Buy a home abroad, get a jet free

A BMW with an apartment, your own private jet with a penthouse, multiple entry visas into the country where you own a house... and yeah, a free ticket to fly down and check out the property if you’re a serious buyer. These are some of the incentives on offer if you decide to invest in property abroad. And if you’re lucky, there will also be permanent residency or citizenship sops thrown in. "India is a rapidly developing economy and more and more Indians have high disposable incomes and travel on work across the world. Buying a house in a foreign country is no longer a dream. We’re in talks with a Florida-based developer who is willing to send across a ticket so serious buyers can fly down and take a look at the property," says Raminder Grover, CEO (residential property), Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj. Hussain Sajwani, founder and chairman of the Dubai-based DAMAC Holding, says even more incentives are on offer: "We have a had a trend of giving Bentleys, BMWs, jets and even private islands as lucky draw incentives. As a brand, we believe in a customer-focused approach and these incentives are meant to draw the customer in." So, are Indians actually investing in residential properties abroad? "Yes, Indians do buy properties abroad for multiple reasons which can range from self-use to investment. While NRIs have been purchasing property for a very long time, the trend for Indian residents investing in property in foreign countries is more recent," says Aditi Vijayakar, director of transaction services (residential), India, for Cushman & Wakefield.