Cozy apartment with good repair sale 2-room apartment in Moscow, 55 m². Rooms are isolated, large glazed loggia, bathroom, and toilet. Modern furniture, all the necessary household appliances are there. Each room has a sofa, wardrobe, chest of drawers, TV. 10 minutes from the railway station Nakhabino MCD.
Nakhabino station , 650 m ( 8 min. )
So, you’re certain you want to stay in the world’s largest country and are sick of renting and landlords? Then you can move on to buying your first apartment in Russia. To avoid going insane in the jungle of options, offers, and papers, follow these five steps!
We’ve already told you how to survive your apartment search in Moscow, but now we’ll take it a step further. We spoke with experts from the Russian Agency of Housing Mortgage Lending to find out what you need to do to buy your first apartment or other property in Russia (AHML).
There are no restrictions on foreign individuals or companies purchasing property in Russia. Land acquisition is only prohibited in a few limited circumstances, including arable farmland (which can only be rented), border zones, oil and gas zones, areas within military facilities, national parks, and so-called “closed cities.”
Just to be clear: purchasing and registering real estate does not grant you new immigration status! These are two completely distinct processes. For example, if you’re in Russia on a business visa, that’ll be your only option.
In Russia, it is common to purchase apartments while they are still being built. In these cases, the construction company invests the money of future flat owners rather than its own or borrowed funds. This is how most apartment businesses in modern Russia operate.
When you choose a property that is still being built, you must, of course, wait until it is ready to move into. That is a significant disadvantage. On the other hand, you have more control over the final appearance of your dream home.
Furthermore, these flats and apartment blocks can be significantly less expensive than ready-to-move-in property.
To purchase a newly constructed apartment, you must be extremely fortunate! When the construction process is completed, there are almost no free apartments available, especially in the major cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, and others.
So, if you want to buy a property that you can see and “touch,” you’ll have to look for it on the “second-hand” market.
Because the living room in Russian flats frequently doubles as a bedroom, there are many one-room apartments in newly constructed blocks. Companies have only recently begun to build more two-room apartments and larger apartments in major cities.
Large flats with six, seven, or even ten rooms can be found in older apartment buildings. During the Soviet era, they were frequently used as “komunalkas,” or multi-family apartments. However, these apartments are frequently sold on a room-by-room basis. And determining who is still registered can be extremely difficult.
The location of your new home is another important feature! The AHML Index of Urban Environment is a great tool for comparing different regions across the country.
If you’re looking for the best residential areas in Moscow, follow Russia Beyond and look at some typical expat sites.
We strongly advise you to seek out a local realtor who is fluent in your mother tongue. Many agencies as well as individual realtors offer services in English and other languages, at least in the larger cities.
The realtor will be crucial to you because he or she will be able to check the registration documents for your future property, including the certificate of ownership and grounds for acquisition, the agreement of all co-owners, and possibly any existing mortgages.
The realtor also knows how to prove whether or not someone is still registered. Because if someone else is registered there, they might unexpectedly decide to live with you in “their” home. They’d have the law on their side, too!
You have two simple payment options:
Now is the time to pay!
If you have sufficient funds to deposit the entire sum right away.
Of course, you’ll avoid the majority of the bureaucratic stress in this case. All you need is a bank account, and a Russian bank account will make transferring large sums of money much easier.
Alternatively, you could take out a mortgage to pay off the property over the next few years (or decades). It’s critical to remember that the current average interest rate is around 11%, but it’s on the decline.
For foreigners, obtaining a mortgage to purchase property is difficult. To begin with, not every bank provides this service because it is impossible to check your credit history and determine whether you are solvent without doing so. Sberbank (Russia’s largest bank), the online bank Tinkoff, and a few others offer various special programs for foreigners. For more information, contact your local branch or visit their websites.
Make it on your own!
A passport with an apostil from your country and a notarized translation are required to complete a purchase agreement.
If everything is in order, you’ll be checked by both your own country’s Ministry of Interior and the Russian embassy.
By means of a representative:
You can also appoint a representative to finalize the agreement – it’s best to find a Russian citizen! You won’t need as many translations or stamps then. As a result, it’s a lot less difficult.
The contract must be written entirely in Russian. You should discuss the details not only with the realtor but also with the company. The realtor or construction company, on the other hand, must show that you have a valid visa, work permit, or permanent residence status in Russia. As a result, be prepared to show these papers as well!
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