How Do People In Usa Without Friends Or Relatives In India Manage Their Property

gamma50g · Mar 18, 2023

Viswamitra said: ↑

@gamma50g,

If the property is owned by you, all you need is your title deed along with the Power of attorney in favor of someone who can executed the sale on your behalf. If you are residing in a foreign country, the Power of attorney has to be executed by you in the presence of a Notary and the Indian Consultate should endorse your credentials on the Power of attorney. This is a requirement in many states in India. You may also need encumbrance certificate that there are no loans outstanding against your property and if there are loans, then, you need to agree to pay that debt first before getting your sale consideration. I am not sure why you need Succession certificate unless it is owned by your parents prior to your inherittance. If it is owned by your parents and you inheritted it through a Will, then, you need to probate the Will in your state before selling the property. Normally, the buyer will prepare the sale deed but if you like to review it with the help of lawyer before executing it, then, you need to find a lawyer to review it on your behalf.
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@Viswamitra sir Unfortunately it is an inherited proerty without will. So I need a lot of legal documents in order for me to sell it.

Viswamitra · Mar 18, 2023

@gamma50g,

Thank you for clarifying it. How many successors are there? Can one of you apply for succession certificate from the jurisdiction where the property is located? Normally, Tahsildar will issue succession certificate. Once the application is filed, they will send one inspector to review and meet with the successors to ensure such a person exists. Besides, identity proof will have to be submitted such as Aadhar Card, Passport, Voter ID or any other proof of identity. There are many agents who work with the Tahsildar's office to get these things done and it would involve a fee to them as well as some payment to the people involved in Tahsildar's office.

I assume you have title deeds available with one of you. The succession certificates along with title deeds should be adequate to initiate sale. Once you have succession certificates, engage a broker locally to find a buyer. Copies of the title deeds and succession certicate, encumbrance certificate, etc. are needed to be verified. If they buyer is taking a loan, then, all these documents will have to be submitted to the bank as well. Banks have a procedure to verify the title deed and succession certificate original and someone reliable must be able to present this to the bank even before the registration for verification. But the original title deeds and succession certificate originals must be handed over (parted with) only at the time of registration. If you have a Power of Attorney, he or she can handle all these processes on your behalf. The POA should be extremely reliable person as the Power of Attorney gives the person concerned a right to sell the property, you have to be careful. It should be for a specific transaction with a time limit. No general power of attorney should be executed.

Apparently, if the property is located in a different state than where most of your relatives and friends are located, it creates a unique situation. It would be best if one of the Successors is given PoA who is more reliable. It may involve trips to another state and dealing with the government agencies and hence it might be a difficult assignment. The other successors can reimburse for this cost and all the effort in terms of time.

gamma50g · Mar 19, 2023

Viswamitra said: ↑

@gamma50g,

Thank you for clarifying it. How many successors are there? Can one of you apply for succession certificate from the jurisdiction where the property is located? Normally, Tahsildar will issue succession certificate. Once the application is filed, they will send one inspector to review and meet with the successors to ensure such a person exists. Besides, identity proof will have to be submitted such as Aadhar Card, Passport, Voter ID or any other proof of identity. There are many agents who work with the Tahsildar's office to get these things done and it would involve a fee to them as well as some payment to the people involved in Tahsildar's office.

I assume you have title deeds available with one of you. The succession certificates along with title deeds should be adequate to initiate sale. Once you have succession certificates, engage a broker locally to find a buyer. Copies of the title deeds and succession certicate, encumbrance certificate, etc. are needed to be verified. If they buyer is taking a loan, then, all these documents will have to be submitted to the bank as well. Banks have a procedure to verify the title deed and succession certificate original and someone reliable must be able to present this to the bank even before the registration for verification. But the original title deeds and succession certificate originals must be handed over (parted with) only at the time of registration. If you have a Power of Attorney, he or she can handle all these processes on your behalf. The POA should be extremely reliable person as the Power of Attorney gives the person concerned a right to sell the property, you have to be careful. It should be for a specific transaction with a time limit. No general power of attorney should be executed.

Apparently, if the property is located in a different state than where most of your relatives and friends are located, it creates a unique situation. It would be best if one of the Successors is given PoA who is more reliable. It may involve trips to another state and dealing with the government agencies and hence it might be a difficult assignment. The other successors can reimburse for this cost and all the effort in terms of time.
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Thank you for the tips @Viswamitra sir. I was not aware that the succession certificate had to be handed over at the time of registration. This is very useful information.

All 3 successors are out of India and there's no one in India. Therein lies the problem. Even to gather the documents to apply for that certificate like change of name on electric bill and property tax receipt, it looks like I have to go in person to get things done. But, I cannot dally at India even if I go there because with government offices and beaureaucracy, I don't know how long will things take. Once I get all the necessary documents to file, then all I need to do is find a lawyer.

In my state, succession certificate is granted by the high court. It takes about a year to get it. First, an application has to be made to local Tahsildar's office. He issues legal heir certificate, on the basis of which lawyer needs to file for succession certificate in high court. Then the high court will call all legal heirs in person for evidence. After that certificate is obtained from court, then only other documents like title certificate etc will be granted.

Its a painstakingly long process with lots of time, manpower and money involved. which needs to be done. Except that I don't have manpower

Viswamitra · Mar 19, 2023

@gamma50g

Legal heir certificate could be easy to get from Tahsildar and there are agents who do it regularly. You can pay them including money to be given to the Tahsildar's office. But all the legal heirs will have to provide their ID, marriage certificate (if there is a name change), birth certificate to produce evidence that they are legal heirs first. At this stage, you can hire a real estate lawyer who can get you the succession certificate from high court even if it takes time. I assume the property is vacant as otherwise, you need to go through the process of giving notice to the tenant about your plan to sell the property. After this, you can be ready to engage a broker to sell the property and the same real estate lawyer can review the sale deed, if necessary. The broker will request vacant possession to show the property to multiple buyers. If your parents own more than one property, then, you need to keep the succession certificate for disposing of other assets. The Buyer ideally will request for succession certificate as part of the title to ensure there is no one to claim the property post sale.