A large share of Lahore property is bought by people who are not in Lahore. The process works well remotely — but only when the paperwork is put in place before it is needed, rather than assembled in a hurry once a property has been found.
This is the order we take overseas clients through, and the points where things usually slip.
Step 1 — Get your identity documents current
You need a valid NICOP or POC. Check the expiry now, not later: a lapsed card stops a transaction dead, and renewal from abroad is not instant. If your card is close to expiry, renew before you start looking.
Step 2 — Open a documented banking channel
A Roshan Digital Account can be opened remotely and is built for overseas Pakistanis investing at home. You are not legally required to use one, but it gives you something valuable: a clear, documented trail showing where the money came from.
That trail matters twice. Once at purchase, and again years later when you sell and want to take proceeds out. Buyers who moved money informally are the ones who struggle at the second point.
Step 3 — Sort the power of attorney early
This is the step that determines whether a remote purchase is smooth or painful. A power of attorney lets someone in Pakistan sign and complete on your behalf. It is drafted in Pakistan, then executed and attested where you live — typically at the Pakistani embassy or consulate, with any further attestation the authorities require.
Two pieces of advice. First, start it before you have found a property, because attestation takes as long as it takes. Second, keep the scope narrow: authorise the specific transaction, not a general power over your affairs.
The mistake we see most. Buying in a relative’s name because it seems simpler than a power of attorney. It is simpler — right up until an inheritance, a disagreement or a death, at which point the property is legally theirs and not yours. A properly attested POA costs a few weeks. Undoing the alternative can cost years.
Step 4 — See the property properly, remotely
A video walkthrough is not a marketing reel. Ask whoever is holding the camera to show you the things that are hard to show: the water pressure, the meter box, the road at peak hour, the state of the neighbouring plots, the view from the actual window rather than the render. Ask them to walk the street outside for two minutes without narration.
If an agent will only send you edited footage, that is your answer about the property.
Step 5 — Verify title independently
Have the title chain checked by someone whose interest is not in closing the sale. Ownership documents, encumbrances, society records, and confirmation that the person selling has the authority to sell. We verify everything we put in front of a client, and we still think an overseas buyer should have their own lawyer read it. If that offends an agent, find another agent.
Step 6 — Transfer and registration
Your attorney completes the transfer, pays the applicable taxes and duties, and gets the mutation done so the record shows your name. Insist on receiving scans of every document and every payment receipt as they happen — not a bundle at the end.
Buying off-plan from abroad
Instalment purchases suit overseas buyers well: payments are spread, the amounts per instalment are manageable from a salary abroad, and there is no immediate transfer to attend. The trade-off is that you are buying something that does not exist yet, so the developer’s track record carries the weight the building cannot yet carry itself. Ask what they have completed and handed over before, and have someone you trust go and look at it.
A closing thought
Distance is not the risk. Informality is. Overseas purchases that go wrong almost never involve a stranger — they involve a trusted arrangement nobody wrote down. Paper every step, keep the property in your own name, and the fact that you are five thousand miles away stops mattering.
Questions this article raises
Can overseas Pakistanis buy property in Pakistan?
Yes. Overseas Pakistanis holding NICOP or POC can buy property in Pakistan on the same footing as resident nationals. The practical questions are about identity documents, how funds are transferred, and who signs on your behalf if you are not present.
Do I need to travel to Pakistan to buy property?
No. With a properly executed and attested power of attorney, a trusted representative can complete registration and transfer on your behalf. Most of our overseas clients see the property by live video walkthrough and never travel for the transaction itself.
What is a Roshan Digital Account and do I need one?
It is a bank account for overseas Pakistanis, opened remotely, designed for exactly this kind of transaction. It is not legally mandatory, but it creates a clean documented channel for your funds — which makes life much easier at transfer, and easier again if you later sell and want to repatriate proceeds.
How do I give power of attorney from abroad?
The document is drafted in Pakistan, then executed and attested where you live — usually at the Pakistani embassy or consulate, followed by any attestation the relevant Pakistani authority requires. Start it early: attestation timelines are the most common reason a remote purchase slips.
What is the biggest risk for an overseas buyer?
Informal arrangements. The transactions that go wrong are rarely elaborate frauds — they are properties held in a relative’s name as a favour, tokens paid on a phone call, and money sent without documentation. Every step should be on paper, in your name, however well you know the other person.