How to buy property in Romania? What does a foreigner need to purchase housing? Advantages and disadvantages of buying an apartment or house.

Buying real estate in Romania is beneficial from a pricing point of view: the cost of housing, even by the sea, is much lower than in other EU countries. According to the statistical resource Numbeo, the average price per square meter of residential space in the center of a large city in Poland is 2375 EUR, and in Romania – 1418 EUR.

But, having bought a house in Romania, its owner does not become the owner of the land on which the purchased property is built. The right to purchase premises along with a land plot is exclusively available to those who have Romanian citizenship , and therefore an EU passport .

Is it profitable to buy real estate in Romania?

After joining the EU, Romania is increasing the growth rate of the real estate market every year and becoming more attractive to investors. Romania’s economic growth reached 4%, with construction and real estate contributing 1%.

The residential and commercial real estate stock in Romania is growing by attracting foreign investors with low tax rates and favorable credit conditions. 

Property search

There are several ways to find a house, apartment, apartment or commercial premises for purchase:

  • Search on private advertisement resources. Platforms such as OLX (analogous to Avito in Russia) operate in Romania on the same principle as in the CIS countries. It is enough to enter a query and set the desired object parameters in the filter. As a rule, sellers publish advertisements directly, but there are also offers from intermediaries. The disadvantage of such a search: on sites where “everything is for sale”, only one section is devoted to real estate, so there may not be many positions for purchase.
  • Search on real estate websites. On specialized resources, such as homezz.ro, imopedia.ro, most of the displayed items are sold. Such a search is simpler, more convenient and more reliable, since the resources check the sellers – on such sites there is much less chance of ending up with an unscrupulous one.
  • Contact a realtor. By turning to an intermediary for help, you won’t have to waste time searching, because he himself will look for options that answer the client’s request. As a rule, real estate companies offer a range of services, including preparation of documents for purchased real estate, but searching and purchasing in this case will cost more. The agency commission is 6% of the transaction amount, but the seller and buyer share these costs, according to Global Property Guide.

Where is the best place to buy real estate?

The most promising cities in Romania for purchasing real estate:

  • Constanta. A resort town in southern Romania with the largest port, beaches and mineral springs in the surrounding area. Buying an apartment in Constanta will give you the opportunity to regularly earn money on daily or long-term rental of real estate. On the website imobiliare.ro, a villa in a coastal area can cost from 150 thousand to 1.7 million EUR, apartments are sold at prices from 39.9 thousand to 450 thousand EUR.
  • Brasov. An ancient Romanian city in Transylvania, where Bran (the same Dracula castle) is located. From April to October, as well as in the middle of winter, tens of thousands of tourists come to Brasov. Therefore, buying real estate here can bring profit if you rent it out on a daily basis. An apartment in the city can be bought for 40 thousand EUR.
  • Cluj-Napoca. The capital of Transylvania, where tourism is also developed, and purchased apartments bring profit to landlords. The cost of apartments in Cluj-Napoca is from 36 thousand EUR.
  • Bucharest. The capital of Romania is the best city for purchasing office space and other facilities for starting a business (warehouses, shops). In Bucharest, it is profitable to own both small apartments for rent and a full-fledged apartment for the whole family. The cost of housing in the capital starts from 18 thousand EUR (investment in a new building).

The process of buying real estate in Romania

When purchasing real estate, it is the seller’s responsibility to provide the necessary documents. To conclude a purchase and sale agreement, the notary must have the following documents:

  • agreement on transfer of ownership rights;
  • tax certification certificate (issued by the administration where the annual tax is paid);
  • cadastral documentation: extract from the land register (issued at the notary office of the Cadastre Office upon written request from the seller);
  • confirmation of the energy efficiency of the premises received by the seller from an auditor certified by the Ministry of Regional Development;
  • recent utility bills and proof of payment;
  • certificate issued by the owners association.

Stages of the process of buying real estate in Romania:

  1. Search and selection. The buyer needs to decide which real estate meets the needs: the number of rooms, in a new or old block, turnkey or in a “white” version, floor, area, acceptable price. When inspecting a building, it is important to pay attention to all technical and aesthetic details (layout, general condition of the building, quality of repair work, furniture and household appliances). It is recommended that you request to view the property documents.
  2. Analysis of payment options. The fair market value of the desired property should be calculated. If there are not enough funds for the purchase, you need to think through loan options, find out under what conditions you can take out a loan and whether installment plans are possible.
  3. Coordination of the transaction with the seller. It is necessary to clarify who is the owner of the property (there may be several people in the case of privatization), the date of the transaction, the period of actual vacancy of the premises, the list of documents for the transaction, the amount of taxes and fees, the final price of the property, which will be indicated in the purchase and sale agreement.
  4. Preparation of a package of documents. The list of what the seller must collect is listed above. The buyer provides identification and financial resources.
  5. Make a deal. On the appointed day, the buyer and seller meet at the notary at the appointed time to sign and authenticate the real estate purchase and sale agreement.
  6. Registration in the cadastre. After concluding a transaction with a notary, the buyer (new owner) must register the contract with the Public Services Agency (Cadastre), in whose area of ​​activity the property is located. The ownership of the acquired object arises from the moment of its registration in the real estate register.

Additional costs when purchasing real estate

The procedure for collecting taxes upon the transfer of ownership of real estate is established by methodological norms, according to Article No. 111 of the joint order of the Minister of Public Finance and the Minister of Justice in agreement with the National Union of Notaries of Romania.

When transferring ownership of a new property (built no more than 3 years ago), the buyer pays:

  • 3% if the property value is RON 200,000 or less;
  • 6,000 RON + 2% of the amount by which the cost exceeds 200,000 RON.

When obtaining ownership rights to real estate that is more than 3 years old, the buyer is obliged to pay:

  • 2% if the property value is RON 200,000 or less;
  • 4,000 RON + 1% of the amount by which the cost exceeds 200,000 RON.

In addition to taxes, a notary fee is paid, which depends on the specifics of the purchase, is set by the notary and amounts to 3–5% of the transaction amount. You also need to provide for future costs of maintaining the property. Based on the calculation of prices for utilities for a premises area of ​​100 sq.m., on average, payments will be 120–280 RON per month. However, most of the amount is the cost of gas.

Tips for buying real estate

When purchasing real estate, you need to consider several important aspects:

  1. Debts and encumbrances on real estate. It is impossible to independently check whether there are any debts on the property and whether it is pledged. But before concluding a transaction, you can ask the buyer for an extract from the trade register or a receipt for payment of utilities.
  2. Developer reputation. If you are buying an apartment in a new building, it is important to find out more about the developer. You can, for example, communicate with those who already live in the apartments of the selected company.
  3. The prospect of selling the acquired property. When investing a considerable amount of money in a purchase, you should play it safe and choose an option that can be quickly resold if necessary. Therefore, it is better to buy premises for which there is a high demand.

Can a foreigner get a mortgage in Romania?

Most Romanian banks agree to lend only to those who have a residence permit, permanent residence in Romania or EU citizenship. But some institutions (Banca Transilvania, GarantiBank) provide loans to non-residents for the purchase of real estate. By confirming sufficient official earnings with an income statement or a certificate of tax payment for the last 12 months, a foreigner can apply for a mortgage in Romania. Credit conditions according to the European real estate catalog EE24:

  • a mortgage loan is issued for a maximum term of 35 years;
  • the loan amount is up to 70% of the value of the property;
  • The average mortgage rate in Romania is 4.41% per annum.

Documents provided to the bank:

  • loan application;
  • confirmation of the source of permanent income (salary statements, certificate issued by the employer, other documents depending on the type of income);
  • certificate of payment of taxes for the previous year (fiscal certificate);
  • a copy of a valid passport certified by a bank loan officer.

Residents additionally provide:

  • a copy of the residence permit or permanent residence card, which is certified by a credit specialist;
  • a copy of your current work permit.

Is it possible to obtain citizenship in Romania by purchasing real estate?

There is a common belief that real estate gives the right to citizenship in Romania, but this is not true. Those who have registered a company in the country, which subsequently invested in commercial real estate from 2 million EUR, are entitled to obtain a Romanian passport. This is the only way to obtain a residence permit and permanent residence permit , and then after 4 years apply for  naturalization in Romania .

An alternative way to obtain a Romanian passport is repatriation (restoration of citizenship). The program is popular due to significantly lower financial and time costs compared to investments and naturalization. At the same time, potential repatriates often have difficulty finding documents in archives. That is why immigration experts advise contacting experienced international lawyers both when registering Romanian real estate and when obtaining citizenship of the country.

How to buy property in Romania?