This is a guide to the order of an NRI sale. It is not a substitute for legal, tax or banking advice for your own facts. The detailed sale process, including the eight questions NRIs ask most often, remains on the NRI selling page.
Start with the papers, not the listing
Before a property is offered, the sale deed, mutation records and chain of ownership need review. This identifies what must be resolved before a buyer spends time on diligence. With papers ready before listing, a sale generally runs 60–90 days from listing to registration and three to five months end to end including preparation. Unprepared sales can run six to twelve months.
For a seller abroad, the starting pack normally includes the passport copy, PAN, applicable OCI or PIO record, title papers and, where needed, a specific Power of Attorney. The exact checklist depends on the property and ownership history.
Set up a Power of Attorney early, if one is needed
If you will not be in India for registration or another step that cannot be handled remotely, a Power of Attorney may be needed for a trusted person in India. It is notarised and apostilled in the country where you sign, then stamped in Delhi before use — not registered. Allow up to twelve weeks. It runs alongside the mandate and buyer search; it should not be left until a buyer is ready.
Agree the mandate and price in writing
A written mandate records the agreed scope, fee, pricing approach and responsibility before marketing begins. Pricing comes from the actual characteristics of the floor, its block and road, construction quality, attached rights and current transaction context — not simply from an asking price nearby.
Grey Beard works only on full-cheque transactions. Every rupee moves through banking channels, and the recorded price, payment schedule and documents have to agree. Read the full-cheque model before deciding whether the approach is right for you.
Find a buyer who can actually complete
A serious buyer is more than an offer. The profile, readiness, payment structure and timeline have to fit the property and the seller’s ability to be present. Grey Beard manages viewings, filters enquiries, coordinates the document trail and takes negotiations through one accountable point of contact.
The Defence Colony case study shows how a full-cheque sale for an NRI seller was prepared around one visit to India and closed before formal marketing began. The point is not that every deal will move that quickly; it is that preparation gives a ready buyer a workable route to completion.
Leave time for TDS, registration and repatriation
For an NRI sale, the buyer’s TDS, your CA’s work, the bank route and the registration timetable all need to be coordinated before the date is fixed. A Lower Deduction Certificate, where applicable, has its own timing. Registration costs and the buyer’s TDS are different questions; both should be established before the final payment schedule is agreed.
Use the NRI TDS calculator for indicative planning and the Stamp Duty & Circle Rate Calculator for the Delhi registration-side figures. Your CA and lawyer should confirm the sequence and documents in your case.
A simple first conversation
The useful first conversation is about the property, the title, where you are based, who else is involved, your timing and whether a Power of Attorney is likely to be needed. No decision needs to be made on that call. The aim is to determine whether the transaction can be prepared properly and whether Grey Beard is the right advisory for it.
Take independent legal, tax and banking advice before signing documents, fixing a registration date or acting on a cross-border property sale.