How to check an apartment or house before buying

A real estate due diligence is a set of actions aimed at identifying legal risks when purchasing a property. It includes the analysis of documents, registers, and court cases.

Purchasing your own house or apartment is an extremely important event, and everyone wants it to go smoothly, and the rest of your life will not be overshadowed by third-party claims and legal settlements. In order to protect yourself from possible risks, before buying a house, you should visit a lawyer and order an inspection of both the seller and the property itself.

Why is it necessary to inspect real estate before buying?

A legal inspection of a house (apartment) before buying is a guarantee of concluding a safe transaction and the absence of risks of losing housing in the future. The tasks of a real estate lawyer before purchasing an apartment are as follows:

• protection against loss of money when making an advance payment;
• checking for the presence of legal disputes regarding the real estate object;
• checking for the presence or absence of an arrest on the property;
• checking for the presence of restrictions on the disposal of real estate and claims of third parties (members of the seller’s family, previous owners, creditors).

Analysis of documents takes up to three working days, although if necessary it can be reduced to one day.

How to distinguish risky and non-problematic apartments

It will be difficult for the average person to distinguish a non-problematic apartment from a risky one. After all, despite its apparent simplicity, the process of purchasing real estate contains many nuances and pitfalls that a layperson is unlikely to even suspect. That is why it is worth seeking help from a real estate lawyer, who is an impartial person and will objectively analyze the possible risks for the buyer.
Is it possible to buy an apartment without the participation of a lawyer

It is quite possible to buy an apartment without the participation of a lawyer.

A realtor will help you choose housing from several options, and a notary will draw up the agreement. However, the tasks of none of them include risk assessment and protection of the buyer’s rights. And when buying an apartment in a building under construction without prior legal due diligence, you run the risk of encountering an unscrupulous developer who will receive an advance payment but will not put the house into operation on time, or after some time you will have to deal with claims from other owners if the developer made double sales. Then you will have to defend your rights through the court, which requires additional effort, time and money.

What documents should be checked when buying an apartment yourself

It is more rational to entrust the inspection of the apartment before buying to a professional lawyer who has the relevant experience and clearly understands the algorithm of actions. If you decide to buy an apartment yourself, you should review the following documents:

• the seller’s identity card;
• if the apartment is sold by a representative of the owner, it is necessary to check the power of attorney, in particular the representative’s authority and validity period;
• original documents confirming the ownership of the apartment: a purchase and sale agreement, the right to inheritance, a gift or a court decision;
• the presence of an arrest, mortgage or other restrictions;
• debts for housing and communal services;
• the presence of co-owners. If they exist, you must have their permission to sell the apartment;
• technical characteristics of the apartment. If it has undergone reconstruction, the seller must provide permission to carry out reconstruction.

If it comes to buying an apartment from a developer, the buyer must check the developer’s documents, the availability of all construction permits, ownership of the land, and make sure that the purchase and sale agreement meets the requirements of the law and protects the interests of both parties (i.e., the developer cannot violate its terms without imposing penalties).

How to check ownership of an apartment

You can check ownership of an apartment through Opendatabot or the “Diya” portal. To do this, you need to make a request for the owner in Opendatabot by entering the individual tax number of the person (for a legal entity – EDRPOU). In the “Real estate, debts, fines” section, you can select the desired real estate object from the list and pay for ordering an extract.

On the “Diya” portal, you need to fill out an online form by entering information about the real estate object or the owner. In this way, you can obtain a certificate from several registers (the State Register of Real Estate Rights to Real Estate, the Unified Register of Prohibitions on the Alienation of Real Estate Objects, and others). The cost of the service is from 40 UAH.

What do the documents for an apartment look like

The ownership of an apartment registered after 2013 is confirmed by an extract from the state register of rights to real estate, as well as documents that became the basis for registration of rights (purchase and sale agreement, donation, court decision, will, etc.).

What documents should be provided for an apartment

The seller must provide documents confirming the legality of the grounds for the emergence of ownership of the apartment: a purchase and sale agreement, a donation agreement, a certificate of inheritance, a certificate of privatization, an extract from the register of rights to real estate, etc. If the apartment has undergone redevelopment through reconstruction, it is necessary to have permission documentation from the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate for the start of work and acceptance of the facility into operation. Although the technical passport is not a legal document, it must always be properly executed by the owner of the apartment before selling it.

How to find out who is registered in the apartment

To find out who is registered in the apartment, a notary can contact the Center for Administrative Services and obtain a certificate of the composition of registered citizens at a given address at the time of alienation of real estate. Also, the previous owner of the apartment (seller) is granted this right until the moment of sale of the apartment. In this case, the future owner may make it a condition of signing the purchase and sale agreement that the seller submits an application to the Central Administrative Service to obtain the relevant certificate and provide it to the buyer (future owner). In addition, before signing the purchase and sale agreement, the previous owner signs a statement that he certifies the absence of registered persons in the apartment, including minor children. This becomes an additional guarantee for the new owner.

How to find out if there are debts for utilities

To obtain information about the absence or presence of debts for housing and communal services, you need to contact the company that manages the building. This may be a condominium association, a manager, a cooperative, or in some cases, a local housing and utilities company. Most likely, such information will be provided only to the apartment owner, not to the buyer.

In addition, if the apartment owner has concluded direct contracts with suppliers and companies that distribute electricity, gas, etc., then you should also contact them to obtain the relevant information. At the same time, the debts of the previous apartment owner are not automatically transferred to the new owner and are not tied to the apartment, but remain the debts of the person who owned it before. Of course, it is desirable that all debts are repaid on the date of the apartment purchase and sale agreement, but this is not a basis for canceling the deal.

How can a lawyer help when buying an apartment or a house?

We have already listed many documents that a buyer needs to check before purchasing an apartment, and have noted only some important aspects. All this work and even more is taken on by a real estate lawyer from the “DE-JURE” company – in particular, he checks:

• when buying an apartment in a new building – the history of the developer and companies involved in the construction, their permits, land ownership, the presence of bankruptcies and legal disputes, the subject of which is this real estate object;
• when buying housing on the secondary market – the presence of title documents for real estate, the history of the apartment, the presence of co-owners, including minor children, the presence of legal disputes and restrictions, arrests and mortgages, and current enforcement proceedings.

The lawyer analyzes the apartment purchase and sale agreement to protect the client’s interests, agrees on amendments if necessary and makes them.

Why is an apartment in a new building inspected before purchase required?

Not every company providing services for the construction and sale of housing adheres to the norms and rules established by the legislation of Ukraine. A real estate lawyer will help you choose a reliable and honest developer and receive an apartment within the established time frame. If necessary, he can participate in signing an agreement to receive an apartment or non-residential real estate.

What is needed for a lawyer to inspect a developer and a new building?

To inspect a new building and a developer, the client must provide the lawyer with a scheme and terms of sale, as well as additional materials received from the developer. If during the inspection the lawyer has additional questions for the developer, he will contact him and come to the office to study the necessary documents.

What exactly does a lawyer check when buying an apartment on the secondary market or in a new building?

The task of a lawyer when buying an apartment from a developer or seller on the secondary market is to analyze all available documents for problematic situations that have arisen in the past or may arise in the future. A real estate lawyer identifies all the nuances of the seller and developer that are potentially dangerous for the buyer:

• lack of construction permits or lack of land use rights;
• absence of disputes with third parties (creditors, co-owners, families of previous owners);
• alienation scheme, during the implementation of which unexpected difficulties may arise with the transfer of property or the intermediary will simply disappear;
• transfer of funds to fraudsters who do not have the right to sell real estate;
• obtaining real estate with debts for mandatory payments, which may require protecting one’s own interests from illegal claims of creditors.

In some cases, it makes sense to refuse to buy an apartment, because the risks are too high.

What is needed for a lawyer to check the seller and the apartment on the secondary market?

For a legal check of an apartment on the secondary market, a lawyer first of all needs copies of the title documents for the property provided by the seller. You will also need information about the seller himself and about the presence of co-owners of the apartment. The client must describe the terms of the apartment purchase and sale agreement. All these documents can be submitted for consultation or sent electronically.

Features of selling and buying an apartment during martial law: if the owner is abroad

If the owner of the apartment is abroad, he can draw up a power of attorney and send it to his representative. The representative receives the right to act on behalf of the owner, including in matters of selling an apartment or house. The service for drawing up a power of attorney is provided by embassies and consulates of Ukraine, as well as local notaries. In the case of involving foreign notaries, it is almost always necessary to affix an apostille to the power of attorney.

Does the seller need to check the buyer when selling real estate

The seller, in turn, should check the buyer to make sure that the purchase and sale agreement can be concluded. At a minimum, this should be done using online tools: on the website of the Judicial Authority of Ukraine, in the Unified Register of Debtors, the Automated System of Enforcement Proceedings and the Unified State Register of Court Decisions. After all, the presence of debts, enforcement proceedings and encumbrances, as well as litigation may become an obstacle to the certification of the agreement by a notary.

Is it necessary to check the apartment when renting

In order not to become a victim of a fraudulent scheme when renting an apartment, it is also worth checking the title documents and the identity of the landlord. If the apartment has other co-owners, you will need their permission to rent the apartment out. A lease agreement allows you to protect yourself from an unexpected sale of a rented apartment or an unjustified increase in the fee, provided that it is drawn up correctly.