For NRI's the loan tenure is from 1 to 15 years. NRIs will get only 85% of cost of home as loan amount with an upper limit of Rs. 1 crore. The interest rate will vary depending upon the financial institution. At the time of making loan application a processing fee is payable which will also vary according to the institution. In order to get a housing loan approved by a Housing Finance Company, an NRI borrower is required to submit following documents pertaining to the property

Employment/personal documents:

• Employment contract
• Passport along with latest visa stamp
• Identity card
• Latest salary slip
• Overseas bank account statement for last six months
• Proof of residence in India
• Proof of residence abroad
• Copy of appointment letter from the company employing the applicant

Property related documents:

• Agreement papers of sale/ construction
• Receipts for payments
• Allotment letter from the co-operative society
• Latest tax paid receipt

Eligibility:

The eligibility for NRIs does differ from Resident Indians. The criteria's included are:

• 1) Age:
  • a) The minimum age of the NRI applicant should be 21 years.
  • b) If you are a salaried applicant, the maximum age allowed at the time of loan maturity is 60 years.
  • c) If you are a self employed person, the maximum age allowed at the time of loan maturity is 65 years.
• 2) Qualification: The loan applicant should be a graduate.
• 3) Passport: You should have a valid passport.
• 4) Payment terms: The NRI has to pay EMI through his NRE/NRO accounts.
• 5) Monthly income: The applicant should have a monthly income of $ 2000.

Rate of interest:

Rate of interest will be as per the current rates and may vary, as different financial institutions have different rates. Possessing fees also varies between 1% and 2% depending on different financial institutions.

Home insurance is essential to safeguard your dream house from unforeseen disasters. It is the guarantee provided by the insurance company that combines insurance on the home, its content, structure etc that might happen due to natural as well as manmade calamities. NRIs wishing to invest in homes in India are eligible to avail of home insurance schemes offered by insurance companies. The policy for home insurance covers losses to structure and contents made by man made calamities or due to natural calamities. These include:

• Earthquake
• Explosion or implosion
• Bursting/ overflowing of water tanks or pipes
• Floods, hurricane, storm
• Missile testing operations
• Burglary
• Lightning
• Aircraft damage

Some insurance companies offer their policy for the damage caused to the structure and contents due to terrorism.

Insurance companies insure the sum for the reconstruction value. Reconstruction value is the cost incurred to reconstruct the home if it is damaged. Sum insured is calculated by multiplying the built up area of the home with the construction rate per sq. feet, e.g. if the built up area of a house is 2000 sq. feet and the construction rate is Rs.1000 per sq. feet, the sum insured for the home structure is Rs. 20,00,000.

Repatriation is the transfer of funds from India to your account overseas. If you are planning to buy a property in India with your overseas funds then the funds can be remitted to your Indian account. And while selling the property, the funds can be transferred to your account overseas.

Ways for Repatriation:

NRI accounts-

• RFC account (Resident Foreign account): This account is available for those Indians who are permanently returning back to India.
• NRE (Non-Resident External Account) account (Savings/Current/ Fixed Deposits): This does not require prior permission from RBI. Many banks offer this facility.
• FCNR (Foreign Currency Non-Resident Account) (Deposits): FCNR Deposits are fully repatriable and the entire deposit is exempted from tax.
• NRO account Non-Resident Ordinary Account(Savings): NRO deposits are not repatriable (principal) except on current NRI income like rent, dividend, pension, etc. and remittances indicated under "Repatriation of NRO Funds" only after payment of taxes due in India. Interest is freely repatriable.

Terms and conditions for Repatriation:

• Repatriation should be done via 'authorized person'.
• Income earned out of interest, dividends, rent, from any type of deposit, investment or properties is allowed for repatriation.
• Property against which remittance is sought should be acquired in accordance with the provisions of foreign exchange law in force and should be according to the laws.
• Repatriation is allowed only after obtaining special permission of the Reserve Bank of India on specific reasons such as adversity and subject to conditions as specified in the permission.
• Documentary evidence in support of acquiring the funds proposed to be remitted should be produced.

Legacy and Bequest:

• NRIs/PIOs are permitted to repatriate the funds held in their NRO A/c up to US $ 100,000 a year where sale proceeds of immovable property held by them for period of not less than 10 years is subject to payment of taxes. If the property is sold within 10 years remittance can be made, only if the sale proceeds have been held by the NRI/PIO for the balance period in an NRO Account. Such NRIs are exempted from RBI permission.
• Any NRI holding immovable property in India, who does not match the eligibility criteria, mentioned in the above clause require RBI permission to repatriate property's sale proceeds.

In simple words, remittance means money sent by NRIs to their homeland. Many young professionals are working overseas which has increased the money flow dramatically. Due to this India has been receiving the highest remittances in the world.

Following factors have contributed to these increased remittances to India.

• The continued tax exemption on interest income has worked as a bonus.
• Attractive interest rates and enhanced facilities provided by banks and financial institutions to NRIs for investments.

Different ways to remit money

• Through banks: If you and your beneficiary have accounts in the same bank then this serves as the most convenient method for remitting money.
• Through Internet: Remittance through Internet is one of the ways of remitting your money in a quicker way but you should verify it very carefully.
• Through agents: Some organizations act as money transfer agents. Such organizations offer better conversion rates and charge small fee for funds.

RBI recommendations on remittance:

• RBI has encouraged NRIs to use Indian or Foreign banks having branches in India to remit their money by creating awareness programs through the respective banks' websites.
• RBI has also suggested the banks to minimize the cost of remittances.

Things needed to be taken care of while transferring money:

• It is important to check the limits of maximum amount that is to be transferred.
• It is a must to enquire about the rates before making your transaction since exchange rates provided by the service providers may vary.
• There are some online providers who will not refund your money in case of error. So it is advisable to check the creditability of the provider.

In order to meet specific needs of NRIs and with a view to attract their savings and other remittances the government of India in 1970 introduced Non-Resident (External) Account Rules which are governed by the Exchange Control Regulations.

Banking Laws for NRIs allow for accounts with authorized dealers to be maintained in Indian Rupees and in foreign currency. NRI accounts are maintained by banks which hold authorized dealers' licenses from the Reserve Bank of India. Some cooperative and commercial banks have also been specifically permitted to maintain NRI accounts in rupees even though they are not authorized dealers.

The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 enlists various deposit schemes available to NRIs. The types of deposit schemes include:

• NRE Account: Non- Resident (External) Rupee Account for all NRIs: It can be maintained in current/savings/fixed deposit form. The funds in this account are totally repatriable.
• NRO account: It can be in the form of Savings, Current or Fixed Deposits in Indian Rupees. The funds in this account are not repatriable (only interest accrued is repatriable).
• FCNR [Foreign Currency (Non-Resident) Account (Banks)]: It is maintained only in fixed deposit form in the five major currencies namely US Dollars, GBP, DM, Euro, and Japanese Yen. The funds in this account are fully repatriable.

For interest rates, FCNR and NRE should not exceed the LIBOR/SWAP rates. In the case of NRO accounts, rates are determined by the banks. The interest rates apply to a period of 1 to 3 years.