A US-based buyer can have a full title search done in India without travelling. We examine the chain of title for at least thirty years, check the sub-registrar's encumbrance records, revenue entries, building approvals and RERA registration, and look for pending litigation. You receive a written report by email with the risks explained, so you can decide before paying any advance or signing anything.
- Document route
- US notary, then apostille from the state Secretary of State
- Time difference
- IST is 9h30 (US Eastern, summer) to 13h30 (US Pacific, winter) ahead
- Search period
- At least 30 years
- Key record
- Encumbrance certificate
Title Search & Due Diligence from the USA: how it works
You send us the seller's documents, or the builder's offer, by email; scans are enough at this stage. We set out which records need to be inspected in person, because many states still keep older registers only in physical form. Our team visits the sub-registrar office and the revenue office, obtains certified copies, and checks online court portals for suits involving the property or the seller. For a new project, we check the RERA registration, the approved layout and whether the builder has mortgaged the land to a lender. You get an update call at a time that suits US Eastern or Pacific time.
The report lists every link in the title chain and flags gaps such as unregistered agreements, missing succession documents or mutation still in a dead owner's name. Where something is wrong, we suggest what the seller must cure before you pay, and we draft conditions into the agreement to sell. If the purchase goes ahead, payment should come from your NRE or NRO account or by foreign remittance, never in cash, and the sale deed should name the price actually paid.
What clients in the USA should know
- A title report helps later as well: when you eventually sell, buyers and their banks ask the same questions, and a clean history makes that sale faster.
- US lenders and escrow do not exist in Indian property deals in the same way, so the advance you pay is at risk unless the agreement ties it to clear title.
- If you are buying with an OCI card, confirm the land is not agricultural; the rules bar OCI holders from buying farmland, plantations and farmhouses.
Step by step from the USA
Video consultation
A call at a time that suits the USA, after we have read your documents.
Documents signed in the USA
US notary, then apostille from the state Secretary of State
Work in India
Our team files, appears and follows up in India, and shares scans of everything filed.
Result and handover
Certified copies and originals are couriered to you in the USA where needed.
The full guide
This page covers what changes when you are in the USA. For the law, the documents and the step-by-step procedure, read our main page on Title Search & Due Diligence, or see all services for clients in the USA and the NRI Property Law practice area.
Questions from clients in the USA
How long does a title search take?
Typically two to three weeks, longer where old records must be traced manually or the property is in a rural area.
Can I rely on the bank's legal report if I take a home loan?
It helps, but a bank's report protects the bank. An independent report written for you covers points the bank may not care about.
Do you check RERA for new apartments?
Yes. We verify the project's registration, the quarterly updates filed by the builder and any complaints already pending against it.