Registration of the purchase of an apartment on the secondary market

Buying an apartment on the secondary market carries many risks. Most often, agreements for the purchase and sale of secondary housing are recognized as invalid and the buyer has to defend his right in court. Therefore, the purchase of an apartment on the secondary market should be approached with careful preparation. Checking the seller's documents is the most important and responsible stage in any real estate transaction. If you do not have experience in purchasing an apartment on the secondary market, it is better to contact a professional lawyer. Read also: Power of attorney for the sale of an apartment.

The specialist will carefully check all the seller's documents, as well as determine whether there are any risks, find out what are the debts on this property, whether the property was purchased legally, etc. If for some reason you cannot or do not want to seek help from a lawyer, make sure that the necessary documents are presented by the seller in full. The list of documents for the purchase of an apartment on the secondary market:

• certificate of ownership;
• original passports and identification codes of all co-owners of the apartment;
• notarized consents from co-owners for sale;
• technical passport for the apartment;
• expert assessment of real estate;
• certificate Form-2;
• a certificate of no debt.

A careful analysis of the documents, identity and authority of the seller of the apartment will help you avoid risks related to ownership rights and rights of use, as well as financial losses. Read also: Taxes when buying an apartment.

Risks when buying an apartment on the secondary market

The number of risks when buying an apartment on the secondary market is much higher than on the primary market. We will not list all of them in the article, but will name only the main ones related to the most popular fraudulent schemes:

1. Purchase of real estate under a false power of attorney.
2. Purchase of real estate with registered residents.
3. Illegal privatization - everyone who is registered in the apartment must participate in the procedure for registering the purchase of an apartment on the secondary market. Be careful if the seller assures that the apartment is registered, for example, the wife has been living abroad for a long time and there is no way to contact her, but gives a one hundred percent guarantee that she has no claims on the property. It may happen that the same wife suddenly appears and declares her rights to the apartment. Then the agreement will be considered invalid.
4. Non-agreed sale - for the agreement to be considered valid, absolutely all apartment owners must say "yes" decisively and confirm their agreement in writing.

You can avoid risks when buying secondary real estate and not become a victim of fraudsters only if you take the issue of security of registration of the purchase of an apartment on the secondary market under total personal control. But if you do not have the relevant knowledge, experience and iron nerves, entrust this matter to professionals. Lawyers will inspect the apartment on the secondary market, collect files on its residents, find information about the former owners, and demand all the necessary documents. Subscribe to our real estate blog updates and receive new posts from THE Capital real estate agency.