Frequently Asked Questions for Property Buyers in India (2024)

You can own as many properties as you want.

There are a few exemptions available for long term Capital Gains, if you:

• Buy or construct a new house: If you build a new house or buy one from the money you receive from selling a property, you are exempted from paying the tax on Capital Gains. However, the new purchase should be done either one year before or within two years of sale and the construction should be completed within three years from the date of transfer. The new property bought or constructed should not be sold within three years from the date of its purchase or date of completion of construction.
• Capital Gain Account Scheme- Through the Capital Gain Account Scheme (CGAS), you can save the received money in designated banks. CGAS helps you in buying time to look for suitable investments as it serves to inform the Income Tax department that you plan to invest the money received; but at a later date.
• Invest in Bonds- You can also invest in financial assets or bonds to save tax. Such bonds are issued by the Rural Electrification Corporation and the National Highway Authority of India and should be bought within six months of transferring the property. You can invest a maximum of Rs 50 lakhs through these bonds.

If the house is held for less than three years prior to its sale, it is termed as a short-term capital asset and any gain arising from the sale is treated as a short-term Capital Gain. There are no tax exemptions for short-term Capital Gains and one needs to pay it according to the applicable tax slab.

However, if the property is sold after holding it for more than three years, it is treated as a long-term capital asset and the gain arising from it is called the long-term Capital Gain. Such gains attract a flat exemption rate of 20%.

Property is considered a capital asset and Capital Gains Tax is levied on the gains arising from the sale of property. Such gains are calculated after adjusting the inflation rate, transfer and renovation charges.

Yes. Generally, the stamp duty on the gift deed ranges from 5% to 12% in all states. In few states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, concession of 1 to 2 per cent is given to female transferors.

Stamp Duty is the tax paid for the legal recognition of property. It is paid by the home buyers. You can claim tax incentives of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on stamp duty and registration charges on a new property purchase or construction of a house. However, these benefits are available for only one self-occupied property.

TDS- 1% on immovable properties (except agricultural land) exceeding Rs 50 lakhs.

Stamp Duty - Depending upon state and municipal laws

Service Tax- It is a central tax paid for the services offered by the developer to you. From April 1, 2015 onwards,if the apartment is worth less than Rs 1 crore, or has a floor area less than 2000 sq ft, the service charge levied is 14% on car parking and preferential location charges (PLC) and 3.50% on the basic sale price. If the apartment is worth over Rs 1 crore, or has a floor area greater than 2000 sq ft, the service tax levied is 14% on car parking and preferential location charges (PLC) and 4.2% on the basic sale price of the flat.

The buyer needs to pay the following taxes:

• TDS or tax deduction at source on amount exceeding Rs 50 lakhs for the purchase of property excluding agricultural land.
• Stamp duty
• Service Tax - Applicable if the property is being purchased from the builder who conceived and constructed the project before offering possession to the buyer. If a `ready to move in' property is purchased from the seller, service tax is not applicable.
• Value Added Tax (VAT) - If applicable in the concerned state.

The property could be converted from leasehold to freehold if the local laws allow it. For example, properties under DDA can be converted to freehold by executing a Conveyance Deed but the same is not allowed if the property is owned by the Noida Authority.

The difference between a leasehold property and a freehold property lies in its ownership . In a leasehold property, the ownership remains with the concerned local authority or the government (as the case may be). The lease period varies typically between 30 to 99 years. But, this does not prevent the individual owner from selling or perform other transactions with the property, provided the lease deed is registered.

In case of a freehold property, the owner of the property is the legal owner and can sell/lease/rent the property as per his/her wish .

The language of the registration document must be the one that is commonly used in your district. According to Section 19 of the Indian Registration Act, the Registering Officer or the registrar has the power to decline registration of your document if it is presented in a language which is not commonly used in the district unless it is accompanied with a true translation of the language in use.

Yes, you can execute Special Power Of Attorney to get your property registered by someone else.

Power of Attorney allows a person to authorize another person the right to make decisions regarding the person's assets, finances and real estate properties.

There are two types of power of attorney. First, the 'General Power of Attorney' where a property owner confers 'general' rights. The rights include but are not limited to sell, lease, sub-lease etc. The second one is the 'Special Power of Attorney' where only a specific right is given by the owner to the chosen person.

• Original copies of the chain of title agreements and Building Plan approvals
• Original registration and stamp duty receipts
• Possession Letter
• Original share certificate (In case of societies)
• Proof of payment of all dues like maintenance charges, electricity bills, phone, water and property taxes up to the date of handing possession
• NOC from the Society or other concerned body confirming no objection to the transfer

• Projects approvals can be verified from the corporation or the sanctioning authority's office
• Ownership documents can be confirmed from the Sub Registrar's office where they are registered
• Share certificate related to societies can be verified from the concerned Society itself

• Sale Deed
• Title Deed
• Approved Building plans
• Completion Certificate ( Newly Constructed)
• Commencement Certificate( Under-construction property)
• Conversion Certificate( If agricultural land is covered to non-agricultural)
• Khata Certificate (especially in Bangalore)
• Encumbrance Certificate
• Latest Tax Receipts
• Occupancy Certificate

Yes, you can sell the property with the consent of the banking institution.

If the buyer wants to take a loan to buy the property, the process is much easier if he approaches the same bank. In these cases, the bank does not need to release the property papers to another bank before getting the payment.

If the buyer wants to make a payment outright, he can make it to the bank directly. The property papers will be released only after the bank has recovered the entire loan amount.

As per Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, you are allowed separate deductions on principal and interest amount of home loan amount, along with other entities like ULIP, PF, PPF, ELSS and NSC's. In case of principal, you can claim deduction up to Rs 1.5 lakhs while in case of interest, it is Rs 2 lakhs. The amount of stamp duty and registration is also eligible for tax deduction.

It is important to note that the tax break can only be claimed for the year in which the construction is completed.

Home loans are usually accompanied by the following extra costs:

• Processing Charge:It is the fee payable to the lender on applying for a loan. It is either a fixed amount not linked to the loan amount or a percentage of the loan amount.
• Pre-payment Penalty:When a loan is repaid before the scheduled duration, a penalty is charged by some banks, which is known as the pre-payment penalty.
• Miscellaneous Costs:Some lenders may also ask for documentation or consultation charges.

The interest on home loans is usually calculated either on monthly reducing or yearly reducing balance. In some cases, daily reducing method is also adopted.

• Annual reducing:In this system, the principal, for which you pay interest, reduces at the end of the year. Thus, you continue to pay interest on a certain portion of the principal that you have actually paid back to the lender. This means that the EMI for the monthly reducing system is effectively less than the annual reducing system.
• Monthly reducing:In this system, the principal, for which you pay interest, reduces every month as you pay your EMI.
• Daily Reducing:In this system, the principal, for which you pay interest, reduces from the day you pay your EMI. EMI in the daily reducing system is less than the monthly reducing system

You have to submit the following documents:

• Proof of Identity: PAN, Driving license, Voter ID, Aadhar Card
• Proof of Income:
  • Salaried Applicants: Latest 3 Months salary slip showing all deductions and Form 16 for the last three years.
  • Self Employed Applicants: IT returns for the past 2 years and computation of income for the last 2 years as certified by a CA
• Bank Statement: Past 6 months
• Guarantor Form (Optional)

The general eligibility conditions are as follows:

• The borrower should be a resident of India or an NRI
• Above 24 years of age at the beginning of the loan
• Below 60 years (65 for self-employed) or retirement age when the loan matures

The banks usually offer these nine types of loans on interest:

• Home Purchase Loan:It is the most common type of loan taken for purchasing a new residential property or an old house from its previous owner.
• Home Improvement Loan:Home improvement loans are given for executing repair and renovation work at home.
• Home Construction Loan:These loans are sanctioned to construct a house on a piece of land you have already purchased. The loan approval and application process for these loans is somewhat different from the other commonly available home loans.
• Home Extension Loan:Home extension loans are offered for expanding or extending an existing house. For example, addition of an extra room, a floor etc.
• Land Purchase Loan:This type of loan is granted for purchase of a plot of land for both residential or investment purposes.
• Home Conversion Loans:These loans are available for people who have already purchased a house by taking a home loan but now want to buy and move to another house. With these loans, they can fund the purchase of the new house by transferring the current loan to the new house.
• Balance Transfer Loan:These loans are availed to transfer one's home loan from one bank to another. It is usually done to repay the remaining amount of loan at lower interest rates or when a customer is unhappy with the services provided by his existing home loan provider and wants to switch to a different bank.
• NRI Home loans:These are specialized loans, structured to suit the requirements of NRIs who wish to build or buy a home in India.
• Loan against Property (LAP):These loans are given or disbursed against the mortgage of a property.