyer herself.

The local police and courts have not helped me in any way even though I have approached them and since I have a law practice in the US, I cant spend too much of time here fighting against my own family, says a desperate Verma. While it is ironic that a legal expert finds herself in this situation , many other prominent overseas Indians too encounter similar problems while investing in Indian property.

It could start with a dream to own a modest home in ones country of origin. Or it could even be an emotional bond that a second generation person of Indian origin feels with her parents homeland that makes her seek transfer of title of family property willed to her in a village in Punjab. Or it could turn into a poignant court battle by an aged NRI couple which wish to return home from the West but find that unscrupulous land-grabbers have taken possession of their apartment in Mumbai. Overseas Indians who have now become an important segment of investors in Indian real estate, putting in over a million dollars every year, often find themselves being duped by promoters or even getting into acrimonious legal battles with their relatives they once trusted.

There are instances when weve seen NRI families battling over division of land and property in control of custodians in India. A horrified NRI may discover that he has been divested of his share of family property on arriving in India, on the basis of fraudulent papers. Sometimes frantic NRI family members try to implement family settlements thwarted by local relatives occupying property locally. These are all real life instances which we have been dealing with, says Anil Malhotra, a Chandigarhbased lawyer who specialises in legal matters relating to NRIs and PIOs (persons of Indian origin).

London-based businessman and renowned philanthropist Raj Loombas family made full payments for two flats in Ghaziabad in Delhis NCR region two years ago and have not yet been given possession. The promoter keeps making excuses and we know that the project is yet to be complete. A consumer court has given a judgment in our favour but even that has not helped my wife and daughter in getting their flats, says a frustrated Mr Loomba.

Its a similar story for a group of overseas Indians who invested their hard earned money in a Maytas Properties project which has turned into a nightmare.