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In recent years, residential and non-residential real estate in Belarus have been in the interests of foreign citizens and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, Belarus has a fairly stable domestic political and economic situation and the real estate market is not subject to sharp fluctuations. Secondly, Belarus is famous for its nature and hospitable people.
Most often foreigners buy housing in Belarus for 3 main reasons. The first reason is to move to a permanent place of residence in Belarus (buying real estate in Belarus will give you the right to permanent residence (residence permit) in Belarus). The second - frequent business trips. The third reason is the purchase of real estate for investment purposes.
Today, there are absolutely no restrictions on the purchase of residential and non-residential real estate in Belarus for foreign citizens. Any foreign citizen can buy any real estate in Belarus; you should have just a valid passport.
Nuances and peculiarities of buying real estate by foreigners (documents):
- When concluding a transaction, a foreigner must have his passport translated and notarized (here you can find the list of translation agencies);
- If the foreign buyer does not speak in our official languages, the law requires that a professional translator should be present in the transaction.
The peculiarity of concluding a contract of sale of real estate with foreign citizens today is only that they can not acquire ownership of land. If a foreign citizen wants to buy a house, the land on which he is located (if the land is owned), goes into the lease and the foreigner should be given the right to lease it.
How to buy an apartment in the Republic of Belarus for a foreign citizen: stages and steps of purchase and registration of ownership
- Determining the budget for buying an apartment and finding a suitable option for finding an apartment.
Currently, there are several options for finding an apartment to buy in Belarus:
- searching for an apartment via the Internet: this option is now one of the most popular. There are several large websites in Belarus where sellers and buyers of real estate place their ads. Below are these sites.
www.realt.by;
www.onliner.by;
www.hata.by.
- search for an apartment through a real estate agency: foreigners often resort to this option. Since foreign citizens often do not know the local market and do not know prices or locations, attracting a competent agent is the right decision.
The real estate agency is obliged to conclude a contract with you for real estate services, as well as to agree with you in advance on the cost of services. As a rule, the cost of services will be determined based on the percentage of the transaction.
It should be noted that each real estate agency in Belarus should have a license of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus to provide real estate services. We advise you to make sure that the agency has the appropriate license before signing the contract.
- When you have found a suitable property and you are sure that it suits you, you can discuss the final value of the property with the owner (his representative or agency). In the Republic of Belarus, it is normal practice to "bargain" in real estate purchase and sale transactions.
- Checking the real estate object (encumbrances, mortgages, arrests).
If you decide to make a purchase of an apartment by yourself, you need to make sure that the apartment you buy is not under any obligation or arrest.
This can be done by yourself, through a real estate agent, or you can hire a lawyer to check the property.
You can do it by yourself in a real estate registration organization by sending a request to them.
- A deal to buy an apartment.
The seller and the buyer (or their representatives under a power of attorney) must be present in order to make the purchase transaction. If the buyer is a foreign national, it is necessary to have a notarized translation of the passport, as well as the original passport.
As mentioned above, if a foreigner does not know Russian or Belarusian, a certified translator should be present during the transaction.
Transactions for the purchase and sale of immovable property can take place both at the notary and in the organization, carrying out the registration of immovable property.
As a rule, the transaction takes no more than 1 (one) hour. Upon completion of the transaction, the new owner will receive a Certificate of ownership of the apartment.
- Within a reasonable time after the purchase of the apartment, you will need to reissue the contracts for electricity, water, Internet, telephone. All reissuance will take you no more than a few hours.
If it is a question of buying a house, the order of registration practically does not change. The only nuance is that foreign citizens cannot own land in the Republic of Belarus, so when buying a house, the house becomes the property of the buyer, and the land is leased and transferred to the new owner for rent for 99 years.
Purchase of commercial real estate in the Republic of Belarus
Foreign citizens have the right to buy and invest in commercial real estate in the Republic of Belarus. The order of registration of the transaction on purchase of the nonresidential real estate is absolutely similar to the order of purchase of the inhabited real estate described above. One of the main reasons for the purchase of commercial real estate in Belarus by foreign citizens is the possibility of obtaining a residence permit in Belarus.
Real estate tax in the Republic of Belarus
If a foreigner owns more than 1 immovable property, he must pay property tax once a year. To do this, we recommend you to go to the tax office at the place of residence of the foreign citizen: the tax inspector will calculate the amount of tax you need to pay and explain how to pay it. Then you will receive your property tax invoices annually by mail. If you own only 1 property, there is no need to pay any tax.