Foreign owned property in Goa, (Part One)

Theoracleiseeall

It all sounds to me as if they are just giving lipservice to pressure from India to enforce the terms of FEMA more rigourously (which is fair enough and needn't worry the honest).

Notice that the Herald reports that newspaper reports, the demands of "some political groups" and witnessed social tension (eh? where?)gave rise to this action.. Sounds very much like the press making a story out of a few remarks which fit their owners agenda - alarmist journalism like this will not serve Goa well, but it is unfortunately the way of many newspapers across the globe these days.

colin c

i have a question
could anybody tell me the percentage of population in the uk of indian origin .
then could they tell me the percentage of the population of india that are expats .
i know when we where in goa last season we got friendly with a lot of the locals , they where all asking why the british people wernt comming this year .
in fact one couple in perticular , the husband had worked abroad for the last 3 years but had decided to open his own beach shack so he could stay with his 2 young daughters .
he said he didnt need to earn a lot as he and his wife would run it , but when saying bye before we left he said that he would have to go back to working abroad again as he had lost money on his own shack .
a crying shame as they are a lovely family .
my point being that a hell of a lot of indians rely on expats and tourists to make a living .
so as long as people moving there do so are decent people with enough where withall to keep them selves it can only be good for the country , so i think they need to engage their brains before they shoot the fatted calf

Nick-H

It isn't that simple.

Take Cornwall, in the UK. It is, apparently, one of the poorest areas in Europe. Now look at the house prices there. Now imagine beinga young person, born, bred and trying to remain and buy a home there --- and look at the house prices! House prices that are inflated and maintained by "expats" (eg the English )retiring and buying holiday homes there.

As to why "the British people weren't coming this year" --- I don't see that regulations on who may buy land would have any noticeable effect on tourism. I'd guess that out of a thousand tourists, a good few dream of setting up here, but out of the dreamers, how many are serious?

I was talking with a Kerala hotel manager about local property prices a few years ago. He told me that many of his guests asked the same sort of question, but he doesn't take it seriously, as he knows he will never do anything about it. (He looked at me, and said, You just might... Well, I haven't made it to Kerala yet, but I have made it to India

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

crvlvr

percentage of population in the UK of indian/pakistani descent = 3.1% (1.9M). Pecentage of Brits in India 0%. But as Nick stated, it is not that simple.

Why so many Indian in the UK?
Did you know that there are than 20 million Indians (compare that figure to the total UK population of 60 million) currently live outside India in ex-british colonies? Most of them were taken abroad as indentured servants to keep the British plantation economy thriving. So compared to that number, the 1.8 million indians in the UK is a fairly small number.

Why so few Brits in India?
After losing the US as a colony, the East India company, in an effort to keep their employees from "going native"passed specific laws that prevented brits in India from marrying locals, owning property etc. this hard line that separated brits from the Indian made it easy for the Indians to insist that the british leave when India gained independence. So unlike in most spanish colonies, you will see very few brits left behind in their colonies.

Nick-H

0%.

Well, even if it was only me that would be .000000001%.

And I'm sure I'm not the only Brit.

But, Hey --- I'm just picking hairs here. Or should that be splitting?

crvlvr

come on Nick, you know what I meant

ok, even if we considered all british tourists as living in India, the number would be 0.043%

goangoangone

You're losing the thread here. To summarise.
People are coming here on 6 month Tourist visas, for 2/3 week holidays, for the first time and "buying" property. Some are resorting to illegal means, with the connivance of dodgy builders and lawyers, to get "legal" recognition. Builders can't sell to locals at these inflated prices.
What would you do if you were a builder???
That is what the RBI are trying to stamp out, and why not?
If you want to live here, you must satisfy their requirements on the 183 days, and show good reason and long term commitment to stay in India. This will cut out the speculators and, to a degree, the inflation of prices beyond local means. It won't stop money coming in from Mumbai and Delhi.
If you go on holiday to a foreign country for the first time and hand over a large sum of money to a complete stranger..............

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colin c

i agree with what your saying to a certain degree , but if you look at the uk it aint a lot different ,
how many young couples do you know that can afford to buy in any major city . or any not so major city come to that .
having lived in foriegn countries for a few years now ive seen the problem before , people come in from abroad paying over the odds for places etc .
the result is prices go sky high , but also more and more jobs are created , first in the building , then in service , then in shops garages etc etc etc .
the secret is to balance one against the other .
im not saying i can do this , but i dont try to run the world .
what i was getting at was that they should look at all sides and maybe try to come up with a way to make it work in favour of growth and locals .
not the sharks .
colin

Theoracleiseeall

Seems to me that it would be in everyone's interest to ensure that speculators and developers from overseas were prevented from engaging in any kind of property schemes in Goa. Leave that to the Goans themselves.
But the Goans should be free to sell property to the highest bidder be it Americans/Europeans or Indians or Goans. It just requires protectionist legislation which I believe is all that Rane is planning to enforce.
There are already measures in place via RBI which preclude profiteering on property by overseas residents. By colluding with developers the local officials have permitted work arounds (such as not observing residency or creating artificial companys) and this has simply allowed entrepreneurs from overseas to exploit Goa for personal gain.
Ultimately this is to the detriment of everyone except the entrepreneurs themselves.
Unfortunately legislation from Central Govt cannot differentiate between Goans and Indians and while protecting Goa from external economic forces it does little to prevent further diminution of the Goan character by opening up the state to developers and entrepreneurs from the wider India.
It should be entirely the responsibility of Goans (with appropriate legislative support from India) to decide on those who are worthy of a residence in their wonderful state!!

colin c

at the end of the day its their country and rightly or wrongly they will do as they see fit .

crvlvr

The govt of India has opened up the economy cautiously. Foreign investment is being encouraged in areas where it will have the greatest impact to the stadard of living of the people. Most other area are still quite closed to foreign invrestment. When one looks at it from that perspective, allowing tourists to buy residential realestate really does not do anything for the standard of living to Indians. Yes, the owner who sells the property might make some money. But, its a one time deal and no guarantee that jobs will be created etc. In other words, the Indian govt who represents the Indian people, don;t want retired people from the west in fixed incomes moving to India just because India provides inexpensive living. They would rather see the money from foreign investment be used to start a business and create jobs.

These laws apply all over India. Goa has drawn attention due to the scale of illegal transactions that has occured.

goangoangone

Quote:

In other words, the Indian govt who represents the Indian people, don;t want retired people from the west in fixed incomes moving to India just because India provides inexpensive living.

At least this money is spent in the local economy and can provide work for local craftsmen; pluimbers, carpenters, electricians etc. The problem here is that non-Goans, ie. immigrants from other states, are running most of the small businesses. They don't pay any tax and the money goes home.

capt_mahajan

seems to me we cant crib just coz somebody threatens to uphold the law.

crvlvr

Its not as much about Goans than about Indians as a whole. If India starts restricting the free movement of its population, then it would cease to be one country. Wouldn't it? Goan's are not the only ones complaining. Talk to any Bangalore local and most of them lament about how their city has been ruined by the transplants.

crvlvr

and come to think of it, most of usually crib when the laws are not upheld in India