Step-by-step guide for NRIs buying property in Hyderabad

Buying a home in Hyderabad from abroad follows the same steps a resident goes through, with a few extra rules about what you can buy and how you pay for it. Here is the order to do things in.

Step 1: Check what you are allowed to buy

Under FEMA, an NRI or OCI can buy residential and commercial property in India without asking anyone's permission. You cannot buy agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse under that general permission. Those need specific approval from the Reserve Bank of India.

You will need your passport, your visa or OCI card, and a PAN. If you do not have a PAN, apply for it first.

Step 2: Decide what the property is for

Decide whether you want rental income now or a home to move into later, whether it should be ready to move in or under construction, and whether you want a flat or a commercial unit.

The answers decide where you look. Someone buying for rent near the IT offices will shortlist Gachibowli or the Financial District. Someone buying a home for retirement may care more about hospitals and family nearby than about distance from an office.

Step 3: Work out the full cost

The agreement price is not the whole bill. Add:

• Stamp duty and registration: about 6% of the property value in Telangana (4% stamp duty, 1.5% transfer duty, 0.5% registration).
• GST: 5% on an under-construction flat, or 1% if it qualifies as affordable housing. There is none on a completed flat that has its completion certificate.
• Other charges: maintenance deposits, parking, and property management if you plan to rent it out.

Our guide to GST, stamp duty and registration charges has the full working.

Step 4: Arrange the money

RBI requires payment to come through banking channels: a remittance from abroad, or funds in your NRE, NRO or FCNR(B) account. You cannot pay in foreign currency notes or traveller's cheques.

• An NRE account holds your foreign earnings in rupees and is fully repatriable.
• An NRO account is for income earned in India, such as rent. You can remit up to USD 1 million a financial year out of it.

NRIs can take a home loan in India. The loan is in rupees, and you repay it from the same accounts or by remittance. RBI caps how much a lender can fund: up to 90% of the property value for loans up to ₹30 lakh, 80% for loans between ₹30 lakh and ₹75 lakh, and 75% above that. Keep the EMI at a level you can pay from your own income, without counting on rent that may not arrive every month.

Step 5: Shortlist projects

Look at four things:

• Location: distance to offices, schools and hospitals, and how you get to the metro or the ORR.
• The builder: what they have delivered before, and whether it was on time.
• RERA registration: every project on sale should be registered with Telangana RERA. Search for it on the Telangana RERA website (rera.telangana.gov.in) and read what the builder has filed there.
• Rental demand: if rent is part of your plan, find out what similar flats nearby actually fetch and how long they sit empty.

This is where relai helps. The service is free for buyers. When you buy, the builder pays relai a fee.

Step 6: Check the legal papers

Hire a property lawyer in Hyderabad. Before you pay anything beyond the booking amount, they should check:

• The land title and the chain of ownership documents
• The encumbrance certificate, which shows whether the property is mortgaged or under any claim
• Building permission from GHMC or the relevant local authority, and any other approvals the project needs
• The builder's agreement, especially the clauses on possession date, penalties for delay and maintenance

relai does not provide legal representation, so this lawyer is someone you hire directly.

Step 7: Sign the agreement and pay

Read the agreement of sale before signing, or have your lawyer walk you through it. Pay the booking amount, then follow the payment schedule if the flat is under construction. Keep every receipt and bank record. You will need them for tax, and for repatriating money if you sell later.

Step 8: Register the sale deed

The sale deed is registered at the Sub-Registrar Office for the area. You or your power of attorney holder present the deed with identity proof and PAN, and pay the stamp duty and registration fee. Collect the registered deed. It is your proof of ownership, and an unregistered sale does not give you title.

Step 9: Look after it from abroad

If you are renting the flat out, someone has to find tenants, collect rent and handle repairs. That can be a family member or a paid property manager. Either way, have a written lease, take a deposit, and screen tenants before handing over keys. Keep the GHMC property tax paid.

Check now and then what the flat would rent and sell for, so that holding or selling is a decision you make and not one you drift into.

If you would like help shortlisting projects in Hyderabad from wherever you are, book a call with a relai advisor.