As a foreigner to buy a house in Russia?

1. The legal framework in the Russian Federation with regard to foreigners buying residential / commercial real estate



According to Article 62 (part 3) of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and persons without citizenship in the Russian Federation the rights and obligations as citizens of the Russian Federation, except as required by federal law or an international treaty of the Russian Federation.



Russian legislation does not provide restrictions on the acquisition of foreign nationals (and persons without citizenship) property market urban and suburban real estate. The restrictions provided for foreign nationals to purchase their agricultural land shall not apply if the land is acquired by a foreign national for individual housing construction (for example, construction of a house or cottage).



The basic legislative act regulating the procedure for acquiring real estate, is the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.



The legislation defining the legal status of foreign citizens in the territory of the Russian Federation is the Federal Law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation", which establishes requirements for the identification documents of a foreign citizen or stateless person in the Russian Federation.



2. Features of the transaction with a foreigner buying property in Russia



The important point is to find a legal alien in the territory of the Russian Federation: either no more than the period of the visa, or no more than 90 days, if the foreign national has arrived in Russia in order not requiring a visa. Need to pay attention to the validity of the passport of a foreign citizen.



If the name of a foreign citizen the property is purchased by power of attorney drawn up abroad, then this power of attorney requires mandatory legalization (and for the countries - members of the Hague Convention - an apostille). The power of attorney must be translated into the Russian language - the official language of the Russian Federation, with the obligatory certificate of translator's signature at the notary.



3. Conducting a transaction



In preparation for the transaction the seller must collect the basic package of documents for registration and state registration of the contract of sale. The traditional list of documents includes documents of title to the apartment (the contract of sale, exchange, gift, annuity, deed of transfer by way of privatization, or the certificate of inheritance, etc.), pravopodtverzhdayuschy document, namely a certificate of state registration of ownership (up to 1999 issued a certificate of ownership of the house, but not in all cases), an extract from the house register, confirming the fact of registration of a residential area, legend and the floor plan issued by the authorities TBTI.



If the title owner of the apartment upon her being in a marriage, then the alienation of the apartment must have the consent of his wife (a) to sell the apartment. Depending on the nature of the transaction may additionally require other documents.



The most difficult and important point - the settlement of the transaction. The traditional way - calculations using the safe-deposit box. In applying this method of calculation is necessary to carefully check the contents of the lease deposit box, pay attention to the conditions of access to the cell (these are usually the registered contract of sale of an apartment in the name of the buyer or an extract from the Unified State Register of confirming the registered right buyer for the apartment ). Check pledged to cell bank notes is better to order the bank.



There is more civilized, but is not currently widespread among individuals calculation method using a bank letter of credit (bank transfer).



The next stage - drawing up a contract of sale. Possible to design a contract of sale of an apartment in the notary (notary certifies the agreement), writing. The sales contract before signing it is necessary to examine carefully, check the description of the documents that are referenced. In addition, you should pay attention to timing the release of the object.



The contract of sale of an apartment is subject to compulsory state registration and is made from the time of such registration. Register the contract and the transfer of ownership can be in any branch of the Federal Registration Service in Moscow, giving statements on the form (applicants are both parties to the contract of sale), collected documents and proof of payment of state duty for registration (in accordance with established practice, the costs of design and State registration of the transaction paid by the buyer).



The final stage of the transaction will be the actual transfer of the apartment by the seller and the buyer signed by an act of transfer. In confirmation of receipt of funds for the sold apartment seller gives the buyer the corresponding receipt.



4. In what currency is most profitable to trade



Payments for property in the Russian Federation are made in rubles. The parties may, if desired, to fix the exchange rate of the ruble against any currency or currency board to determine in a single currency, and the citizenship of the parties to the transaction is not affected, since payments for housing, in their general mass to occur in the form of cash.



5. Additional recommendations



Often, buyers believe that to buy an apartment on their own, without the involvement of professionals (realtors, lawyers specializing in the field of housing law), it is easy. This could allow fraudsters: for example, to take an advance for allegedly sold an apartment, and then escape. Subsequently, it appears that the purchase of an apartment for rent, and the person representing the seller, all is not.



Another serious mistake buyer - an agreement in word documented agreement on the terms of the transaction are not being drawn.



Also, some do not conduct basic checks on the project. For example, do not appear in the preparation of the seller extract from the house register in the Maintenance Service, although the owner (seller) can be requested archival information about persons formerly living in the apartment. Do not check the layout of the object based on the floor plan, which is issued in TBTI, and often held in the facilities redevelopment without permission.