Pitfalls when buying an apartment: How to legally secure your investment?
Buying an apartment is one of the biggest and most important financial decisions in life for most people. Unfortunately, the real estate market hides a number of legal pitfalls that can cost unwary buyers property or embroil them in years of grueling litigation. While real estate agencies mainly focus on finding space and aesthetic details, the role of a lawyer is to analyze the legal "purity" of the property and ensure that your investment is 100% safe.
Below we highlight the most common legal pitfalls when buying an apartment and ways to successfully avoid them.
The apartment is not registered or has registered encumbrances (mortgages and notes)
The most common and most dangerous trap is buying a property that appears to be fine, but has hidden flaws in the Real Estate Cadastre. These can be active mortgages (collaterals for loans of the previous owner) or records of court cases. If you buy an apartment with a registered mortgage, the bank can sell your apartment to collect someone else's debt.
- How to avoid: Before any payment or signing of the pre-contract, the lawyer must carry out a detailed review of real estate certificate. It is necessary to check not only the current status, but also the registration history to ensure that there are no encumbrances, records of disputes or third party rights (such as lifetime usufruct) on the apartment.
2. The problem of "multiple sales" of the same apartment
Although the introduction of public notaries (notaries) reduced the risk of multiple sales of the same property to a minimum, it still exists with specific buildings - primarily with apartments under construction that are not yet registered in the Cadastre or with old buildings with unclear legal status.
- How to avoid: When certifying a pre-contract or contract, the notary checks through the unique register to see if that space has already been sold. However, when it comes to apartments under construction, it is crucial to have a lawyer check the entire legal sequence (from construction permit, co-financing agreement, to the agreement with the investor) and check the status of the investor blocked by the national bank.
3. Hidden co-recendants and matrimonial assets
You are buying an apartment from a person who is registered in the Cadastre as the sole owner of "1/1". Apparently, everything is clean. However, if the seller acquired that apartment by purchase during the marriage, that apartment represents joint marital assets, regardless of the fact that the spouse is not registered in the Cadastre. If the spouse did not consent to the sale, he can challenge the contract in court and demand his share of the apartment back.
- How to avoid: The lawyer always checks the marital status of the seller at the time of the purchase of the property. When concluding a sales contract, it must be requested written and certified consent of the spouse seller (or ex-spouse, if there was a divorce and the property was not divided).
4. Buying an apartment under construction without adequate permits
Investors often offer lower prices for apartments in the early stages of construction. The trap occurs when the investor does not have a proper building permit, when he deviates from the project (build a higher floor) or when he runs into financial problems and the building remains unfinished, and buyers cannot register or obtain a use permit.
- How to avoid: A detailed check of the building permit, work report, location conditions and confirmation of paid building land directorate. Also, they must be included in the contract protective clauses (penalties) for the delay in construction, as well as a clear phased payment mechanism that follows the real degree of construction of the building.
Golden rule: The pre-contract and the contract must be drawn up by a lawyer
A frequent mistake of buyers is using standard contract templates from the Internet or letting agencies "finish the paperwork". Agencies often use generic contracts that do not protect the specific interests of the buyer in a given situation.
A legally secure contract must contain:
- Clearly defined intabular clause (unconditional consent for registration).
- The seller's guarantee that the property has no hidden defects and legal burdens (protection against eviction).
- A precisely defined deadline for moving out the previous owner and handing over the keys.
- Clearly defined tax payment obligations (tax on transfer of absolute rights or VAT refund).
Don't leave your biggest life investment to chance. A timely legal check saves time, money and health.
How to collect material and non-material damage after a traffic accident?
Being in a traffic accident is an extremely stressful experience that brings with it not only fear and potential injuries, but also serious financial expenses. What many drivers, passengers, and pedestrians do not know is that the law provides broad protection and the right to full compensation for all the consequences of an accident.
In order to obtain the maximum amount of compensation, it is crucial to legally distinguish between two basic types of damages: pecuniary (damage to property) and non-pecuniary (damage due to pain, fear or injury suffered).
Below we bring you a detailed guide through the billing process and the steps you must take.
