Developers · NRI sales · The Propah POV
What do NRI buyers ask that domestic buyers never do?
They ask about the exit before the entry. A domestic buyer asks what the property costs and when it will be ready. An NRI asks how the money comes back out, what is withheld when they sell, who signs if they cannot fly, and who looks after it in between. A sales team that cannot answer those four does not lose on price — it loses at the moment the buyer was ready.
Money out
“How do I get my money back out of India?”
The single most important question, asked before the first site visit and answered badly more often than any other. Funds in an NRE account are freely repatriable. Funds in an NRO account are capped at USD 1 million per financial year. Which means the account the buyer pays from today decides how easily they exit years later — and most buyers drift into NRO because it is the account that works jointly with resident family.
You are not their adviser. But telling them to decide the account deliberately, before the first payment, is a five-second answer that materially changes their outcome, and it is the moment most NRI buyers decide whether you are worth trusting.
“What is deducted when I eventually sell?”
This one catches almost everyone. When an NRI sells Indian property, TDS is deducted by the buyer on the whole sale consideration, not on the gain, unless the seller has obtained a lower-deduction certificate in advance. The difference between those two is not a rounding error — it is the difference between a manageable withholding and a very large sum locked up until a return is filed and processed. The certificate route exists and is underused.
Numbering is in transition under the Income Tax Act 2025, so quote the mechanism rather than the section number, and point them to their own adviser for the current reference.
“Will I be taxed twice?”
Generally no, under the relevant double taxation avoidance agreement — India taxes income from immovable property situated here, and the country of residence gives credit. The practical answer is about paperwork rather than principle: a tax residency certificate, Form 10F, and Form 67 filed before the return, which is where valid claims are most often lost. The sequencing matters more than the treaty does.
Presence
“Who signs if I cannot fly?”
A power of attorney — and the answer that loses deals is “just get one notarised there.” A PoA notarised only in the buyer’s country of residence is not valid for registration in India. It must be notarised locally, then apostilled or attested by the Indian Embassy or Consulate, then sent to India in original and adjudicated at the sub-registrar. Weeks, not days — which is why it should start at booking. A narrow, specific-purpose PoA also protects the buyer, and saying so unprompted is worth more than any brochure.
“Who inspects the property at handover?”
Most developers have no written answer. Who does the snagging, how defects are recorded and closed, who receives the keys and under what authority, and what happens if the buyer cannot travel for possession. A domestic buyer assumes they will simply turn up. An overseas buyer cannot, and will ask.
Afterwards
“Who looks after it when I am not there?”
Who holds the keys, finds and vets a tenant, collects rent, pays maintenance and property tax, attends the association, and handles a leak in the second monsoon. This is the objection that most often ends an overseas purchase conversation, and it is rarely about money. A credible answer — your own service or a named partner — removes it. “Your relatives can manage it” does not.
“How is the rent taxed?”
Worth knowing the shape of, because it surprises people: rent paid to an NRI is subject to withholding on the gross rent, which routinely exceeds the tax actually owed and is recoverable only by filing a return. NRIs also cannot claim the section 87A rebate, so a modest rent that would leave a resident owing nothing can still produce a liability. The lower-deduction certificate applies here too.
Trust
“What does your RERA record show?”
An NRI cannot walk to your site office and form a view, so the regulator’s record does the work a visit would. It shows revised completion dates across your whole portfolio, permanently. Assume they will read it — and raise it yourself if there is anything on it, because being caught by it is far worse than explaining it.
“Where does my money actually go?”
A question domestic buyers almost never ask and NRI buyers increasingly do. Under section 4(2)(l)(D), 70% of every receipt goes into a project-specific designated account, usable only for that project’s land and construction cost, with withdrawals certified by an architect, engineer and chartered accountant against physical completion. Being able to explain that clearly, and name the bank, is a genuine trust advantage.
“What can I not buy?”
Agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouses are outside what an NRI may purchase, though they may be inherited. If any part of your inventory touches this, know it before the conversation.
Speed
“How quickly will someone answer me?”
Never asked directly, and it decides more sales than anything above. A buyer in California asking a question at 9pm their time gets an answer around a day and a half later on a normal cycle. They are usually asking two developers the same thing. Whoever answers first stays in the conversation — which makes your response window a commercial decision, not an operational one.
What the pattern tells you
Every question above is about control at a distance. The buyer is not doubting the property. They are trying to establish what happens in the situations where they cannot be present — signing, inspecting, letting, repairing, selling, and getting the money home. A sales process built for a buyer who can drop in on a Saturday answers none of it, which is why NRI conversations so often go quiet after a warm start.
The commercial upside is real: this buyer does more diligence, takes longer to commit, and is markedly less likely to walk away over a market wobble, because they were never buying for a two-year exit. Assemble the pack once and it answers every enquiry after that.
What this does not cover
- FEMA and tax positions are summarised at the level a developer needs to hold a credible conversation, not at the level a buyer should rely on. Every buyer needs their own adviser.
- Section numbering under the Income Tax Act 2025 is in transition; mechanisms are described rather than cited by number where the reference is unsettled.
- Repatriation limits, withholding rates and certificate procedures change. Confirm current positions before relying on any of them.
- Treaty positions vary by country of residence. Nothing here is specific to any one jurisdiction.
- This is general commentary for developers, not legal, tax or FEMA advice.
What questions do NRI buyers ask that domestic buyers do not?
How they get their money out of India and what the repatriation limits are. What is withheld when they eventually sell. Whether they will be taxed twice. Who signs if they cannot fly. Who inspects the property at handover. Who manages, lets and maintains it afterwards. What the developer's RERA record shows. Where their money actually goes during construction. Every one of them is about control at a distance rather than about the property itself.
How much can an NRI repatriate from India each year?
Funds held in an NRE account are freely repatriable without a cap. Funds in an NRO account are subject to a limit of USD 1 million per financial year. Because sale proceeds and rent must go into an NRO account, the practical consequence is that the account a buyer pays from at purchase shapes how easily they exit years later — and many buyers drift into NRO without deciding to, because it is the account that works jointly with resident family members.
What TDS applies when an NRI sells property in India?
Withholding is applied by the buyer to the whole sale consideration, not merely to the capital gain, unless the seller has obtained a lower-deduction certificate in advance. That distinction is the single most consequential thing an NRI seller learns too late — it is the difference between a manageable withholding and a large sum locked up until a return is filed and processed. The certificate route exists, is underused, and has to be started well before the transaction.
Why do NRI property deals stall after a good start?
Almost always on documentation rather than price. A power of attorney notarised only abroad is invalid for registration in India and has to run through apostille or consular attestation and adjudication at the sub-registrar — weeks, if it was started at booking, and much longer if it was not. Add a PAN application begun late, an unanswered TDS question, and a payment routed through a channel FEMA does not permit, and a deal that was warm in month one is silent in month four.
How should a developer answer "who will manage my property"?
With a named service, not a reassurance. Who holds the keys, finds and vets tenants, collects rent, pays maintenance and property tax, attends the owners' association and handles repairs. This is the objection that most often ends an overseas purchase conversation, and it is rarely about cost — it is about whether the property becomes a burden the buyer cannot discharge from another country. "Your relatives can look after it" is heard as no answer at all.
Do NRI buyers check a developer's RERA record?
Increasingly, yes — and more carefully than domestic buyers, because they cannot visit the site and form their own view. The regulator's record does the work that a site visit would, and it shows revised completion dates across a promoter's whole portfolio, permanently. A developer who raises their own history, explains what happened and what changed, is in a far stronger position than one who is caught by it after the buyer has already found it.
Why does response time matter so much in NRI sales?
Because of the time difference and the shortlist. A buyer in California asking a question at 9pm their time receives an answer around a day and a half later on a normal working cycle, and they are usually asking two developers the same question. Whoever answers first stays in the conversation. That makes the response window a commercial decision rather than an operational one, and it should be settled — a calling window, a watched channel, or a documentation pack complete enough that the question never arises — before the marketing spend, not after.
Are NRI buyers better or worse customers than domestic buyers?
Different, and on balance better if you can serve them. They do more diligence, ask harder questions and take longer to commit — which is expensive if your process is not ready for it. But once committed they are markedly less likely to walk away over a market wobble, because they were never buying for a two-year exit. The trade only works if the documentation, the handover process and the post-possession answer exist before the first enquiry rather than being assembled during it.
NRE and NRO repatriation treatment and the USD 1 million annual limit, withholding on sale consideration for NRI sellers and the lower-deduction certificate route, DTAA relief and the tax residency certificate, Form 10F and Form 67 sequencing, power of attorney notarisation, apostille or consular attestation and adjudication, FEMA restrictions on agricultural land, and the 70% designated-account obligation under section 4(2)(l)(D) checked across published guidance in September 2026. Section numbering under the Income Tax Act 2025 is in transition, so mechanisms are described rather than cited by number where the reference is unsettled. Treaty positions vary by country of residence. This is general commentary for developers, not legal, tax or FEMA advice.
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Every question is about control at a distance.
Not the property. What happens in the moments the buyer cannot be present — signing, inspecting, letting, repairing, and getting the money home.
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