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☛ EN Advice Buying Property in Ukraine

Discussion in 'Ukraine' started by texkourgan, Jul 11, 2013.

  1. texkourgan

    texkourgan Addicted member
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    Hello and welcome -

    Buying property abroad can be quite intimidating, even if you have lived in Ukraine as an expat for years! Some questions you may have… :?:

    Can a foreigner buy property in Ukraine ? If so, is it complicated? What is the process for purchasing property? Is there anything a foreign buyer should be especially aware of?

    Have you been through the process? What advice can you give to other expats in Ukraine looking to buy - either a home or an investment property? Do you have a check-list or tips you can provide?

    Thanks for sharing!
     
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  2. GreyKyiv

    GreyKyiv Member

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    Any foreigner can buy property in Ukraine (except of agricaltural land).

    Real estate deals are to be notarized. To do so a foreigner needs to obtain a tax ID that is free and takes a week. To do so a foreigner needs only to submit an application to a tax office (you will be given the applicaiton at the tax office) together with your translated and notarized ID (passport or another ID document).

    My advice is to retain a good real estate broker. A lawyer will be a great plus but not vital as a notary certifying the deal will do all required legal work. However, a notary is responsible for making sure the deal is legal. A notary will not fight for getting better legal positions for you. This is where it is good to have a lawyer.

    Another tip - make sure there is no illegal replanning inside the apartment if this is what you buy. It is importent to both walls, sewage pipes, etc. It is not the legal part so a lawyer, notary or real estate broker will notice this if that did happen. You may ask an engineer from your building servicing company to come and check everthing.
     
  3. GreyKyiv

    GreyKyiv Member

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    How to save on purchasing a dwelling in Ukraine

    How to save on purchasing a dwelling in Ukraine
    Those who have decided to buy real estate in Ukraine will face a requirement of paying a special tax in the amount of 1% out of the purchase price. This tax is often referred to as “pension duty” and is established by the Law of Ukraine “On the State Obligatory Pension Insurance Duty” (hereinafter the “Law”).

    According to the procedure, the duty is paid by the purchaser before notarization of the respective sale and purchase agreement. The buyer pays the duty, gets the respective bank receipt and should provide it to the notary in order to prove the duty has been paid.

    A notary will not notarize the agreement without proof of payment of the relevant pension duty. If a notary notarizes a deal without having the receipt showing the payment of this 1%, he/she will be fined and could even lose the license.

    But the buyers are not always advised that the one who purchases a dwelling for the first time is exempted from paying this pension tax. This is explicitly written in the Law. Unfortunately, the Law does not specify how a person can prove that the upcoming dwelling will be the first purchased dwelling of the buyer.

    As the practice is, buyers address the Pension Fund asking it to provide them with an official statement certifying the buyer has never bought any dwelling before. But the Pension Fund always rejects such petitions as it does not have relevant information allowing it to confirm or disprove the fact of first purchase.

    A common course of action in this case is the following:
    1) the buyer pays the duty and buys the dwelling;
    2) the buyer asks the Pension Fund to return the money paid by mistake;
    3) the Pension Fund denies to return the money;
    4) the buyer files a lawsuit against the Pension Fund;
    5) the buyer returns the money after obtaining the court decision.

    The current court precedents show that the buyers win such cases. However, before filing a lawsuit, the plaintiff should consider that this course of action requires hiring a lawyer, to pay a court duty the amount of which depends on the sum that the plaintiff asks to repay. It should be also noted that the process of returning the money takes some time.

    Thus, if you buy a dwelling for the first time, you can save some money by getting back the pension duty (1% of the purchase price) that is to be paid before finalizing the deal. Unfortunately, you will need to file a lawsuit and bear some accompanying expenses to get reimbursed.
     
  4. Cyrilexpat

    Cyrilexpat Administrator
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    Many thanks GreyKyiv for the very good information :clap:
     
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