[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by androdev

Seller calls the shots.

There's no rule or convention like that . It all depends on what was discussed and agreed upon, and/or who is more desperate, and/or who is more cautious. I've heard of cases where the sale deed has been executed after receiving a "cheque" at the same instant.

[androdev]

Well, the only foolproof way to protect the interests of both the parties is to establish an escrow account or similar mechanism which is not the practice in India. In majority of the property dealings in big cities, it's usually the seller that sets the terms. It's one thing to be flexible about the sale price or the timelines if one is desperate to sell but no seller with a bit of real world experience would agree to sign the documents before securing the payment (either DD or RTGS). These days most sellers are asking for RTGS and refusing to entertain DDs.

[UD17]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

no alternative to rtgs for electronic transfer within same bank.

It looks quite strange really. Why don't you give him a cheque?

In Pune, I bought a flat last year. Although it was through a home loan, once i have paid my OCR (own contribution), we went ahead for the registration. Remaining money was transferred directly by the bank to builder.

[speed79]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

Thanks. Incase we do go to the branch, when/how do we sign the deed? At the branch itself? And then go to registrar?

How does one ensure that the draft is not fake?

I have been out of the country for 25 years and this is all new to me. This is direct deal with a friend of mine and no brokers involved.

If the buyer is a friend of yours and he trusts you, you can go to bank in morning (before registration) and do bank transfer. Else as stated by others, you can use a Banker's cheque (not a DD) and get its copy verified at the bank a day earlier.

Last year I bought a house and at sub-registrar office the seller got banker's cheque from me, gave me property document originals, signed the sales deed and immediately went to bank to verify the banker's cheque. Thereafter only he handed over the house keys to me.

In an earlier instance, the seller asked me to give some portion in cash (10%). On day of registration he came to my house, counted the cash and asked me to keep the cash in my house. We went to sub-registrar office, signed sales deed, gave bankers Cheque, got original papers. He then came back to my house and collected the cash. So, it all depends on comfort level/trust factor between the buyer and the seller. If you trust your friend and vice-versa, things should go smoothly.

If the DD/Bankers cheque is cancelled by the buyer, and sales deed is registered, the deed becomes null and void, AFAIK.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

Thanks. Incase we do go to the branch, when/how do we sign the deed? At the branch itself? And then go to registrar?

How does one ensure that the draft is not fake?

I have been out of the country for 25 years and this is all new to me. This is direct deal with a friend of mine and no brokers involved.

Sale deed will have to be signed at the registrar office itself as there are other formalities like photo, biometric etc..

Typically when the purchase is funded via a loan, the back rep comes with a draft/bankers cheque and hands it over to the seller at the time the signatures are done. They also typically share a copy to the buyer in advance which can be sent to a seller.

Even in this case, you can ask the buyer to take a draft. You can put the number in the sale deed and he can share a copy to you. At the registrar office, confirm he has the draft and is ready to hand over and take it at the time of signing.

Considering he is your friend, I assume there is no need to worry about fake draft etc.

[Raj1008]

Originally Posted by androdev

Well, the only foolproof way to protect the interests of both the parties is to establish an escrow account or similar mechanism which is not the practice in India. In majority of the property dealings in big cities, it's usually the seller that sets the terms. It's one thing to be flexible about the sale price or the timelines if one is desperate to sell but no seller with a bit of real world experience would agree to sign the documents before securing the payment (either DD or RTGS). These days most sellers are asking for RTGS and refusing to entertain DDs.

So the sequence will be
1. Receive transfer/DD. DD should be verified before.
2.Sign sale deed.
3.Register document?

Originally Posted by UD17

It looks quite strange really. Why don't you give him a cheque?

In Pune, I bought a flat last year. Although it was through a home loan, once i have paid my OCR (own contribution), we went ahead for the registration. Remaining money was transferred directly by the bank to builder.

I am the seller. No loan.

Originally Posted by speed79

If the buyer is a friend of yours and he trusts you, you can go to bank in morning (before registration) and do bank transfer. Else as stated by others, you can use a Banker's cheque (not a DD) and get its copy verified at the bank a day earlier.

Last year I bought a house and at sub-registrar office the seller got banker's cheque from me, gave me property document originals, signed the sales deed and immediately went to bank to verify the banker's cheque. Thereafter only he handed over the house keys to me.

In an earlier instance, the seller asked me to give some portion in cash (10%). On day of registration he came to my house, counted the cash and asked me to keep the cash in my house. We went to sub-registrar office, signed sales deed, gave bankers Cheque, got original papers. He then came back to my house and collected the cash. So, it all depends on comfort level/trust factor between the buyer and the seller. If you trust your friend and vice-versa, things should go smoothly.

If the DD/Bankers cheque is cancelled by the buyer, and sales deed is registered, the deed becomes null and void, AFAIK.

Why Bankers cheque and not DD?
If the DD would have been a dud, how would have the protected you? Buyer can always change locks.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Sale deed will have to be signed at the registrar office itself as there are other formalities like photo, biometric etc..

Typically when the purchase is funded via a loan, the back rep comes with a draft/bankers cheque and hands it over to the seller at the time the signatures are done. They also typically share a copy to the buyer in advance which can be sent to a seller.

Even in this case, you can ask the buyer to take a draft. You can put the number in the sale deed and he can share a copy to you. At the registrar office, confirm he has the draft and is ready to hand over and take it at the time of signing.

Considering he is your friend, I assume there is no need to worry about fake draft etc.

Not worried about fake draft. The buyer is also an NRI and known to me for many years. The concern is that his local relative is guiding him and is 'connected'. I don't know what is the followed process and just wanted to be informed.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Even in this case, you can ask the buyer to take a draft. You can put the number in the sale deed and he can share a copy to you. At the registrar office, confirm he has the draft and is ready to hand over and take it at the time of signing.
\.

Again, if the funds fail to get transferred through the stated instrument, the transaction will be deemed null and void. There might be a process for this though.

[speed79]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

Why Bankers cheque and not DD?

When the two banks (payer and payee) are in same city, Banker's cheque is used and not a DD. No bank will issue a DD for same city. Banker's cheque is like a DD only. You can read more about Banker's Cheque.

[Gaur]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

We are discussing a property sale and the payment is by RTGS. However the buyers account is also in the same bank.

The bank says to do an internal transfer and to come to the bank as RTGS is not an option.

My understanding is that the sale deed is signed at the registrars office and the rtgs takes places at that moment. Once that is done, registration occurs right away.

How will going to the bank work in this case?

As others suggested, best option is DD.

As per my understanding, as a safe practice the DD number should be mentioned in the sale agreement also, so the buyer gets it made in advance and updates the same in the sale agreement and you get a chance to confirm it as well.

Also speak with your lawyer/agent if a clause can be added in the sale agreement that the "sale is subjected to realization of payment (DD number)" , try to understand how strong a legal standing this statement has.

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

I am perplexed that there is no alternative to rtgs for electronic transfer within same bank.

There is an option of internal Bank transfer within the same Bank.

You would have to add the account details of the person you want to pay as a beneficiary in your online banking login in advance. After a cooling period, you should be able to do a transfer upto your transaction limit set for such Transactions (RTGS/NEFT/Internal Transfers).

Internal transfer is done for accounts in the same Bank, whereas RTGS / NEFT is for accounts with other Banks and routed through RBI.

[Raj1008]

Thanks everyone for the amazing insights.

This is a really an awesome community.

I have one more question. The friends representative (brother in law who is helping him with the transaction) is interested in seeing copies of the previous chain of agreements.

I had already shared our agreement with them with a picture watermark.

He wants to see the previous agreements. Is this ok to do? Any safeguards to be taken?

I am doing this remote and was wondering the best way to do it. The friend is close to me but I don’t know his representative.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

He wants to see the previous agreements. Is this ok to do? Any safeguards to be taken?

I am doing this remote and was wondering the best way to do it. The friend is close to me but I don’t know his representative.

That's a fair ask. I'm sure you would be asking for the same if you were the buyer. I don't see much risk in sharing the copies. Alternatively, you can do a video call and show them the documents (which is a common practice when the buyer wants to view the originals).

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

I have one more question. The friends representative (brother in law who is helping him with the transaction) is interested in seeing copies of the previous chain of agreements.

I had already shared our agreement with them with a picture watermark.

He wants to see the previous agreements. Is this ok to do? Any safeguards to be taken?
.

When you say 'previous agreements', do you meant the previous sale deeds? If yes, that's a perfectly fine ask. Generally, every owner should have all the chain of deeds going back to the first one. If not, copies can be obtained from the Sub-Registrars office but they are going to cost.

I was confused by the term 'agreements' as the sale agreements are of not much value once the sale deed is registered.

[Raj1008]

Originally Posted by androdev

That's a fair ask. I'm sure you would be asking for the same if you were the buyer. I don't see much risk in sharing the copies. Alternatively, you can do a video call and show them the documents (which is a common practice when the buyer wants to view the originals).

Originally Posted by deep_bang

When you say 'previous agreements', do you meant the previous sale deeds? If yes, that's a perfectly fine ask. Generally, every owner should have all the chain of deeds going back to the first one. If not, copies can be obtained from the Sub-Registrars office but they are going to cost.

I was confused by the term 'agreements' as the sale agreements are of not much value once the sale deed is registered.

Thanks, yes I have the past deeds. I was advised by a friend not to give any copies or to route them through a lawyer.

But I am presuming he was being super paranoid.

Should I add any watermarks to the copies?

They want to verify the transactions, stay duty etc.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Raj1008

Thanks, yes I have the past deeds. I was advised by a friend not to give any copies or to route them through a lawyer.

But I am presuming he was being super paranoid.

Should I add any watermarks to the copies?

They want to verify the transactions, stay duty etc.

No harm in watermarking (you will have to put the buyers name as watermark). Who knows, you might be starting a new trend. I say that in a good way.