REMAX PUNJAB ATTRACT NORTH AMERICA NRIs  TO OPEN OFFICES IN PUNJAB

Los Angeles, Oct. 06, 2012
Gary Singh/R. Sayed

Over the years, real estate has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors of the Indian economy.  The size of the Indian real estate market is estimated at approximately USD 50 billion for 2012 contributing over 5 per cent to the nation’s GDP, said Gaurav Marya , President, Franchise India

(Left to Right) Er. Amarjit Singh Chawla- Regional owner; Jagraj S. Bhatti and Harinder S. Nagpal , all from Remax Punjab

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Punjab  economy  and environment has given a feel good factor to the NRIs, especially in the real estate sector. The number of NRIs who are investing in property for different reasons and for better investment returns is quickly multiplying. The Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC) and other financial institutions in India are facilitating the NRI investment in property speedily and efficiently. NRIs are free to repatriate in foreign currency their current earnings in India such as rent, dividend, pension, interest and the like based on appropriate certification.

Instead of setting up a business to market their own products, NRIs are involving in Franchise business in India.  Franchising is a network of interdependent business relationships that allows a number of people to Share, Connect and Prosper.

• To be successful in franchising you must understand the business and legal ramifications of your relationship with the franchisor and all the franchisees.

One of the leading management consultants in India said: The cost of franchising is often a smaller investment than the cost of establishing  a new outlet. After paying the cost of the franchise program, the remaining costs of expansion (as well as most of the risk) are assumed by franchisees.

Always--Think you have what it takes to franchise?

Let's study the case of  RE/MAX of USA in India  which has agents and consumers with access to perform real estate transactions in more than 75 nations. RE/MAX is born Dave and Gail Liniger, two 20-something real estate agents from Denver, Colorado; In 2009, expands into Asia with Master Franchises sold for India and Singapore.

• In India, RE/MAX is led by Mr. Samir (SAM) Chopra, who  is headquartered in Gurgaon – Haryana. He has more than 25 years of experience in Consultancy, BPO  and  Real Estate. He has started to recruit and train real estate people at various levels of the business model to create an unprecedented network spanning the entire country.
• According to  Mr. Chopra, RE/MAX India with Honesty, Integrity, and Trust as its core values, will be looking forward to building the same Brand Recall in India and becoming an undisputed market leader in real estate transactions.
• In November 2010 – RE/MAX India signs up its 100 Franchised Office in India also becomes India’s largest real estate brokerage network
• In February 2011 RE/MAX India signs up with  Er. Amarjit Singh Chawla from Ludhiana; Dr. Ashwani Sharma from Ludhiana and one NRI Ravinder Grewal  of California and creates a strong hold in Punjab by appointing Regional Office in RE/MAX Punjab thereby capturing business in the entire state of Punjab.
• Within one year, opened 12 franchisee offices with over 125 broker associates  and added more than 10,000 listings.
• REMAX PUNJAB sold more than 150 units of IREO Mohali.
• Sold Pizza Hut, McDonald, Dominos and exclusive rights for Green County  Jallandhar.

REMAX PUNJAB TEAM TRIP TO NORTH AMERICA

Few weeks back, Er. Amarjit Singh Chawla along with other two associates from  RE/MAX India/Punjab  started  on a trip for North America- Toronto to Los Angeles to sell franchise in Punjab for further development in each small city.  Mr. Chawla said that they had very successful trip and sold some rights for Punjab to Toronto Business men.

On Saturday, Oct 06,  Mr. Ravi Grewal,  Sam Sidhu and Deep Grewal organized a seminar  at India Oven Restaurant  (own by Sam Sidhu)  at 6.30 pm – 11pm.  More than 200  NRIs- businessmen and community leaders participate in the seminar.

Speaking to a capacity crowd of NRIs, Mr. Chawla introduced his associates, Harinder Singh  Nagpal- regional Director, Candian NRI Jagraj Singh Bhatti, Broker owner, who settled at Chandigarh.

and special attention to Ravi Grewal, Los Angeles, California who encouraged him to take up this project.  Mr. Chawla repeatedly praised  Ravi Grewal for his humility, honesty, integrity, devotion to the community and trust on him. According to the information provided on the brochure, Ravinder (Ravi) Grewal is one of the most successful businessmen in USA and owns more than 150 franchise units in the State of California.

Mr. Chawla, Harinder Singh  Nagpal- regional Director and Canadian NRI Jagraj Singh Bhatti, tried to tell the audience that under the umbrella of REMAX, they recruit agents and brokers with special Remax standard training and follow the rules and regulations of the company as well as Indian Govt.

Question and answer time was critical for Remax staff when some professional NRIs raised questions such as:

• From a sales and marketing perspective there are basic industry standards that are missing. There is no multiple listing services, realtors don’t have to meet any minimum qualification or certification guidelines, property titles are unclear
• Like the vast majority of property transactions, this one was done per the prevailing norms of India’s real estate industry, with about 40% – 60% declared officially and the rest paid for in cold, hard, unaccounted cash. What to do with the large suitcase full of cash now, you try to hide and have a risk of your life from you own love ones relatives.

These questions were not answerable because the actual process of buying or selling property is quite fascinating, with the vast majority of the laws governing the real estate sector firmly rooted in the 19th century (Transfer of Property Act 1882, and the Indian Stamp Act 1899) with little updating done to reflect the realities of the modern era.

According to a recent Whitepaper on Black Money released by the Indian Government, real estate accounts for a whopping 11% of the nation’s GDP which is estimated by the World Bank at about $2 trillion and forecast by Dun & Bradstreet to grow to $4.5 trillion by 2020. This means real estate contributes over $200 billion to the nation’s GDP.

For the past few years, Govt. is taking some action:

• The current provisions of the direct tax legislation provide for mandatory furnishing of the tax identification number by the buyer and seller of an immovable property if the value exceeds Rs 5 lakh, it said.
• Every registry of property is required to furnish annually information regarding transactions in immovable property if the value exceeds Rs 30 lakh, it said. However, it said, as many registrar offices still operate on a manual system, there are a number of gaps and lapses in the reporting of such transactions.

Besides, the paper has suggested more effective reforms in the real estate can yield a significant dividend in the form of reducing generation of black money in the long term.

It has also suggested for introduction of the provision of no objection certificate ( NOC) in the income tax law with safeguards to reduce administrative complications and increased ease of compliance, so that an appropriate and uniform database is set up and a proper national-level regulation also put in place.

1. NRIs can acquire any immovable property in India except agricultural land, plantations or farm houses.
2. Payment must be made from funds remitted from abroad by proper banking channels or from legally held NRI accounts in India to which money has been deposit from foreign earnings.
3. NRIs may sell any immovable property they own in India.
4. NRIs who already own agricultural land, plantation or farm house may dispose these by way of gift or sale to a resident person who is a citizen of India.
5. Rental income can be remitted outside India after any applicable taxes have been paid.

NRIs should be aware that courts are slow in India and cases that involve property can take decades to settle. Hence it is better to be careful to check and verify documents before purchasing property in India.

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