Ron and Margaret Brizell homeowners in our Villa Riva development
featured in an article in
The Daily Telegraph, London on Saturday 14 May '05
The small Indian state, redolent of the age of Empire,
is attracting a new wave of foreigners.
- Gareth Rubin reports

It's a simple rule: if you want to buy a home in Goa, don't just give the cab driver who picks you up at the airport 40 grand in used notes and ask him to do it for you. The consequences of this are pretty much what you would expect - a less than satisfactory house-buying experience.

 

"Oh, it happens all the time!" says Ron Brizell, as we sit in the lounge of his villa, near Candolim beach. "The problem is the laws make it far more complicated for foreigners to buy than for locals, so lots of people try to buy in the name of the first person they meet here. He shows them a house or a plot, says he can buy it in his name and then transfer it to theirs. So the foreigner hands over a wad of cash and the sale gets bogged down in legal problems or they just never hear from him again."

You can understand why some people could be a bit intoxicated with the Goan Continued overleaf Continued from page 9 atmosphere - it's not just that the air in this beachside stop on the 1960s hippy trail retains more than a whiff of joss-sticks, but the sun and sea seem so perfect, and the people so friendly that you want to believe them when they say that for a bin- liner full of cash they will provide you with a modern, beachfront villa or a romantic property built 100 years ago, when Goa was still Portugal's last colony in India.

Ron and his wife, Margaret, bought their villa in a small development two years ago from Acron, one of Goa's biggest developers. "We had been coming here on holiday twice a year for 16 years," says Margaret. "Even five years ago, although we wanted a home, we wouldn't touch it with a bargepole, it was that complicated to buy. But now it's simple. We bought through Acron and it was stress-free.

'It's so much easier than it used to be. Fifteen years ago, you couldn't own a scooter here. But now, the land search is the biggest fear factor. Anybody can show you a piece of paper saying it's their land, but when you come to take possession, suddenly you're also having to talk to his aunties and uncles."

 

Under Goan property law, upon the death of a homeowner, the ownership normally divides equally among the children. This can lead to the situation where a house is owned by the 20 grandchildren of a long-dead owner, all of whom have equal rights of ownership and must consent to a sale - and some of whom may be virtually untraceable.

The next hurdle is the infamous 182-day rule. In order to be eligible to own property in Goa, one must spend 182 days of a financial year in the state.

With the number of tourists passing through Goa showing no sign of falling, it's a destination some are touting as a good place for buy-to-let investment. But, again, the law complicates things.

And, finally, there's the price. The value of foreigner-friendly homes in Goa has been rising by about 15 per cent a year for much of the past decade, so that a modern beachfront villa with three or four bedrooms now costs about £120,000.

One of the sought-after colonial houses, with five bedrooms and servants' quarters, in its own grounds, will be about £180,000; although you can get an inland bungalow with two or three bedrooms for £50,000.

Goa is a tiny state, with most habitation around its dozen or so beaches. Unless pumping house music and hordes of tattooed, British youths are your thing, avoid Calangute beach. Elsewhere, Arambol beach does a nice line in naked hippies who refuse to acknowledge the end of flower power. Retired colonels should consider the classier Candolim beach, or head inland.

 

Margaret Brizell is unequivocal: "I think everybody should spend time in India before they die."

(c) The Daily Telegraph, London, 14/05/05

Colin and Susan Hetterley homeowners in our Villa Palma development

featured in an article in

Sunday Mercury, Birmingham on 7 September '03

“Ever wished you could buy a holiday home in the sunshine ?" - Lifestyle Editor Zoe Chamberlain meets two Midland couples who went in search of a Place in the Sun. "Returning from a break in the sunshine can often leave you with thoughts of buying your own holiday home abroad. It could have something to do with the bleak greyness of late British summer, the shops being full of winter clothes and the desperate desire to resist switching on the central heating for just one more day. But not everyone is so fanciful - the number of people buying a dream holiday home abroad is rocketing.

Take Colin and Susan Hetterley from Leicester. The couple, both 48, surprised their children after returning from two weeks in Goa with the news they'd bought a brand new holiday apartment for £14,500. 'We saw a one-bedroom apartment and immediately fell in love with it. We signed the deal there and then. It is just five minutes drive from a gorgeous beach'.

Their new home has a communal swimming pool, gymnasium and landscaped gardens plus 24-hour, year-round security. We had invested in the stock market but our shares were losing value,' says Colin. 'So we decided to use the money to buy a holiday home we could enjoy. I'm really pleased we did. In fact, we've already expanded. We discovered the apartment next door was vacant so we remortgaged our house and snapped that up, too. We now want to knock down a dividing wall and turn it into one luxury apartment with two bedrooms and a 25-foot lounge. We can furnish the whole apartment for less than £3000, including all the appliances. And general maintenance costs just £3 a week!

As far as the paperwork for the deal, we had absolutely no problems. The developers were great and I felt very comfortable dealing with them. They were very trustworthy. We don't see the home as a business venture. We plan to use it ourselves and perhaps let it to a few friends now and then.

But we may look at buying a third apartment with our son to rent to holidaymakers because we believe there's a market for it. You can stay in hotels in Goa for under £30 a night but I think most people would prefer to stay in a nice holiday home with its own pool, that's a little off the beaten track and which is quiet and peaceful. When you do the maths, you realise you wouldn't have to rent an apartment out for too many weeks before it's paid for itself. We've already booked a month off work ourselves and we're due to fly out to Goa on Boxing Day. Buying our home in Goa is one of the best things we've ever done. I'd say it's a dream come true.”