Guidance Required - Purchase of agri land in Kerala

[shankar61]

Dear Members,
I have shortlisted a small, low cost hill-side farm in Kerala at Mannarkad, Palaghat, Kerala. There are a couple of issues I need help with, in this regard:
(1) There is a reserve forest alongside (but outside) one the borders of the property. The property per-se does not fall inside the boundaries of the reserve forest. The previous owner has a NOC from the Forest dept for the land. Will there be any problem for me in getting a similar NOC? I understand that the Registration will take place immediately, but NOC will take 2-3 months. Is this normal, or is there something amiss. is there any reason the NOC can be denied for use of the land for agriculture purposes.
(2) The owner has sold the land to a Broker, who has the Power of Attorney (or Agreement as he calls it). The Broker will now sell it to me. I understand that this is a normal practice in Kerala. Is that so? Should I insist on the Owner cancelling the Power of Attorney with the Broker, and selling the Land directly to me instead? Is there any risk in this transaction, what are the measures i should take to prevent any legal or other issues.
I also hope to engage a Lawyer to vet the documents and to guide me.
However, it is better to be well informed, and I would appreciate all valuable suggestions in this regard.
Thanks,
Newbie Farmer

 

[rmathews]

pls check TITLE

dear friend,

Most important criteria whether seller has legal right to sell the land. revenue docs like tax receipt or any revenue docs do not prove ownership or right to sell the land. Pls engage a lawyer to check whether title of land is clean for last 40-50years. If title is clean then there would not be an issue.

regarding POA based sales always ensure that final deed made directly with legally authorised seller. It is possible through registered POA too. but most preference for direct seller deed.

Being close to forest there must be some regulations like you can not cut some of the trees from your land like several rules applicable to the land. So check with near by forest office to know the legal/forest rules applicable to the land.

Being close to forest land and land size is small I doubt whether it is assigned land by government to poeple in need. some of the assigned land are not legible for transfer. So most and most important is check the of TITLE of land. spending 10-15K for title can help to avoid sleepless night after purchase..

rgds
mathew

 

[shankar61]

pls check TITLE ->Guidance Required - Purchase of agri land in Kerala

Dear Mathew,
Thanks for replying. I almost gave up hope of getting one!
Yes, I shall engage the services of a Lawyer to verify all the documents.
The Broker has agreed to give photocopies of all relevant dox (Patta, Possession Cert, Previous NOC, Survey Report, Land Map, Tax Receipts) when I go for the site visit.
I also intend to obtain Certified Copies of all these dox directly from the VAO/taluk Office to rule out possibility of fake documents (u can never be too sure in such matters...).
For the POA, if he has indeed sold the land to the Broker and given an irrevocable POA for the same, I will try to get the Original Owner to sign at least as a Witness to the proposed Sale Agreement, so that there are no issues later on.
For Forest NOC, I believe it was already issued to the previous owner. I will verify its terms and conditions. To my knowledge, there is no mention of such NOC in the KERALA FOREST ACT, 1961(Act 4 of 1962), except in case of wood based industries such as saw mills, etc. However, I shall have to visit the Forest Dept Office and make inquiries.
Thanks for the effort you took to reply. I appreciate the same. BTW, I an visiting the site in the second week of March, and hope to keep you posted about the developments.
Thanks and Best Regards,
Shankar

 

[rmathews]

pls note

dear shankar,

just remind you,. "all relevant dox (Patta, Possession Cert, Previous NOC, Survey Report, Land Map, Tax Receipts)" none of the docs qualify to prove title or ownership or legal right to sell the property. The soul/breath of property is Title remain all docs are just body parts,. So without title property is not all usable and hence carry all possible risks.

remain all observations and precautions seems to be in order.

if there is commercial advantage, get in "registered agreement to sale" with small token amount and with clear terms that buyer to get clean title report on the property with cost to sellers account "

best of luck

rgds
mathew

 

[shankar61]

pls check TITLE ->Guidance Required - Purchase of agri land in Kerala

dear shankar,

just remind you,. "all relevant dox (Patta, Possession Cert, Previous NOC, Survey Report, Land Map, Tax Receipts)" none of the docs qualify to prove title or ownership or legal right to sell the property. The soul/breath of property is Title remain all docs are just body parts,. So without title property is not all usable and hence carry all possible risks.

remain all observations and precautions seems to be in order.

if there is commercial advantage, get in "registered agreement to sale" with small token amount and with clear terms that buyer to get clean title report on the property with cost to sellers account "

best of luck

rgds
mathew

Dear Mathew,
Thanks again for your input.
I had come across a checklist of documents that needed to be verified for
purchase of land in Tamil Nadu. It is reproduced below.

Agriculture Land Registration Process in Tamil Nadu
Brief Summary of the documents that would be needed for Registration:

1. Mother Deed. (History Documents)
2. Chitta from VAO showing Dimensions of the four sides, what are the surroundings on the four side of your plot, etc.
3. Adangal from VAO showing details such as survey number, who is the current owner, size of the plot etc.
4. Computer Patta/Patta book in the name of the seller
5. Encumbrance Certificate for 31 years from Sub Registrar's office
6. Tax paid receipts.
7. Family Tree of all the owners showing all family members and their relationship to the sellers
8. “A” - REGISTER Extract from VAO
9. Copy of Ration Card of all the owners showing all the amily members.
10. Copy of PAN Card of all the sellers and details of their bank account (Bank name, Branch, Address, IFSC number).
11. Form 60/61 Statement in case PAN Number not provided.
12. ID card for executant and claimant (for all deeds)
13. ID card for witnesses(for power deed only)

(Death certificates, affidavits etc as required) especially while dealing in rural areas.

I'd appreciate if someone could provide something like this for Kerala.

Best Regards,
Shankar


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