Buying an apartment is a rather complicated and lengthy process that requires special attention and careful attitude. Not only is a large sum of money at stake, the question of a roof over your head is also being addressed. When buying an apartment, you need to be as vigilant as possible so as not to fall for the numerous tricks of scammers. Even if the buyer is dealing with a bona fide seller, there is a high probability of unforeseen situations when buying an apartment. What to look for so that the acquired housing does not disappoint in the future?
Location of the apartment
When purchasing housing, you need to carefully weigh everything. It is important that it is convenient not only inside, but also outside. Therefore, the first thing you should pay attention to is the area of the city where the apartment is located. In addition to such important characteristics as proximity to places of work, study, ease of travel to the country, you need to consider the infrastructure of the area:
- car owners should assess the availability of parking and free parking spaces;
- If you regularly use public transport, it is advisable that the metro or bus stop be within walking distance;
- the presence of a grocery market or a large store will not be superfluous;
- think about the smallest family members - a playground or square near the house will be very handy, and the close location of the kindergarten or school also plays an important role;
- if you like sports, see if there is a fitness club, gym or pool nearby;
- Do not forget about the children's and adult clinics.
Meet the neighbors
If you coped with the task and picked up several options that, in principle, meet all of the above requirements, you need to personally familiarize yourself with the advantages and disadvantages of each apartment. It’s better to agree on viewing during daylight hours. It is advisable to arrive earlier than the appointed time in order to independently draw up a clear idea of possible transport problems and inspect the area. This plays an important role and may affect the final decision when buying an apartment.
What to look for first? The front door is the face of the house, which can tell a lot about future neighbors. People living in the neighborhood are able to greatly affect the quality of life in a new apartment. There is always the possibility that a neighbor in the stairwell is an alcoholic who will arrange nightly drinking. Or a large family lives above you, then children's crying, screams and squeals will become your life partners for a long time.
Apartment inspection
To make a more objective opinion about the living area, it is better to conduct an inspection without furniture. Inspection of the apartment during the purchase should begin with a review of the communications: electrical wiring, sewer system, water pipes, heating radiators, especially if repairs after the purchase are not included in your plans. Important is the thermal conductivity of the room. Looking around the apartment in the cold season, you can evaluate the heating, but you can’t say with certainty how hot it will be in the summer, and vice versa.
The floor, ceiling, interior and exterior doors, plumbing fixtures, double-glazed windows, the general condition of the kitchen and bathroom are the most expensive and time-consuming places in terms of repair, which must be carefully examined when buying an apartment.
What to look for in corner rooms? In this case, the wall is the main indicator. The presence of mold on them indicates dampness and high humidity in the rooms. In apartments on the upper floors, a roof may leak, resulting in smudges on the ceiling. Dampness is also observed in the rooms on the first floors. This indicates that the basement is poorly ventilated.
The presence of pre-sale cosmetic repairs, which is most likely made in order to hide various flaws, should be alerted. It is better if the repair is several years old, and it is "settled" by the owners of the apartment. Check the soundproofing of the room in absolute silence. How much is the noise of traffic and sounds from the street?
The legal side of the issue
In addition to the qualitative characteristics of the purchased housing, one should not forget about the legal side of the issue. Remember: the seller must have a title deed for the premises. List of documents when buying an apartment, which confirm ownership of the property for sale:
- The contract of sale, the contract of gift, barter, donation or lifelong maintenance.
- Certificate of ownership or right of inheritance.
- Exchange agreement.
- The court decision, which entered into force.
- Certificate of acquisition of real estate at auction or at public auction.
In addition, the ownership right, confirmed by one of the above documents, must be registered with the technical inventory authorities. Making an apartment purchase should occur only after providing a special extract from the state register, which is legal evidence of the transaction.
Apartments in new buildings
Buying an apartment in a new building is a rather risky step, and the risk does not always pay off. As a rule, the cost of housing here is not much lower than the cost of finished apartments. Buying real estate in a new building almost at the market price, you face unreasonably high risks compared to housing in the secondary market.
In order not to fall into the hands of scammers, you need to evaluate all kinds of situations when buying an apartment. What to look for when choosing a new building:
- The degree of readiness at home. If the realtor claims that the house is almost ready, all communications are completed, it is better to verify this firsthand and visit the construction site.
- Contract. Take an interest in what contract you are offered to conclude. It is better if it is an equity agreement (DDU). It has advantages over preliminary contracts and automatically confirms that the developer has a building permit. In addition, in the event of bankruptcy, your claims will be secured by collateral.
- Accreditation of a new building in a bank is the number of banks that can provide a loan for the purchase of housing. If no banks lend, this means that the developer has certain difficulties.
- The reputation of the developer. Familiarize yourself with previously commissioned construction projects, possible financial problems of the developer and the history of the company.
- Check documents:
- investment contract;
- project documentation;
- building permit;
- certificate of land ownership or lease;
- contract with an insurance company;
- extract from the unified register of real estate;
- registration and constituent documents of the developer;
- the form of the contract by which the purchase of the apartment will be made.
Pitfalls when buying a home in the secondary market
The acquisition of housing is always associated with many legal nuances and subtleties that not everyone knows. Therefore, it is important to carefully and scrupulously treat this issue. How not to make a mistake when buying a second home?
First, you need to carefully study the documents on the seller’s ownership. These may be contracts of sale, gift, inheritance, court decisions that have entered into force.
Secondly, minor children may have ownership of secondary housing or the right to use an apartment. Before buying a property, ask the seller to provide permission from the guardianship authorities for the sale of housing. If the children are not the owners of the apartment, but only registered in it, they must be discharged and registered elsewhere. If these conditions are not met, the court will terminate the contract of sale in the interests of the child.
Thirdly, when checking the passport of the owner of the apartment, pay attention to the presence of stamps on marriage-divorce. Check their dates with the dates of the documents confirming the ownership of the property. If the property is purchased in a marriage, the spouse has the right to half the apartment, even if he is not registered and did not live in this room.
Fourthly, it is better if by the time of signing the contract of sale all tenants will be registered in another place. Find out about missing family members. Perhaps one of them is in the hospital, army, and places of deprivation of liberty. Upon returning, they have the right to challenge the transaction concluded without their knowledge.
Fifth, when making a power of attorney transaction, familiarize yourself with the authority of the holder of this document. All legally significant actions should be prescribed in the power of attorney. A price range may also be indicated there, beyond which the representative is not entitled to go beyond. Check the validity of the power of attorney. If the date of issue is not indicated, the document is invalid. In the event of the death of the principal, the power of attorney is canceled.
Sixth, when buying an inherited apartment, it is worth considering that within 6 months after the death of the owner, new applicants for property may appear. It is better if the seller is the sole heir to the will. His rights should be enshrined in a certificate of inheritance.
The last thing to check is the history of the apartment. Ask the owner to provide an extract from the Unified State Register of Rights. So you can find out about all persons registered in the apartment. You should be wary if real estate often changed owners in recent years.
Procedure for buying an apartment
There is not much difference if an apartment is purchased in the secondary market or in a new building. The stages of home ownership are not too different. In any case, the sequence of actions is understandable.
Stage 1. Checking and paperwork when buying an apartment.
2 stage. Signing an alienation agreement (in the case of buying a home on the secondary market) or an act of transfer and acceptance (in the case of acquiring real estate in a new building)
3 stage. Registration upon purchase of an apartment of the right of ownership of the acquired housing in state bodies.
Verification and paperwork
Most citizens do not often have to deal with such a thing as buying an apartment. What documents are needed? What are the stages of real estate registration? How to conduct a transaction legally? This is not the whole list of issues that arise during such transactions.
A list of documents that are subject to mandatory verification when buying an apartment in a new building or in the secondary market is given earlier. If during the securities check no questions arose, you can proceed to sign the preliminary contract and make an advance payment. There are several types of prepayment:
- The deposit when buying an apartment is a certain amount of money that the buyer pays to the seller as a guarantee of the transaction. If in the future the buyer refuses to purchase housing for any reason, the money will not be returned. In case of cancellation of the transaction on the initiative of the owner, the deposit when buying an apartment is paid in double size. The transfer of the deposit is mandatory fixed by a notary in a special document.
- An advance is the amount of money that is paid by the buyer as a prepayment. If the transaction is canceled, the advance is returned to the buyer.An agreement on the transfer of prepayment is also fixed in writing, but the presence of a notary is not necessary.
Alienation contract or acceptance certificate
Depending on whether the apartment was purchased in a new building or in the secondary market, the buyer must have an acceptance-transfer certificate or an alienation agreement with the contract. In the absence of these documents, the court may invalidate even the paid and registered contract.
An alienation contract is a document on the basis of which tax is calculated for the seller. It actually confirms the consent of both parties to the transaction and the preparation of a contract of sale in the future.
The acceptance certificate is drawn up in case of purchase of housing in a new building. After signing it, the buyer becomes the owner of the apartment, however, the transfer of real estate can only be done after signing the contract of sale during registration with state authorities or obtaining a certificate of ownership.
State registration
State registration is legal proof of ownership of residential real estate, regardless of whether it was acquired in a new building or in the secondary market. Registration of ownership takes place within 30 calendar days from the date of submission of the necessary package of documents. After checking the documents, registrars record in the Unified State Register of Rights (USRP) a note that the title to the property is registered.
Terms of buying an apartment
Real estate buyers are primarily concerned about the question of how much you can buy an apartment. But no less interesting is the timing of the transaction. It all depends on the availability of necessary documents, the absence of contentious issues and other nuances that require extra time. With a good deal and mutual agreement of the parties, the transaction can be completed within one month.