Can you build within 500 metres of the high-tide line?

Can you build within 500 metres of the high-tide line? (Yes, no, depends?) What do you do when you find an electric pole stuck in your backyard, after returning back to Goa, set there without anyone's permission? (Can you do anything at all?) Can a buyer ask you to 'convert' your land before selling it? (What are the illegal rates?) What's the dividing line between a "Portuguese house" and one which is traditionally Goan? (Surprise: There are no Portuguese houses in Goa, as architect Gerard da Cunha unequivocally says, just a synthesis between the Portuguese and local style of houses!) Can a British national own property in Goa? Foreigners can, only if they establish they are a person residing in India, and that takes a half-year residence here to qualify. What does the 182-days-residence criteria (required to be considered a 'person resident in India') mean? What facilities are there for people of Indian origin to own land here -- except for farmland -- and can their children inherit it? If you're interested in such questions, and real estate issues, check out the Homes & Estates: Goa's Property & Building Trading Guide magazine that comes out in four issues each year. The Spring 2005 issue (Vol 6 Issue 3) is out, and is priced at Rs 30 UKP2 US$3 or Euro3. It promises "over 2000 listings" of properties too. Have never myself checked out how effective this is as a tool to scout for properties. But as Goans rush headlong into a mad rush to sell their ancestral properties (a point _VM_ made not too long ago) the importance of such information becomes obvious. There are two good panels offering architects' and legal answers. Many raising queries are foreigners. This is edited and published by Michael Lobo of Parra and its art director is his Japanese wife Tomoko Mikada Lobo. Generally, useful information. Even if one is suspicious about all those glossy adverts put out by the real estate lobby, which has significantly damaged the charm that lures to Goa, and has also made homes too costly for most local-earning locals to ever afford!